On Thursday, Google Translate got a significant update that included the ability for 110 additional languages. Artificial intelligence was used to help add the new languages (AI). The tech giant used its in-house PaLM 2 large language model (LLM), and it was particularly effective in learning those languages that were related to each other or were a regional dialect of a language.
The company said in a blog post that it is the biggest expansion Google Translate has ever had. A total of 133 languages were previously supported by the translation tool. Following the expansion, there are a total of 243 languages.
Google unveiled its 1,000-language initiative in November of 2022. The company has pledged to develop AI models under the project to serve the 1,000 most widely spoken languages worldwide. That effort includes 110 new languages.
Google gave priority to the most widely used versions of each language when selecting the new ones. Giving an example, it stated that the AI model selected the Southern Vlax Romani language, which is a widely spoken variant online, out of the several dialects of the Romani language spoken throughout Europe. The availability of text for the AI model to be trained on also influenced the decision.
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Here are a few of the significant new additions. At last, Cantonese has been included. That was reportedly one of the languages that Google Translate users requested the most. After the firm discovered community contributions from volunteers, it also incorporated Afar, a tonal language spoken in Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Eritrea. Remarkably, Africa accounts for one-fourth of all newly discovered languages.