Official Google Canada Blog

Indigenous speakers in Canada share their languages on Google Earth

Friday, August 9, 2019

Of the 7,000 languages spoken around the globe, 2,680 Indigenous languages—more than one third of
the world's languages—are in danger of disappearing. The United Nations declared 2019 the
International Year of Indigenous Languages to raise awareness about these languages and their
contribution to global diversity. To help preserve them, our new Google Earth tour,

Celebrating Indigenous Languages, shares audio recordings from more than 50 Indigenous language

speakers.

“It is a human right to be able to speak your own language,” says Tania Haerekiterā Tapueluelu

Wolfgramm, a Māori and Tongan person who works as an educator and activist in Aotearoa--the Māori
name for New Zealand--and other Pacific countries. “You don’t have a culture without the language.”

Tania is one of several dozen Indigenous language speakers, advocates and educators who helped
create the tour. Thanks to their contributions, people can click on locations meaningful to Indigenous
speakers and hear people offer traditional greetings, sing songs, or say common words and phrases in
their languages.

“Hundreds of languages are a few days away from never being spoken or heard again,” says Tania.
“By putting Indigenous languages on the global stage, we reclaim our right to talk about our lives in our
own words. It means everything to us.”

Listen to more than 50 Indigenous language speakers globally in Google Earth.
The healing power of speaking one’s own language

The people who recorded audio in their languages and connected Google with Indigenous speakers
each have their own story about why revitalizing Indigenous languages strikes a chord for them.
For Arden Ogg, director of Canada’s Cree Literacy Network, and Dolores Greyeyes Sand, a Plains Cree
person and Cree language teacher, the focus is on providing resources for language learners. For Brian
Thom, a cultural anthropologist and professor at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, the
interest grew out of his work helping Indigenous communities map their traditional lands.
Brian asked yutustanaat, a member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation and a language teacher in British
Columbia, to record the hul’q’umi’num’ language. “Our language is very healing,” says yutustanaat. “It
brings out caring in our people and helps our students be strong, because the language comes from
the heart.” In her recording, yutustanaat speaks the traditional hul’q’umi’num’ greeting:
‘i ch ‘o’ ‘uy’ ‘ul’ or “How are you?”
By using their languages—and sharing them with the rest of the world—Indigenous people create closer
connections to a culture that is often endangered or has outright disappeared.
Wikuki Kingi, a Māori Master Carver, recorded traditional chants in Te Reo Māori, an Eastern Polynesian
language indigenous to New Zealand. He says, “Speaking Te Reo Māori connects me to my relatives, to
the land, rivers, and the ocean, and it can take me to another time and place.”

On the right, yutustanaat, a Snuneymuxw First Nation member, records the hul’q’umi’num’ language

with student Beatrix Taylor. Listen to it in the Celebrating Indigenous Languages collection.

Photo credit: Brian Thom

Ensuring that generations to come will hear their languages
“I do this not for myself, but for my children and grandchildren, so that in the future, they’ll hear our
language,” says Dolores, who recorded audio in her native Plains Cree.

To ensure that future generations hear and speak Indigenous languages, more needs to be done to
support their revitalization. Tania Wolfgramm suggests checking out how her nonprofit organization,
Global Reach Initiative & Development Pacific, uses technology to connect far-flung Indigenous people
to their traditional communities—like bringing Google Street View to the remote island of Tonga. Arden
Ogg directs people interested in Indigenous languages to the Cree Literacy Network, which publishes
books in Cree and English to facilitate language learning. And a video from the University of Victoria
suggests five ways to support Indigenous language revitalization, such as learning words and phrases
using smartphone apps, and learning the names of rivers, mountains and towns in the local Indigenous
language.

This initial collection of audio recordings in Google Earth only scratches the surface of the world’s
thousands of Indigenous languages. If you’d like to contribute your language to this collection in the
future, please share your interest.
Raleigh Seamster, Program Manager, Google Earth Outreach

Titan Security Keys are now available in Canada, France, Japan, and the UK

Thursday, August 1, 2019

strongest protectionlaunchedGoogle Store

Titan Security Keys Titan Security KeysFIDO2-Step Verification pageAdvanced Protection ProgramCoinbaseDropboxFacebookGitHubSalesforceStripeTwitterrequire security keysBulk orders
Posted by Christiaan Brand, Product Manager

Google Translate’s update helps Canadians connect and communicate in different languages

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Google Translate allows you to explore unfamiliar lands, communicate in different languages, and make
connections that would be otherwise impossible. One of my favourite features on the
Google Translate mobile app is instant camera translation, which allows you to see the world in your language by
just pointing your camera lens at the foreign text. Similar to the real-time translation feature we recently launched in
Google Lens, this is an intuitive way to understand your surroundings, and it’s especially helpful when you’re
traveling abroad as it works even when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi or using cellular data. Today, we’re launching
new upgrades to this feature, so that it’s even more useful.

