CM Conrad Praises Addition of Khasi Language to Google Translate, Calls for Garo Inclusion

Shillong, July 1: On Sunday, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma expressed his appreciation for Google’s decision to add the Khasi language to its list of supported languages. He described this as a significant achievement and emphasized the importance of including other regional languages like Garo.

“Thank you, @Google, for adding Khasi to your supported languages! This achievement will not only empower local people but also make it easier for anyone interested in learning our language from Meghalaya. We urge Google to include other regional languages like Garo as well,” Sangma shared on social media.

Google has used artificial intelligence (AI) to add 110 new languages to Google Translate. This includes languages like Cantonese, several African languages, and Meghalaya’s Khasi language.

These new additions represent over 614 million speakers, making translations available for about 8% of the world’s population, according to a Google representative.

“Some of these languages are major world languages with over 100 million speakers. Others are spoken by small indigenous communities, and a few have almost no native speakers but are part of active revitalization efforts,” the company stated.

The inclusion of the Khasi language in Google Translate will be highly beneficial for both national and international tourists visiting Meghalaya. It will help overcome the language barrier between locals and tourists. Although many people in the state speak English, even if not fluently, Google Translate will certainly help boost the tourism economy.

According to Britannica, the longest-running in-print encyclopedia in the English language, there are about 900,000 speakers of the Khasi language. Most of them speak Khasi, while other languages in the group include Amwi (War), Synteng (Pnar), and Lyng-ngam.

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