Bikol, Sebwano, and More: Check Out This High School Student's Translation Tool for Local Languages

(SPOT.ph) The Philippines is a linguistically rich country with over 180 languages and dialects, according to the Summer Institute of Linguistics. One high school student is hoping to bridge this multilingual gap through his personal project called Translata, an online translation tool for Filipinos.

Let’s just say Google Translate pales in comparison when it comes the local range Translata has to offer. You can check out all eight major languages in the country: Bikol, Sebwano, Chabacano, Hiligaynon, Iloko, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, and Waray. On top of those, Jejemon (with emojis!) and Bekimon are also included in its language repertoire.

Behind Translata is 18-year-old senior high school student Jose Suoberon from Iloilo, who has plans to pursue computer science or software engineering in college. It only took him three to four days to create the platform using OpenAI's GPT 3.5 API (the company behind ChatGPT).

“As far as I know, [Translata is] the only translator web app that can translate across Philippine languages,” Suoberon told SPOT.ph. “Compared to Google Translate's Cebuano and Tagalog, it's a bit slower lang, pero on par naman when compared based on output—just that Translata has a better cognition of context, whereas Google Translate tend to translate words directly.”

Also read: 10 Filipino Words That Just Can't Be Translated Properly

Languages featured in Filipino translation website Translata

Here are the available languages in Translata so far:

• Bikol (written as Bicolano on the website)
• Sebwano (written as Cebuano)
• Chabacano (written as Chavacano)
• Hiligaynon
• Iloko (written as Ilocano)
• Kapampangan
• Pangasinan (written as Pangasinense)
• Waray
• English
• Jejemon with Emojis
• Bekimon

When asked why he chose to include Jejemon and Bekimon, Suoberon said it was also about “embracing the fun side of Philippine languages.”

“In-include ko sila as a way to celebrate and acknowledge their influence,” Suoberon said. “Nakakapag-add din ito ng entertainment para sa users. It's like giving a nod to the creativity and humor na nilalagay natin sa ating languages.”

However, it is important to note that Translata is also prone to mistakes like Google Translate and ChatGPT.

“The translations are still flawed, but it works well on sentences with simple syntax,” Suoberon said. “I have no full control of the translations [since] the web app uses a language model trained on the internet.”

Also read: “Charot Lang!”: Turns Out ChatGPT Knows How to Speak in Bekimon

What we stand to lose

Suoberon said the Translata we see and use now is a mere test run to assess its potential as a local translation tool. However, it is possible that the platform might cease to exist in a month due to the lack of funding. Suoberon is currently paying out of his own pocket to keep Translata running at P750 per month at the minimum.

So far, he has only received P200 in donation for the website but is hopeful to gain more support through crowdsourcing.

Receiving more funding for this project will enable Suoberon to unlock GPT 4 API—the more updated version of the language model that is currently powering Translata. For Suoberon, this means more languages and more accurate responses, as well as minor changes like adding history and save features.

“I have some savings from freelancing that I can use [for Translata] but I'm planning to save them for college,” Suoberon said. “If there's someone out there who can handle the financial side and manage the app, I would be more than willing to pass the baton and ensure its continuity. For now, though, I've done what I can with the resources and time I have.”

Help Translata survive for longer:

Name: Khristia I.
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