Good news! Now, Assamese language available on Google Translate

Google Translate added 24 new languages including 8 languages from India.

Google Translate added 8 new Indian languages including Assamese.  (Google)

The Assamese language has finally found a place in Google Translate. The tech giant has announced the addition of 24 new languages on Google Translate . Out of the 24 languages, there are eight Indian languages including Assamese, Meiteilon (Manipuri) and Mizo. Apart from these three languages, Google Translate will now have Sanskrit, Bhojpuri, Dogri, Konkani, Maithili among others. Google Translate now has a base of 133 languages. Google has shared the info through a tweet.

The language got its recognition after six years of tireless efforts by Assamese people from over 22 countries around the world and the call by the former DGP of Assam Police to take up the challenge on a mission mode. Now, the Assamese language has got recognition on Google too.

Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed his happiness and excitement. He tweeted, “Delighted that @Google has added Assamese in its language translation tool among the 24 new languages incorporated, 8 of which are native to India. This will promote more research on the beautiful language & popularize its use across digital platforms.”

Asam Sahitya Sabha (ASS) president Kuladhar Saikia, who is a former IPS officer and ex-DGP of Assam Police, made a global call to Assamese speakers during pandemic to go on a mission mode to contribute more resources in Assamese language and get a place in Google Translate.

“The contributions of Assamese language resources have been significant in the last two years while the number of such contributions crossed 5.5 lakh,” he said. Currently, there are about 25 million users of Assamese language, while Meitei has about two million users and Mizo has about 8,30,000 users in the NE respectively. Shikhar Kumar Sarma, Gauhati University professor, who was a community volunteer, said that the new language on Google translate will serve a wider community. He also inserted that major translation systems in Indian languages need to be built at the government level for free public use.