Articles and Stories

February 25, 2016

Google translate is now serving even more of the world’s population. It recently added 13 new languages, making the total number of available dialects 103.

Now those that speak Amharic, Corsican, Frisian, Kyrgyz, Hawaiian, Kurdish, Luxembourgish, Samoan, Scots Gaelic, Shona, Sindhi, Pashto, or Xhosa can communicate via Google Translate. Luxembourgish completed Google’s list of official languages of Europe.

The process of adding new languages is complex, especially because Google relies on translations readily available on the Internet. Machine translation as well the Translate Community, which allows users to help with translations or validate existing translations, is the method Google has used to expand its database to over 100 languages.

During their recent expansion, the Google Translate team learned some interesting facts: such as Samoan is written using only 14 letters and Xhosa, a South African language, is comprised of a series of clicks.

Google translate has come a long way. When it originally launched in 2006 it was only available in four languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. Google Translate’s senior program manager, Sveta Kelman, has said they aren’t finished yet and encourages users to get involved through the Translate Community.