Inuinnaqtun added to Microsoft Translator as part of efforts to preserve endangered language

A week after Microsoft added the Inuit language of Inuktitut to its Microsoft Translator app, Microsoft says feedback has been positive and residents are asking for more updates.

Now the company is further expanding its inclusion of Inuit languages by offering text translations for Inuinnaqtun.

Like Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun is part of the Inuktut dialect. Fewer than 600 people speak Inuinnaqtun as their mother tongue, and it’s on the list of UNESCO’s endangered languages.

The company announced it also updated Inuktitut language models on the app.

Inuktitut is the primary dialect of the Inuktut language. 40,000 Inuit in Inuit Nunangat speak the language. 70 percent of Nunavut’s residents also utilize the language.

Microsoft shared the news on February 1st, at the start of Uqausirmut Quviasuutiqarniq. The annual celebration takes place in Nunavut and commemorates the Inuktut language.

Microsoft says it worked with the Government of Nunavut to implement the project, and this announcement builds on that work to help preserve the language for future generations.

Microsoft said community members are looking for more updates to make the program accessible over the long-term.

Users can download Microsoft Translator on iOS, Android, and Office and Translator for Bing. Azure Cognitive Services Translator and Azure Cognitive Services Speech also support Translator.

Image credit: ShutterStock

Source: Microsoft