- Google has integrated the Dholuo dialect into its translation tool.
- Thanks to a new update by the tech firm, PaLM 2 A.I has propelled the popular language into Google’s extensive corpus of over 243 languages.
- PaLM 2 A.I is described as the next-generation Large Language Model (LLM) that excels in reasoning, question answering, translation, and natural language generation.
Speakers of the Luo language (dólúô) can now extend their pride as Google integrates the Dholuo dialect into its translation tool.
For many of the 4.2 million people spread across East Africa who command the lingo, majority are in the Lake region. This comes as a welcome surprise.
Thanks to a new update by the tech firm, PaLM 2 A.I has propelled the popular language into Google’s extensive corpus adding it to the over 243 languages currently supported on the translation feature. It is now possible to transcribe Luo words and terms into English, Swahili, Spanish and many other languages.
PaLM 2 A.I is described as the next-generation Large Language Model (LLM) that excels in reasoning, question answering, translation, and natural language generation.
Released on May 10, 2023, this update has trumped and rivaled its forerunner. PaLM 2 is capable of digesting large volumes of pre-trained datasets, building on its ability to learn different aspects of languages faster than its predecessor PaLM.
This state-of-the-art A.I, is part of Google’s legacy of bridging the cultural and communication divide, by providing multilingual proficiency for non-speakers of a particular dialect. The tech giant has also been keen on committing to fostering understanding between and among diverse and unique communities.
Google’s goal is to make over 1000 spoken languages available for translation. It seeks to incorporate the voices of small, indigenous and native communities since the translation service was launched in April 2006.
Remarkable progress has been made in the 18 years since, and with the help of sophisticated algorithms and machine models, Google's translation team has consistently been improved for efficiency. These upgrades continue to forge towards the mission of connecting people and cultures.
The latest addition of the Luo language marks a highlight as a quarter of the new 110 languages in service, are spoken by Africans.
“Representing our largest expansion of African languages to date including Fon, Kikongo, Luo, Ga, Swati, Venda and Wolof,” said Isaac Casswell, a senior software engineer at Google Translate in a release.
Other dialects, including Somali, Oromo, Tsonga, and Kinyarwanda, are also available to cater to greater audiences on the continent.
Casswell further emphasized that due to regional varieties and spelling standards in certain dialects, the model may not be perfect and will likely generate results based on the most common variety of a dialect available online.
These developments exhibit the growing demand for language transcription which many profess will boost multicultural inclusion.
In 2022, some common words in the Kenyan vocabulary got a spot in the prestigious Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Many Kenyans were reasonably elated and flaunted the permanent inclusion of their local words in the latest edition of the renowned dictionary. The addition of these words was attested to the popularity of the swahili tongue as an acknowledgment of the wealth and depth of Kenyan culture.
They include nyama choma, sufuria, mandazi, sheng, githeri, kipande, chapo, mpango wa kando, muratina and many more.
