Credit: Google
Google Translate is a handy tool that many people rely on, whether as a standalone app or built into their browser. It's made understanding foreign languages easier than ever. In the past, if you wanted to know if your new Mandarin tattoo said "Peace and Joy" instead of "Toast Lover," you'd have to find a Mandarin speaker to help. Now, Google Translate can do it instantly.
Google Translate is about to become even more helpful with the addition of 110 new languages, marking its biggest expansion yet. This means users will be able to translate even more languages with ease, enhancing global communication. Whether you need to understand content from different countries, talk with new friends, or travel without language barriers, Google Translate is there to help. For example, you can avoid accidentally insulting a Japanese inn owner by saying their inn is beautiful instead of expressing dislike.
Credit: Google
This massive update brings support for 110 new languages to the app. Ten years ago, Google was only adding 10 new languages at a time, so this is a huge leap forward. According to Google, this expansion will help 614 million more native speakers, which is about 8% of the world's population. Many of the new languages are from Africa, making it the largest addition of African languages to date.
One of the most significant languages being added is Cantonese, which is similar to Mandarin. Other important additions include Wolof, Fon, the Shahmukhi script of Punjabi, Afar, and Tamazight. These new languages will make Google Translate more useful for millions of people around the world.
You might wonder how Google managed to add so many languages at once. The answer lies in artificial intelligence, specifically the PaLM 2 large language model. This advanced AI technology made it easier for Google to learn new languages, especially those similar to ones already supported by Google Translate. The AI model could understand and learn these new languages more quickly by building on existing knowledge.
Google has big plans for the future. They aim to support the top 1,000 most-spoken languages in the world. This goal might seem ambitious, but with today's significant boost, it appears more achievable than ever.
In summary, Google Translate's expansion to include 110 new languages will greatly enhance global communication. The use of advanced AI models has made this possible, and Google plans to continue expanding its language support to cover even more of the world's languages.