Google Translate can now translate words, sentences and entire websites into 133 languages. The search giant uses a Zero-Shot machine translation technique that can translate without even looking at an example, thereby greatly speeding up the process.
Google has added 24 languages to Translate. This means that Google Translate now offers translations for 133 languages. Google claims that over 300 million people speak these newly added languages.
Several newly added languages were born from Zero-Shot machine translation , a machine learning model that only sees monolingual text . Simply put, Google has developed an algorithm that can translate into another language without even seeing an example.
As with any translation, these newly added languages are not perfect and there will be some hiccups. Google acknowledged this, but assured that the translations would improve. Google already has a team of native speakers, professors and linguists who continuously contribute to the Google Translate platform.
Here is the full list of new languages that are now available on Google Translate:
- Assamese: Used by approximately 25 million people in North East India.
- Aymara: used by about two million people in Bolivia, Chile and Peru.
- Bambara: used by about 14 million people in Mali.
- Bhojpuri: Used by about 50 million people in northern India, Nepal and Fiji.
- Dhivehi: Used by about 300,000 people in the Maldives.
- Dogri is used by about three million people in northern India.
- Sheep: used by about seven million people in Ghana and Togo.
- Guarani: used by about seven million people in Paraguay and Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil.
- Ilocano: used by about 10 million people in the northern Philippines.
- Konkani: used by about two million people in Central India.
- Krio: used by about four million people in Sierra Leone.
- Kurdish (Sorani): Used by about eight million people, mostly in Iraq.
- Lingala: Used by approximately 45 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola and the Republic of South Sudan.
- Luganda: Used by about 20 million people in Uganda and Rwanda.
- Maithili: Used by about 34 million people in northern India.
- Meiteilon (Manipuri): Used by about two million people in Northeast India.
- Mizo: used by about 830,000 people in North East India.
- Oromo: Used by about 37 million people in Ethiopia and Kenya.
- Quechua: used by about 10 million people in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and neighboring countries.
- Sanskrit: Used by about 20,000 people in India.
- Sepedi: used by about 14 million people in South Africa.
- Tigrinya: used by about eight million people in Eritrea and Ethiopia.
- Tsonga: used by about seven million people in Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
- Twi: Used by about 11 million people in Ghana.
It is interesting to note that most of the new languages are not spoken worldwide. But widely used in some local regions. This can help improve literacy rates in underdeveloped parts of the world. Moreover, languages such as Sanskrit were used in ancient times. This can help many translate old scriptures with Google Translate.
