Mangaluru: Eight more Indian languages are now supported by Google Translate. Assamese, Sanskrit, Bhojpuri, Dogri, Konkani, Maithili, Mizo, and Meiteilon (Manipuri) are among the Indian languages included in the latest update to Google Translate. The addition of Konkani to Google’s list of 24 languages has been welcomed by Konkani speakers all around the world.
Konkani is mostly spoken along the country’s western coast, thus spoken in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan and Bengaluru. Konkani speakers can also be seen in Goa and Maharashtra. Being Goa’s official language, Konkani is written in Devanagari and Roman scripts.
? Announced at #GoogleIO: 8 new Indian languages are coming to Google Translate.
24 new languages have been added to Google Translate, including Assamese, Bhojpuri, Dogri, Konkani, Maithili, Meiteilon (Manipuri), Mizo and Sanskrit. pic.twitter.com/QMbHKwUwMp
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) May 11, 2022
Google said on Thursday May 11 that through the inclusion of 24 languages, it wants to break barriers for languages that aren’t represented in most technologies.
Social media platforms too have welcomed the move of Google for including Konkani among the 24 languages in its new addition.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant wrote on his Twitter handle, “It is heartening to know that #Konkani language has been added in Google Translate.”
Rohan Khaunte, Minister for Tourism, IT and Printing & Stationery of of Goa stated, “Google Translate inclusion of Konkani is akin to Global Recognition. The initiative by Chetan Acharya was taken up by my friend Sanjeet Hegde Desai at Google, USA and his dedicated yearlong efforts have made it possible. Let’s All Google in our Mai Bhas!”
Another Twitter user said that he is happy to see that Konkani is added to the Google Translate service. However, he also wants his mother tongue ‘Tulu’ to be recognised as an official language and add it to the 8th schedule.
Dinesh Gundu Rao AICC In-Charge of Tamil Nadu said, “Good day for Indian languages as Google adds 8 languages to Google translate. Konkani is one of them & it’s great for the many speakers in Goa, Karnataka & Maharashtra. Hope Tulu & Kodava gets added soon as well.”
“Today is a proud moment for Goa and all Goans as Google has added 24 new languages to #GoogleTranslate, one of them being our mother tongue, #Konkani, wrote Goa BJP MLA Joshua Peter De Souza.
A user mentioned that he is pleased to see Konkani translations on Google, in the Devanagari script. “We must appreciate,” he added.
Glad to know that #Konkani, along with Sanskrit & 6 Indian languages, has been added to @Google Translate. It is indeed a very significant feat for the Konkani language as it will boost usage of Konkani & also help break language barriers to make Konkani more accessible globally. pic.twitter.com/JO2rHkQ0Bm
— Narayan Rane (@MeNarayanRane) May 12, 2022
Narayana Rane, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Government of India Translate said that “It is indeed a very significant feat for the Konkani language as it will boost usage of Konkani & also help break language barriers to make Konkani more accessible globally.”
Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said, “Wonderful to see the Konkani language find a home in the digital world! Thanks to @sundarpichai for recognizing our #amchigele linguistic heritage.
“Glad to know that our #Konkani language has been added to Google Translate as one of 24 languages. Regards to the talented @Google staff,” wrote BJP Chief of Vinay Tendulkar.
Today, Google translate supports a total of 133 languages used widely around the globe. The addition of Konkani to the list shows the search engine giant’s commitment to expanding the number of regional languages offered by its online multilingual translation service.
