Yandex Translate Adds the Abkhaz Language
The Russian service continues to roll out national languages as part of broader efforts to support learning and preserve cultural traditions.
Abkhaz has been added to the Russian-language service Yandex Translate, according to the press office of the Higher School of Economics. A student at the university, Miron Barateliya, took part in developing the new language pair.
Earlier this year, Barateliya joined Yandex as an intern and proposed adding Abkhaz to the translation service – a language he speaks fluently himself. During his studies, he had already worked on a project called ApsuaTranslator as part of his coursework.
One of the Most Complex and Ancient Languages
The student believes his work will help preserve a language spoken by just over 100,000 people. Abkhaz is considered one of the most complex languages in the world, with 92 letters and many sounds that are difficult to pronounce. It is also regarded as one of the oldest living languages.
With a Khakass Accent
Yandex has been systematically adding new regional languages and dialects to its translation service. In the near future, Khakass is also set to be introduced, according to Valentin Konovalov, head of the Republic of Khakassia. The development took nearly a year, during which more than 100,000 phrases were adapted, with further work planned.
The service now supports 18 national languages of Russia.
