Google Translate adds 24 new languages, including Sepedi and Tsonga

Google says it has added 24 new languages to Google Translate, including two more official South African languages, Sepedi and Tsonga.

The update brings the number of languages available on Translate to 133, with seven of SA’s 11 official languages represented.

The announcement, made during Google’s annual developer conference, will allow millions more people around the world to use the free service to instantly translate words, phrases and web pages into their preferred languages.

Google said more than 300-million people speak these newly added languages, like Mizo, used by around 800,000 people in the far northeast of India, and Bhojpuri, used by about 50-million people in northern India, Nepal and Fiji.

Google said the 24 languages added to Translate now support a total of 133 used around the globe.

It said as part of this update, indigenous languages of the Americas (Quechua, Guarani and Aymara) and an English dialect (Sierra Leonean Krio) have also been added to Translate for the first time.

“For years, Google Translate has helped break down language barriers and connect communities all over the world. And we want to make this possible for even more people — especially those whose languages aren’t represented in most technology,” senior software engineer for Google Translate Isaac Caswell said.

Google said Sepedi was used by about  14-million people in SA while Tsonga was used by about 7-million people in Eswatini, Mozambique, SA and Zimbabwe

 Other African languages that were added are:

• Lingala, used by used by about 45-million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola and the Republic of South Sudan;
• Rambara, used by about 14-million people in Mali;
• Ewe, used by about 7-million people in Ghana and Togo;
• Luganda, used by about 20-million people in Uganda and Rwanda;
• Oromo, used by about 37-million people in Ethiopia and Kenya; and 
• Twi, used by about 11-million people in Ghana.

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