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AI translates Hokkien, an unwritten language, for the first time

tech.fb.com · 898 words · saved by 1 readers

Peng-Jen Chen is well aware of how language barriers can affect people’s ability to communicate. Chen grew up in Taiwan speaking Mandarin Chinese, but his father, Sheng-Jiang Chen, a 70-year-old retired factory lead technician, hails from Southern Taiwan, where Taiwanese Hokkien is widely spoken. Though the two languages are related, they’re different enough that Chen’s […]

Peng-Jen Chen is well aware of how language barriers can affect people’s ability to communicate. Chen grew up in Taiwan speaking Mandarin Chinese, but his father, Sheng-Jiang Chen, a 70-year-old retired factory lead technician, hails from Southern Taiwan, where Taiwanese Hokkien is widely spoken. Though the two languages are related, they’re different enough that Chen’s father sometimes finds it tricky to conduct complex conversations in Mandarin. “I have always wished my father could communicate with everyone in Taiwanese Hokkien, which is the language he’s most comfortable speaking,” said…

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