Google adds 5th Philippine language to Gboard: Central Bikol

Google this week rolled out an update for Gboard in Android that will allow for smoother exchanges between speakers of the Bicolano language. 

Central Bikol (Bikol Naga) is the fifth Philippine language to be supported by Gboard, the smart keyboard with Google Search and Google Translate built in. It joins Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Kapampangan, and Filipino.

“With today’s update, we’ve added support for Bicolano and over twenty other new language varieties, including several Indian languages, Chinese, Korean and African languages like Fulani. Gboard on Android now supports 300 language varieties, covering over 70% of the world’s population," Gboard Technical Program Manager Daan van Esch was quoted as saying in a statement shared with the press.

He added, "While we’re excited to bring Gboard to more people around the world with today’s update, we still have work to do to bring even more languages, unique scripts, native layouts and transliterated layouts to the keyboard."

In the Philippines alone, there are 180 unique languages. Google in a statement shared that they work with native speakers from the Philippines to collect the data with which they train their machines.

"These models then analyze the data to find common patterns in phrases and sentences, powering Gboard's next-word prediction and auto-correction. So when you type in Bicolano you’d see suggestions like baga–that’s made possible with machine learning," their statement read.

In a blogpost published on March 6, Gboard Project Lead Angana Ghosh said, "Each new language helps more people express themselves with their keyboard, and we’re thankful to the thousands of linguists and native speakers around the globe who help us bring new languages to Gboard." — Aya Tantiangco, GMA News