Latest news with #multilingual
The Independent
2 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
From ‘Tudo bem?' to ‘Gracias,' a growing share of US residents speak a language other than English
Spanish may be the most spoken language at home behind English, except in three U.S. states, but the second most-popular, non-English languages used in each state show off the diversity of the United States in unexpected places, whether it's Korean in Alabama or Vietnamese in Kansas. Almost 22% of U.S. residents age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home, double the share from four decades ago, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau, and it varied by state. In California, 44% of residents spoke a language other than English at home, while it was 2.5% in West Virginia. The United States is a multilingual nation due to immigration, despite recent crackdowns by the Trump administration, said William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution. 'This is a big part of who we've been over a long period of time,' Frey said. President Donald Trump earlier this year issued an executive order designating English as the official language in the U.S. Spanish was spoken at home by 13.2% of speakers, and it was the top non-English language spoken at home in every state but Hawaii, Maine and Vermont. In Maine and Vermont, home to French Canadian communities, French was the most popular non-English language, and in Hawaii, it was Iloko, a Filipino language. Here's a look at where languages are spoken in the United States. Arabic Outside of English and Spanish, Arabic was the most spoken language at home in Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. The Detroit, Michigan, area has more Arabic speakers than any other metro area. Central Yup'ik About 1 out of 7 Alaskans who speak a language other than English at home did so in Central Yup'ik, making the native language the second most common non-English language behind Spanish in Alaska. Chinese Chinese was the second-most common non-English language spoken at home in Delaware, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington. If all Chinese dialects are combined, it would be the third most spoken language in California behind English and Spanish. French Although it was the dominant non-English language in Maine and Vermont, French was the second most-common non-English language in Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire and North Carolina. German German was the most spoken language behind English and Spanish in eight states — Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Wyoming. In total, more than 871,000 people over age 5 spoke German at home in 2021, compared to 1.6 million in 1980. Haitian Florida had almost a half million Haitian speakers, making it the most common language behind English and Spanish. The Sunshine State has the nation's largest Haitian population. Hmong In Minnesota and Wisconsin, Hmong was the second-most spoken non-English language at home. Many Hmong people settled in the Upper Midwest states after fleeing Southeast Asia in the mid-1970s following the Vietnam War. Korean Korean was the most spoken language in Alabama and Virginia behind English and Spanish. Lakota In South Dakota, the Lakota dialect of the Sioux people was the most common language spoken behind English and Spanish. Marshallese The language of the Marshall Islands was the second-most spoken non-English language in Arkansas, where the community is concentrated in the northwest part of the state. Navajo Arizona and New Mexico had the most Navajo speakers in the United States. The Navajo Nation extends into Arizona and New Mexico, where the indigenous language was the second-most popular non-English speech in those two states. Polish Despite a nationwide decline in speakers, Polish was Illinois' second-most common non-English language behind Spanish, primarily due to the Chicago area having one of the nation's largest Polish communities. Portuguese Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island have some of the largest concentrations of Portuguese speakers in the U.S., making it the most spoken language in these states behind English and Spanish. It also is the second-most common non-English language in Utah, which is home to missionaries who served in Brazil and explains its popularity, according to the University of Utah. Tagalog The Filipino language was prevalent in California, Hawaii and Nevada, where it was the second-most popular non-English tongue. Vietnamese In Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas, Vietnamese was the most popular language behind English and Spanish, reflecting that people who speak different languages are no longer concentrated in big cities that serve as entry points for immigrants. 'People of different backgrounds are dispersed to different parts of the country,' Frey said. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @
CNA
28-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Josephine Teo unveils enhanced Singapore AI language model, encourages workers to boost basic AI skills
SINGAPORE: An enhanced version of a locally developed large language model now understands more Southeast Asian languages and possesses code-switching and emotion recognition capabilities. The updated version of the Multimodal Empathetic Reasoning and Learning in One Network (MERaLiON) is able to handle Malay, Tamil, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia and Vietnamese, on top of English, Mandarin and Singlish. Developed by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the upgrades were announced by Singapore's Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo at tech event ATxSummit. The upgrades make MERaLiON relevant to about 450 million people who use the languages on a day-to-day basis, said Mrs Teo during the unveiling on Wednesday (May 28). 