MT for Africa: A Worthy Endeavor

Track: Multilingual AI | B6 |
Wednesday, March 9, 2022, 1:30am – 2:15am
Held in: Jujama
Presenters:
Anuoluwapo Aremu - Masakhane 
Ahmed Maawy - X-Team
Moderator: Susan Morgan

Machine translation (MT) for African languages is important for many reasons — from education to healthcare, from preserving culture to encouraging interaction with the global community. However, it is not without its challenges. In this session, we will dive into the challenges facing MT development for African languages and explore potential remedies. Bringing MT to African languages will accelerate bringing the African continent into the global online community.
Takeaways: Attendees will recognize that the development of MT for African languages is a crucial element for bringing information and communication to the African continent; while there are challenges to the development of a high-quality MT engine for African languages, they are not insurmountable; engaging the people of Africa in a product to support communication and the availability of information not only empowers the African people, it is brilliant from a linguistic perspective and a critical component to ensure the success of MT in African languages.