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INPRIMATU
Automatic translator for Elhuyar in Telegram: another means to prioritize Basque
  • Elhuyar integrated the automatic translator Elia into the Telegram application. It makes it possible to prioritize Basque in the groups and that whoever does not understand Basque can change to five languages. We have talked to Amaia Jauregi, head of Elhuyar Translation Technologies, about the possibilities offered by innovation.
Onintza Irureta Azkune @oirureta 2023ko azaroaren 14a

What do you just do?

I'd like to tell the context. The use of Telegram is increasingly being encouraged in groups of parents, schools, ikastolas and municipalities. Because it allows, through a channel, parents who do not understand Euskera to receive simultaneous translation through headphones.

We saw that Telegram could easily incorporate the Elia translator. The user has the possibility to use it easily, without having to install anything.

Did the requests come from the users?

Due to the difficulties in working only in Basque, many people have moved from Whatsapp to Telegram, for example in parent groups. Knowing that this was happening, we saw that there was a possibility of inserting Elia.

What does it do?

Elia is like one more person, one more contact. You send messages to Elia that you don't understand and she gives them back to you. Send the message to Elia. [To learn how to use this Sustatu news].

It may have other uses. For example, it enters the group of parents as contact and configures Spanish as Basque. So those who speak Basque will not translate them, but if someone speaks Spanish they will translate them into Basque. Play to do something like this. We have put the tool in place, we will have to see how it will be used. There are many options, but the latter has not been extended.

We wanted to explain the simplest case so as not to confuse people.

We wanted to encourage the use of Euskera in groups and not because nobody knows that everything has to be done in Spanish.

What user profiles do you expect?

We make tools, but we don't control how people use them. It is good that those who use it tell us how they have used it, what they need it, what added value they have given it. By default we have configured it from Basque to Spanish. Use stays in the air, it's hard to predict.

Take an example. It represents a city hall. It is obliged to send bilingual messages. She can always send them to Euskera and if Elia enters the group, Elia will translate the messages. They will be duplicated, but he will create them only in Basque.

In what language can it be used?

In the six auto-translator: Basque, Spanish, French, Galician, Catalan and English.

Do you intend to add a language?

Not yet. We've seen options. You will imagine what are the most asked of us, of the Federation of Ikastolas, etc. : Arabic, cast, wolof... but they are difficult, we have no knowledge in those languages. We would need a framework to get into such a work.

He told us that on 27 November Elia will be four years old and that you have things to tell. What can you do?

As we have already done, we will provide usage data, which pairs of languages are most used, etc. In the anniversaries we also talk about novelties. We have talked about the telegram and I can anticipate that there will be another novelty related to the voice.