Today, Microsoft Translator adds Inuinnaqtun and romanized Inuktitut text translation to its growing list of languages. You can now translate between Inuinnaqtun or Romanized Inuktitut and any of the more than 100 languages ​​and dialects supported in the Microsoft Translator, Office, and Translator for Bing. Using Azure Cognitive Services Translator You can add Inuinnaqtun and Romanized Inuktitut text and document translation to your apps, websites, workflows, and tools. You can also use Translator with cognitive services such as e.g. Speech Or Computer vision to add more features like text-to-speech and image translation to your apps.

Inuktitut is the main dialect of the Inuktitut language; it is spoken by approximately 40,000 Inuit in Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland of northern Canada, and is used by 70 percent of Nunavut residents. Inuinnaqtun, also a dialect of Inuktut, is on UNESCO’s list of endangered languages. Inuinnaqtun is the mother tongue of fewer than 600 people, primarily concentrated in the communities of Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut.

We added Inuktitut using the traditional syllabic script to Microsoft Translator in January 2021. Over the past year, we have worked to update and significantly improve our Inuktitut translation models. By adding Inuinnaqtun and romanized Inuktitut, we are strengthening our commitment to breaking the language barrier. This involves working with language communities around the world to ensure the preservation of endangered languages. Nearly 7,000 languages ​​are spoken in the world today. Unfortunately, a language dies every two weeks with its last speaker. It is expected that between 50% and 90% endangered languages ​​will disappear by the next century. The Government of Nunavut, Canada, has worked proactively with Microsoft Translator and community groups such as the Kitikmeot Heritage Society to ensure that Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut are not included.

Indigenous languages ​​constitute a fundamental and valued element of Canadian culture and society, and their preservation is urgent.
– The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Here are some useful expressions in Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut:

Learn more about this announcement and the Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut languages ​​at Microsoft News Center Norway.

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