Google Translate Blog: February 2016

Google Translate Blog

The official source for news on Google's translation technologies

Translate Community, and Sietske Poepjes, help add Frisian to Google Translate

Friday, February 26, 2016

Last week, we introduced 13 new languages to Google Translate. As we mentioned, there are a number of factors that go into adding a new language: once it’s established that it’s a written language with a significant amount of translations available on the web, we use a combination of machine learning, licensed content and input from Translate Community. One language where Translate Community played an especially big role was Frisian.
Today, we’re speaking with Sietske Poepjes, a member of the Frisian community who recently helped to organize a Translate Community event. Thanks to Sietske and the community's support, we were able to get enough data to officially add Frisian to Google Translate. The interview gives an overview of what went into Sietske’s community effort and how you can get involved.
What’s your job and title?

Sietske Poepjes

Why is it important to add the Frisian language to Google Translate? So you organized Frisian Google Translate Week last year -- what motivated you to organize the event?

Translate Community event.

How did you set up the event? Who did you work with?How did you motivate the participants?How did the Frisian week go? Any memorable moments?What’s the impact of the event? What are people’s reactions?Have you worked on any follow up efforts?

The band De Kast, who performed songs in Frisian, Dutch and English with the meaning shown in other languages on the screen through Translate.

Any advice for future event organizers? If you would like to help improve Google Translate and organize Translate Community events for your language, apply here.

Google

Labels: Translate Blog

From Amharic to Xhosa, introducing Translate in 13 new languages -- now over 100 in total!

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

103 languageslicensed contentTranslate Community

Amharic (Ethiopia) is the second most widely spoken Semitic language after Arabic

Corsican (Island of Corsica, France) is closely related to Italian and was Napoleon's first language

Frisian (Netherlands and Germany) is the native language of over half the inhabitants of the Friesland province of the Netherlands

Kyrgyz (Kyrgyzstan) is the language of the Epic of Manas, which is 20x longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey put together

Hawaiian (Hawaii) has lent several words to the English language, such as ukulele and wiki

Kurdish (Kurmanji) (Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria) is written with Latin letters while the others two varieties of Kurdish are written with Arabic script

Luxembourgish (Luxembourg) completes the list of official EU languages Translate covers

Samoan (Samoa and American Samoa) is written using only 14 letters

Scots Gaelic (Scottish highlands, UK) was introduced by Irish settlers in the 4th century AD

Shona (Zimbabwe) is the most widely spoken of the hundreds of languages in the Bantu family

Sindhi (Pakistan and India) was the native language of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the "Father of the Nation” of Pakistan

Pashto (Afghanistan and Pakistan) is written in Perso-Arabic script with an additional 12 letters, for a total of 44

Xhosa (South Africa) is the second most common native language in the country after Afrikaans and features three kinds of clicks, represented by the letters x, q and c