Google Translate has announced the addition of Dholuo, the language of the Luo tribe, as part of a significant language support update. This enhancement is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) through Google’s PaLM 2 large language model, which also supports the AI chatbot, Bard. Alongside Dholuo, other newly added languages include Awadhi, Cantonese, and Marwari.
This update reflects Google’s commitment to breaking down language barriers and fostering a deeper understanding of diverse cultures. With this expansion, Google Translate now supports a total of 110 new languages, marking its largest update to date.
“Google Translate is dedicated to helping people connect and understand the world better. We continuously apply the latest technologies to ensure that more individuals can access this invaluable tool,” the company stated.
In 2022, Google Translate introduced 24 new languages using Zero-Shot Machine Translation, allowing the AI to learn translations without prior examples. This initiative is part of Google’s broader 1,000 Languages Initiative, aimed at developing AI models to support the most widely spoken languages globally.
The recent update introduces languages that collectively represent over 614 million speakers, thereby enhancing translation access for approximately 8% of the world’s population. While some new languages are major global languages with over 100 million speakers, others belong to small Indigenous communities, and a few are part of revitalization efforts for nearly extinct languages. Notably, about a quarter of the new languages are from Africa, including Fon, Kikongo, Luo, Ga, Swati, Venda, and Wolof.
The Luo people, a Nilotic ethnic group, are spread across Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Northern Uganda, eastern DRC, western Kenya, and parts of Tanzania, with around 4.2 million speakers of Dholuo in Kenya and Tanzania.
With this latest update, Google Translate now supports a total of 243 languages as it continues its mission to develop AI models for the world’s most spoken languages.
