“ Piugijara” to say “i like“, “Uqausiksat:“comment” or even “Saqqitikkannirli:“for”share“; here are the terms now available starting July 8 when you change your Facebook…Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit of the Canadian Eastern Arctic. Its parent company Meta worked with Nunavut Tunngavik (NTI), an organization representing the Inuit of Nunavut (a Canadian territory), to translate the interface into this language. “ Inuit, Canadians, but not only, love Facebook so much, the fact that the social network now “recognizes” Inuktitut can’t hurt.“, responds Inalco professor and language specialist Marc-Antoine Mahlot.
“From the beginning, Meta’s story was about connecting the world.”
A translation and interpretation company launched four years ago, hand in hand with the desire of a social network to develop its reach to specific communities and groups through the integration of different languages. For example, already in 2016, Facebook developed its reach in different languages, particularly from African countries. Like Fulani, which is spoken by around 60 million speakers worldwide and which entered the social network in the same year. “ Languages are a real challenge for the Meta group. With these, the goal is to tap into a wider acquisition surface.Asma Mhalla, an expert in the digital economy and Gafam, recalls.
This group initiative is not necessarily able to revive the languages in question; As for the Inuktitut language, one wonders if this change will really contribute to the vitality of the language. The current challenge is for young people to continue speaking to each other in Inuktitut, rather than abandoning it in favor of English in their oral communication.says Marc-Antoine Mahlot. The professor adds that this translation refers to only one part of this dialect language; The language is spoken and written differently from one region to another. The South Baffin Island dialect was chosen for Facebook. This specifically means that speakers of other dialects run the risk of not being recognized in the variety of Inuktitut used by the social network.»
For Asma Mhalla, there is nothing surprising in this uneven concept of translation. The goal is above all to be anchored in a discourse that historically carries the American giant. Originally, Meta’s intended story was to connect the world to the more cynical issues behind it. Specifically, about quickly penetrating markets and shaping them in his own image“, he describes. He cites the example of a partnership struck a few years ago with French satellite maker Eutelsat to develop satellites that would bring internet access to remote areas.
AI to translate 200 languages
Meta wants to expand its language universe by other means. So the group announced on Wednesday July 6 an artificial intelligence (AI) model it describes as “unique“, allowing translation into 200 different languages. A translator that surpasses the 133 languages translated by its competitor Google translate. Here again, Meta stands out, positioning itself in favor of languages.” with low digital resources“how”some African, Southeast Asian and Indian languages,” which he integrates into his online machine translation tool. “It’s a way to revive the band through languages while it’s losing momentum in some parts of the world.Asma Mhalla notes.
According to the professor, “Gafam” has a very specific political and economic agenda. As for Meta, it’s his “selfpubs“The virtual world project developed by its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The goal with Translator is to integrate this issue of languages into this evolving metaverse. To offer a catalog of ready-to-use languages in the currently emerging space“, he analyzes. Thus, the group perpetuates its tradition of conquering new markets through the use of languages, hoping to win the bet; in this ecosystem, the winner takes all “, he concludes.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.