Microsoft Translator adds support for Tamil text translation: Here’s how it works

Microsoft on Wednesday announced rolling out support for Tamil translation across its Office 365 applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

With this addition, users can now translate through "Bing Translator" website, "Microsoft Translator" apps, "PowerPoint" add-ins and API on Azure in over 60 text translation languages and 10 speech translation languages.

People using Tamil language can listen to people speaking in the same language and see the translated text on their device with the help of Microsoft Translator app. The new addition will enable Tamil users get directions, order food at restaurants, and use the built-in "Phrasebook" feature.

With Microsoft Translator app, the user can also translate text on other apps on Android smartphones by highlighting the text to get it translated to their preferred language. Besides Tamil, Microsoft Translator also supports Bengali and Hindi.

"With Presentation Translator for PowerPoint you can display subtitles automatically translated in Tamil live during your PowerPoint presentation. You can also translate to and from Tamil to over 60 other languages in Outlook with the Translator for Outlook add-in; on web pages with Translator for Microsoft Edge; and even entire documents on Microsoft Word," said Microsoft on a blog post.

Microsoft is also encouraging developers to use Microsoft Translator text API to tap the opportunity in various sectors such as education, retail, manufacturing, and government services.

"One of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world, Tamil is spoken by over 70 million native speakers within the Indian subcontinent and across the globe. Tamil is an official language in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Sri Lanka, and Singapore, and is also prevalent in Malaysia," it added.

Apart from adding Tamil language support, Microsoft has of late introduced various services customised for Indian users. Earlier this month, it rolled out Career Advice service for its LinkedIn users in the country. Aimed at addressing mentorship gap in India, the new service helps users "get guidance on anything from product development, design input, to what your next job and career move should be."

Last month, Microsoft integrated its India-focused Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based chatbot named "Ruuh" into Skype Lite, a stripped down version of the main app that has been optmised for slower network.