Google adds 20 new languages to Gboard for Android
Google’s Gboard has been around for nearly two years now. Replacing Google Keyboard on iOS in May 2016 and on Android in December 2016, the third-party keyboard from the search giant has become one of the most popular keyboard applications in the world. The app has received particular praise for its predictive typing algorithm, with reviewers stating that “it gets smarter with use”. One of the most loved features is Gboard’s huge breadth of language support, and this has expanded even further.
In a blog post yesterday, March 6, Angana Ghosh, Product Lead, Gboard announced that Google was adding support for 20 new languages to Gboard for Android, notably including Chinese (traditional and simplified) as well as Korean. These two languages had been among the most highly demanded languages on Android, prompting Google to include support for them in the latest update (the languages have been available for Gboard on iOS since mid-2017). The new additions now bring the tally of languages supported on Gboard for Android to over 300, covering 74 percent of the world’s population, according to Angana’s blog post.
Significantly, the latest update also extends support beyond widely spoken languages, with new hyperlocal dialects also being supported. Of particular note is support for hyper-regional Indian languages Dhundhari, spoken in the Dhundhar region of Rajasthan by about 9.6 million (as of 2007); Harauti, spoken by about 4.7 million people in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan (as of 2001); the Kangri dialect, spoken by about 1.1 million people in various districts of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab (as of 2001); Lambadi (both Devanagari and Telugu scripts) spoken by about 6 million people across parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana (as of 2004); Malvi, spoken by about 5.6 million people in Madhya Pradesh (as of 2001); and Nimadi, spoken by about 2.2 million in Madhya Pradesh (as of 2001). Other languages added in the new update are Balochi, Central Bikol, Bislama, Chittagonian, Cree, Kongo, Ndonga, Southern Ndebele, Rusyn, Samogitian, Sardinian, Tswana, and Tongan.
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