Tag Archives: Indic Language

India’s second Translatathon needs you

Sometimes language isn’t straightforward. Only a Hindi speaker could tell you that ऊँट के मुँह में जीरा may literally mean  ‘cumin seed in a camel's mouth’, it’s actually used to be mean ‘a drop in the ocean’.


There are 22 official languages in India. And while Google Translate can help you with nine of them at the moment, languages that are under-represented on the Internet like Bengali, Telugu, and Tamil could use a little help. This is where people who are passionate about their native languages like you can use the Translate Community tool to make a big difference.


We’ve just kicked off our second translatathon in India, this time for nine languages —  Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam and Punjabi. You can use Google Translate Community on your phone, laptop or computer. Just type, swipe or tap translations in the languages you speak. You have the option to either translate phrases directly, or validate existing translations.


Last year 20,000 people contributed over one million new Hindi translations, helping improve the overall quality of Hindi content online. We’re now including all the Indic languages that Google Translate is available in, and we look forward to seeing how people from across the country can help Google say जंगल में मोर नाचा किस ने देखा? or আপনার পায়ে কুড়ল মারা more accurately. Millions of people in India are coming online for the first time and most of them don’t speak English. Bringing more Indian language content online, and improving Indian language translation quality, will help them have a better experience on the Web.
Validate phrases with the Google Translate Community tool

Once you join the translatathon, you can Translate and Validate words and short phrases up until December 30th. We will then reward the 50 most active and accurate contributors with an Android One phone*.




So why not stop by and say नमस्ते, নমস্কার, வணக்கம் and help India showcase the beauty and diversity of languages online. Register and participate at g.co/translatathon and thanks in advance for your help. You’re making the web better for everyone.


*Terms and conditions apply: https://goo.gl/kEAehI

Posted by Barak Turovsky, Product Lead, Google Translate

Hindi content is key to growing an audience in India

Late last year we announced Hindi as the first Indic language supported by AdSense. Which means that you can earn money by displaying Google AdSense ads on Hindi webpages.


But why does Hindi matter? If you have a large user base in India; or you’re looking to grow in this strategic emerging market; catering your content to Hindi speakers is key. Check out this infographic to learn more:




Keen to start creating? Here are our top five tips for publishing Hindi content online:


1. Create Hindi content that's unique and provides value to your users.
Check out Google Trends in Search and YouTube to see what’s popular in India right now. You can also see a selection of high quality Hindi content from fellow publishers at hindiweb.com.


2. Get a professional translation, or have a native speaker review your content.
If you plan to translate your site for Hindi speakers, ensure you provide good quality translations. Avoid auto-translation as it risks a low quality user experience. Read the Webmaster Quality Guidelines to learn more.


3. Be multi-screen and fast-loading.
Delight users with a mobile-friendly site that works well even on low-bandwidth connections. Explore these multi-screen guidelines to get your site ready.


4. Use Devanagari script.
Access up to 40 free, beautiful fonts for publishing your Hindi content and benefit from better indexing of your site. Select Devanagari script at Google Fonts to add fonts to your collection.


5. Monetize with Google AdSense.
You can use your existing Google AdSense account and create a new ad unit to get started. If you’re new to AdSense, sign up now.


We look forward to seeing the content you create in Hindi.

Posted by Amelia Walkley, Marketing Communications Specialist, Google AdSense