Google Adds Shona And 14 New African Languages To Voice Search, Gboard, And Translate

Google has announced the expansion of its Voice Search, Gboard’s voice-to-text feature, and Translate’s voice input with support for 15 additional African languages, including Shona. This initiative results from a collaboration between Google Speech and a research team at the AI Research Center located in Accra, Ghana.

The new languages introduced include Chichewa, Hausa, Igbo, Kikuyu, Nigerian Pidgin, Oromo, Rundi, Shona, Somali, Tigrinya, Twi, South Ndebele, Swati, Tswana, and Yoruba. This expansion brings the number of African languages with voice support to 25, and the global total to 94.

This addition aims to enhance digital inclusivity, granting approximately 300 million more people across the African continent the ability to access the web and communicate in their native languages using voice technology.

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Language Accessibility Across African Nations

Google SHona — Google adds Shona to their services-Image Source@google

In Ethiopia, where Amharic is already supported, the addition of Oromo and Tigrinya enables over 85 million Ethiopians approximately 70% of the nation’s population—to access Google’s voice-enabled features for typing, searching, and translation in their native languages.

In Kenya, Kikuyu now joins Swahili on Gboard and Voice Search, broadening the language options for users. Similarly, speakers of Somali and Rundi in Somalia and Burundi, respectively, can now access Google’s voice services in their primary languages.

For Southern Africa, Google has added Chichewa for Malawi and Shona for Zimbabwe, supporting nearly 65% of the Malawian population and around 12 million Shona speakers in Zimbabwe, including Google’s own Senior Vice President for Research, Technology & Society, James Manyika.

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Driving Digital Inclusion and Technological Access

Spearheaded by Google’s Product Development Center in Nairobi, Kenya, and its AI Research Center in Accra, Ghana, this initiative highlights its dedication to increasing digital access across the continent.

“This technology will make a difference to over 300 million more people across the continent, enabling them to interact with the web with just their voice. It’s one example of how Google in Africa is building technology for Africans and the world,” said Alex Okosi, Managing Director of Google Africa.