'Furthermore, it understands sentences containing a mix of languages, which is very common in multicultural societies,' she added, referring to the model's code-switching abilities. It can also understand emotions, cultures and communication styles. A*STAR and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) established a consortium for industry players to research and develop practical uses for the technology. The platform will focus on developing practical artificial intelligence applications including multilingual customer support, emotional insight detection and agentic decision-making systems. Continued enhancements will allow the technology to be applied more widely across Southeast Asia, and across a variety of industries such as customer service, social work and marketing. For example, MERaLiON could be used in elderly care by analysing emotional cues during well-being calls and alerting caregivers to warning signs for timely intervention. Developers are exploring including Chinese dialects for future releases. Since its initial release in December last year, the first version has been downloaded more than 90,000 times. AI REGULATION During the event, Mrs Teo, who is also the Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity, announced new global initiatives and collaborations to strengthen Singapore's AI ecosystem and encourage responsible AI adoption. When it comes to AI regulation, Mrs Teo said a 'blunderbuss approach' will not serve Singapore's interests well. Instead, she said authorities need to examine specific risks related to specific uses, before putting laws and guidelines in place. For example, targeted measures should be taken to deal with AI being used to generate content to shape people's views during elections, Mrs Teo added. However, 'if the AI is used to generate content used for entertainment that is generally not harmful, that doesn't create misunderstanding for children, there is very little reason to … regulate it at the outset,' she told CNA. 'Will the time come for us to have more omnibus kind of legislation and regulation? It's a little too early to say.' Mrs Teo said Singapore will take a nuanced approach to regulation, backed by research, as the nation continues its efforts to align with international AI governance frameworks to ensure responsible AI development and use. AI SKILLS AT WORK As AI becomes indispensable in the workplace, there are also concerns that workers could lag behind. Mrs Teo encouraged employees to take initiative to have a basic understanding of AI. 'If you've got a career assignment to another country, even if your work doesn't require you to speak the local language, you'll know that there is value in acquiring the capability to do so,' she said. 'Think of AI like that. In the new landscape of work, you are going to use AI in one way or the other. It's good to take ownership of this challenge, to learn some basic AI skills.' But the rise of AI will also mean increased demand for professionals with specialised skills, and Mrs Teo said Singapore will need to boost support for formalised training to support businesses' AI needs. She said the drive for AI adoption and innovation is strong in Singapore, despite a tense geopolitical environment where tech is seeing intense competition among major players. 'At the moment, geopolitical contestation isn't a binding constraint,' she said. 'The momentum is very encouraging. The innovations are coming. It should motivate us to continue to expand the reach of AI to more businesses … We will ensure there is enough of the support to keep this going.'
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jai Verma obituary
My friend Jai Verma, who has died aged 75, was a poet, a writer and cross-cultural organiser who served as a bridge between her country of origin – India – and Nottingham, her chosen home. In 2003, Jai co-founded Kavya Rang (Colours of Poetry), a multilingual poetry group with a focus on south Asian languages. Kavya Rang hosted several events each year, including a Grand Kavi Sammelan, which featured English-language poets alongside Hindi voices: you were just as likely to hear Keshari Nath Tripathi, the governor of West Bengal (a keen poet), recite as you were to see Henry Normal. Poetry, to Jai, knew no national boundaries. Kavya Rang, under Jai's stewardship, played a role in Nottingham securing the status of a Unesco city of literature in 2015, and worked with the then fledgling Nottingham Poetry festival to bring multilingual poetry events to venues across the city. Born in the village of Jiwana in rural Uttar Pradesh, Jai was the daughter of Sohanveer Singh Solanki, a farmer, and Angoori Devi, a housewife. A prodigious reader from an early age, Jai went to a series of schools in Uttar Pradesh, but her educational ambitions were put on hold in 1967 when she married, at 17, Mahipal Verma. Shortly after having her first child, Roopam, she followed her husband to the UK, where he had been working for several months in the NHS. She always remembered the date she arrived in the UK: 2 October, which was Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. The Vermas briefly lived in Gateshead, before the birth of another child, Vipin, and then settled in Bramcote, Nottinghamshire, where they spent the rest of their lives. While raising her children, Jai continued to study and write. She translated dozens of children's books into Hindi, while working towards a qualification in practice management to support her husband, who ran his own GP practice in a deprived inner-city area of Nottingham. She wrote and published poetry widely. It was incorporated into the curriculum and course reading lists of several Indian universities, as was her short-story collection, Saat Kadam (Seven Steps, 2017). Lines of her poetry, in Hindi, are displayed in Nottingham's new Central Library. After Mahipal's death in 2018, Jai divided her time between Bramcote and India, where she gave speeches and lectures on poetry and language. She is survived by her two children and three grandchildren, Ellie, Niamh and Tara.
The Guardian
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Eurovision song contest 2025 – live!
