In a monumental leap towards breaking down language barriers, American tech giant Google has expanded its Google Translate service to support 110 new languages. This historic update, announced on Thursday, boosts the translation tool’s total to an impressive 243 languages.

This transformative expansion leverages Google’s advanced PaLM 2 AI language model. The sophisticated AI learns languages by analyzing related dialects, facilitating the addition of languages such as Awadhi and Marwadi, similar to Hindi, and various French creoles like Seychellois Creole and Mauritian Creole.

Google prioritized the inclusion of the most commonly used varieties of each language. For instance, when adding Romani, which has many dialects across Europe, the AI model selected Southern Vlax Romani due to its widespread online use. The availability of textual data for training also influenced the selection of new languages.

Noteworthy additions to the service include Cantonese, a highly requested language, and Afar, a tonal language spoken in Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Significantly, about one-fourth of the new languages come from Africa, underscoring Google’s commitment to linguistic diversity and inclusion.

This development is particularly beneficial for iOS app developers. The expanded language support enables apps to connect with a broader audience. Whether for travel apps, international e-commerce platforms, or global communication tools, this expansion opens new opportunities to reach users in their native languages.

A key factor behind this expansion is the role of volunteer community contributions, especially in regions with limited digital resources. Google highlighted this in a blog post, emphasizing its efforts to bridge language barriers and make information accessible to a broader audience.

Google Translate now serves approximately 614 million additional people worldwide, covering about 8% of the global population that speaks the newly added languages. This feature is available on translate.google.com and the Google Translate app for both Android and iOS.

As AI technology advances, the vision of a world where everyone can understand each other is becoming increasingly achievable. Google’s latest update is a significant step towards this goal, making the world a more connected place through the power of language.