Google Translate Celebrates 10th Anniversary by Presenting 10 Interesting Facts

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 28 Apr 2016

Google introduced a new, machine translation service called Google Translate precisely 10 years ago, on April 28, 2006. At first, it provided support for a mere 2 languages and it was used by a few hundreds. But it evolved over time and now it supports more than 100 languages and it is used by millions.

Google Translate's 10th anniversary is a joyous occasion, one that deserves to be celebrated. Google decided to do that by highlighting some interesting facts, facts that show just how much Google Translate has grown over the past decade.

1. Google Translate helps break down language barriers

It’s difficult to make connections when you don’t understand the language. But with a little help from Google Translate, you don’t have to worry about that.

This video shows how a Canadian community uses Google Translate to make connections with refugees who had to abandon their home in Syria.



And this video shows how a Spanish-speaking boy can communicate with his English-speaking teammates via Google Translate.




2. Half a billion people use Google Translate

Since you’re reading this article, I’m going to assume that you are a Google Translate user. You’re not the only one!

Google Translate is used by more than 500 million people around the world. It’s most commonly used to translate between English and Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese and Indonesian.


3. More than 100 billion translated words, and that’s daily

Since Google Translate is used by more than 500 million people, I’m sure it will come as no surprise when I tell you that the service translates more than 100 billion words per day.




4. Translations related to current events and trends

When something happens, people turn to Google to find more information about that something. And at the end of the year, the search engine presents the most popular searches.

Current events and trends have an impact on Google Translate as well. For example: translations for “purple rain” spiked more than 25,000% this past week, following Prince’s passing away.


5. The community is making Google Translate better

I remember Google Translate’s early days. And there’s no easy way to put this: it was awful. And I would often make jokes about how bad machine translations are.

Things have improved – a lot – thanks to a dedicated community of 3.5 million people who have made 90 million contributions.

“A few properly translated sentences can make a huge difference when faced with a foreign language or country. By reviewing, validating and recommending translations, we’re able to improve the Google Translate on a daily basis,” said Barak Turovsky, Product Lead, Google Translate.


6. Google Translate is most popular in Brazil

Out of all the countries in the world, and there are some 195 of them, the one that uses Google Translate the most is Brazil.


7. Instantly translate text with your phone

With the Google Translate app on your phone, you can instantly translate text, like road signs for example. This instant translation feature provides support for 28 languages, including Romanian.



Fun fact: Google added this feature to Google Translate after it acquired Word Lens from Quest Visual.


8. Bilingual conversations are useful (but not new)

With the Google Translate app on your phone, you can have a bilingual conversation with someone. The app automatically recognizes the language that is spoken when you talk to someone.

The thing is that this feature isn’t new. It was introduced back in 2011. Oh, and it works with 32 languages.


9. Instant translations work even if you’re offline

When you’re abroad, you may not be able to connect to the internet. Or worse still, you may have an unreliable connection.

Not to worry, Google Translate works offline as well. It can translate signs and menus on Android and iOS. And it can translate typed text on Android only.


10. There’s still lots to be done

“We’re excited and proud of what we’ve accomplished together over the last 10 years—but there’s lots more to do to break language barriers and help people communicate no matter where they’re from or what language they speak,” said Barak Turovsky.

“Thank you for using Google Translate—here’s to another 10!”



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