Translate from 88 languages into 100+ languages

The instant camera translation adds support for 60 more languages, such as Arabic, Hindi, Malay, Thai and
Vietnamese. Here’s a full list of all 88 supported languages. What’s more exciting is that, previously you could only
translate between English and other languages, but now you can translate into any of the 100+ languages
supported on Google Translate. This means you can now translate from Arabic to French, or from Japanese to
Chinese, etc.

Automatically detect the language

When traveling abroad, especially in a region with multiple languages, it can be challenging for people to determine
the language of the text that they need to translate. We took care of that—in the new version of the app, you can
just select “Detect language” as the source language, and the Translate app will automatically detect the language
and translate. Say you’re traveling through South America, where both Portuguese and Spanish are spoken, and
you encounter a sign. Translate app can now determine what language the sign is in, and then translate it for you
into your language of choice.

Better translations powered by Neural Machine Translation

For the first time, Neural Machine Translation (NMT) technology is built into instant camera translations. This
produces more accurate and natural translations, reducing errors by 55-85 percent in certain language pairs. And
most of the languages can be downloaded onto your device, so that you can use the feature without an internet
connection. However, when your device is connected to the internet, the feature uses that connection to produce
higher quality translations.

A new look

Last but not least, the feature has a new look and is more intuitive to use. In the past, you might have noticed the
translated text would flicker when viewed on your phone, making it difficult to read. We’ve reduced that flickering,
making the text more stable and easier to understand. The new look has all three camera translation features
conveniently located on the bottom of the app: “Instant” translates foreign text when you point your camera at it.
"Scan" lets you take a photo and use your finger to highlight text you want translated. And “Import” lets you translate
text from photos on your camera roll.

To try out the the instant camera translation feature, download the Google Translate app.

Xinxing Gu, Product Manager, Google Translate

Become a Stadia “founder” with our first collection of games

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Today we're announcingcollection of gamespre-order

A Chromecast Ultra A limited-edition Night Blue Stadia Controller

Three months of Stadia Pro (more on that below)

A three month Buddy Pass to bring one friend along for the ride

Dibs on selecting a Stadia Name

Google Maps update to help Canadians during times of crisis

Thursday, June 6, 2019

SOS alertsEarthquake shakemaps

The above image is an example of the crisis-related information Canadians will be able to see after the occurrence of a major earthquake. The above is a depiction of an actual earthquake that took place near Port Hardy, British Columbia, in 2014.
Crisis navigation warnings on Google Maps

Canadians will be able to receive navigation warnings during crises such as earthquakes.

Share your location: Letting loved ones know where you are is vital during fast-moving, chaotic situations. The crisis card provides the option to share your live location with friends and family for as little as 15 minutes, or until you decide to stop sharing.

See and report road closures: Turn on the traffic layer to see all known and suspected road closures in an area. If you encounter a closure on your drive, you can report it to help others nearby. You can also confirm whether or not a road is still closed with a quick tap on Android.

Share crisis information directly with the ones you care about: Tap on the share button from the crisis card to keep friends and family up to date about the situation. They’ll be directed to Google Maps where they’ll see all available crisis information - which could include a summary, visualizations, emergency contact information, and more.

Posted by Hannah Stulberg, Product Manager, Google Maps

Actua and Google launch new AI partnership at Go North Youth

Friday, May 10, 2019

Editor's Note: today's post is guest authored by Jennifer Flanagan, CEO Actua Canada

Get help at a glance with Google Nest Hub

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

NestSimplify your connected home Relive the moment with Google Photos live albumsGet hands-free help in the kitchen Jumpstart your morning routineNest Hub helps you turn the music up, then wind down Thoughtfully designed for any room beautiful designGoogle Store*Get a Google Home Mini on us ($79 value) with pre-order purchase of the Google Nest Hub for a limited time. Pre-order must be between May 7, 2019 and May 27, 2019 at 11:59pm PT, while supplies last and subject to availability. Upon Google Nest Hub product delivery, an email will be sent to you with a promotional code redeemable on the Google Store Canada for a Google Home Mini on us ($79 value). Canadian residents only. Must be 18 years or older. Promo code must be redeemed by July 6, 2019 and will expire after this date. Unless otherwise stated, offer cannot be combined with other offers and is not transferable. Purchase must be made on the Google Store Canada. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Void where prohibited. Restrictions and terms may apply.

Official Canada Blog

Indigenous speakers in Canada share their languages on Google Earth

Titan Security Keys are now available in Canada, France, Japan, and the UK

Google Translate’s update helps Canadians connect and communicate in different languages

Become a Stadia “founder” with our first collection of games

Google Maps update to help Canadians during times of crisis

Actua and Google launch new AI partnership at Go North Youth

Get help at a glance with Google Nest Hub

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