Microsoft is working with the National Assembly for Wales to add the Welsh language to the automatic Welsh language translation system developed by Microsoft.

“This is a great day for the Welsh language,” says Assembly Commissioner with responsibility for the Welsh language, Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM. “Welsh will now sit proudly in the Microsoft Translator family of languages, which is a significant achievement.

It is a great step forward in bilingual working that we have been able to help with the development of such a powerful translation system. Working in partnership with Microsoft has allowed the technology experts and Welsh language users to work together to create an automatic language translation system that will help us to deliver exemplary bilingual services, which is a key commitment for the Assembly Commission.

It will help to facilitate communication with people in the language of their choice, and will help those who are learning Welsh or who wish to understand Welsh in the workplace – although, of course, this technology supports the use of Welsh in every aspect of life, and not just the workplace.” This platform will provide a self-service automatic language translation system for Assembly staff, Members and Members’ support staff to facilitate communication and working practices in their language of choice.

It will also serve as a learning tool for those wishing to develop their skills and knowledge of Welsh in their workplace. Furthermore, the Welsh language translation system will allow the Assembly to share its experience of delivering bilingual services to other organisations in Wales.

Even though the quality of this machine translation is not very high and cannot be compared against the quality achieved by human translation, this Welsh language translation system gives a means to achieve a certain level of understanding and help more people to communicate in two languages, as well as saving time and reducing costs for professional translators.

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