Salut! Hello! Hallå! Привіт! ¡Hola! Ahoj! Γειά σου! Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Bonsoir et bienvenue à la couverture en direct du 69e Eurovision par le Guardian. That is about as much French as I can manage which may be a little tricky tonight as Switzerland is sure to serve up some multi-lingual hosting this evening. There is going to be a lot to enjoy tonight, even if a couple of the things I really liked got knocked out at the semi-final stage *shakes fist at sky*. More on that later. It is Martin Belam here with you tonight. It is the fourth time I've done it now, and I've possibly got the hang of it, although the chaotic third act of me trying to live blog the results coming in when I've had too much prosecco is surely going to reappear. The show starts at 9pm CEST, 8pm BST, and I will be with you every step of the way as your second-screen guide. You can get in touch with me at – and if you put EUROVISION as the subject line your email will be easier to find. Share
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI-Media Showcases Translation Innovation with LEXI Voice at KOBA and Broadcast Asia 2025
AI-Media Attends Broadcast Asia SYDNEY, May 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AI-Media (ASX: AIM), global leader in AI-powered language solutions, is set to make a major impact across Asia this May with its participation at two leading industry events: KOBA 2025 in Seoul, Korea, and Broadcast Asia 2025, part of Asia Tech x Singapore. "Asia is a critical growth market for AI-Media," said Tony Abrahams, Chief Executive Officer at AI-Media. "We're excited to bring our latest innovations, including LEXI Voice, to KOBA and Broadcast Asia, and to demonstrate how our solutions are making global accessibility and multilingual engagement a reality for broadcasters, event producers, and enterprises." Empowering Broadcasters and Content Creators Across AsiaAt KOBA 2025, AI-Media will join forces with its Korean partner, BS Systems, to showcase its latest advancements in AI captioning and multilingual translation technology. Attendees can visit the BS Solutions booth [Booth #D326] to experience live demonstrations of AI-Media's world-leading LEXI captioning, real-time translation, and encoder technologies built for seamless broadcast and streaming integration. At Broadcast Asia 2025, AI-Media is proud to be named as the Official Captioning Partner for the entire Asia Tech x Singapore conference program. AI-Media's technology will power live captions across all main conference stages, ensuring every session is fully accessible and inclusive for global audiences. Experience AI-Media's Innovations FirsthandAt both KOBA and Broadcast Asia, visitors will have the opportunity to experience: LEXI Voice - Game changing AI-driven live voice translation, turning captions into natural-sounding audio in multiple languages. LEXI - The world's leading AI-powered live captioning solution, delivering unmatched accuracy and scalability. LEXI Translate - Real-time multilingual captioning for enhanced global accessibility. Alta and Encoder Pro - Industry-leading SDI and IP encoders for seamless captioning and translation integration. LEXI Voice: The Future of Live Multilingual Delivery is Here Following its successful launch at NAB Show 2025, LEXI Voice is now available and set to transform how broadcasters and event producers engage with diverse audiences. LEXI Voice uses cutting-edge AI to deliver alternate-language voice tracks in real time - without the need for expensive human interpretation or additional hardware. Offering translation into over 100 languages with ultra-low latency and customizable AI voices, LEXI Voice is unlocking new markets, driving global engagement, and slashing live translation costs by up to 90%. "For many customers, this is the moment multilingual delivery finally becomes commercially viable," said Abrahams. "LEXI Voice delivers exactly what the industry needs: scale, simplicity, and affordability, without sacrificing broadcast-grade quality." Visit Us at: KOBA 2025: 20 – 23 May 2025 | Co-exhibiting with BS Systems | COEX Convention & Exhibition Center, Seoul | Booth #D326 Broadcast Asia 2025: Asia Tech x Singapore 27-29 May 2025 | Singapore Expo | Booth #5I3-8. Book a meeting HERE Learn more about AI-Media's innovative solutions by visiting the AI-Media website. Stay connected and follow us on LinkedIn for KOBA and Broadcast Asia updates! About AI-Media Founded in Australia in 2003, AI-Media (ASX: AIM) is a global leader in AI-powered live voice translation, captioning, and language accessibility solutions. AI-Media's latest innovation, LEXI Voice, transforms how global audiences engage with live content - providing real-time, multilingual voice translations built on the industry-leading accuracy of its LEXI captions. Designed for broadcasters, enterprises, and event producers, LEXI Voice opens new revenue streams and audience reach by making live content instantly accessible in multiple languages. Trusted in 25+ countries, AI-Media's end-to-end ecosystem - including iCap, LEXI, Alta, Encoder Pro and the LEXI Toolkit - delivers unmatched automation, precision, and scalability. With a proven record of replacing legacy human workflows, AI-Media empowers the world's top organisations to deliver accessible, inclusive experiences at scale. Media Contact: Fiona Habben Head of Global Marketing A photo accompanying this announcement is available at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
