Google Translate: English <----> Maori

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Klipspringer

2385 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#123185 27-Jun-2013 15:30

Just wondering why there is no google translation available between English and Maori?

http://translate.google.co.nz/

Anybody got an idea?

HowickDota

419 posts

Ultimate Geek

#846260 27-Jun-2013 15:54

Not enough speakers/users would be my guess.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

wellygary

8171 posts

Uber Geek

#846316 27-Jun-2013 17:08

Google translate works by having access to lots of multi lingual documents, ( from places like the UN, EU and other multi language document generators) it can trawl these and work out correct translations,

Maori is traditionally an oral language, heck it was only codified into a written latin based script from the late 1700s and even today the list of te-reo and english web pages/documents that google can trawl is limited,

Without a big corpus of documents Google is not really able to provide any semblance of a proper translation service

Elpie

1304 posts

Uber Geek

#846349 27-Jun-2013 18:48

If you want to do translation of words (as opposed to phrases a la Google) there is an excellent NZ dictionary online that translates to/from each of NZ's three official languages: http://nzsl.vuw.ac.nz/

Klipspringer

2385 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#846540 28-Jun-2013 08:50

Elpie: If you want to do translation of words (as opposed to phrases a la Google) there is an excellent NZ dictionary online that translates to/from each of NZ's three official languages: http://nzsl.vuw.ac.nz/

Thanks for that. Will have a look

jonb

1769 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#847706 1-Jul-2013 13:47

Article in the Herald about it today, currently in development and requesting volunteers to help tweak the translation engine.