You might not be a polyglot, but in the 21st century, the language barrier is barely a barrier at all. And now, assisting in our communication efforts is Skype, which announced Tuesday that it has added Russian to its Skype Translator. The move comes about seven months after the messaging service introduced Arabic, and brings the total number of languages Skype can automatically translate (as you chat) to nine. The other seven are English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish.
Russian, the eighth most spoken language in the world, marks a major milestone for the company, which has been working on its Translator since 2014. In a blog post announcement, Skype noted that its “Russian-speaking customers around the world have always been particularly enthusiastic about Skype Translator,” and that the team had received requests “for months” to add the language to its growing portfolio.
Not so long ago, Skype also wrote, “Each of Skype Translator’s language releases has been very important … bringing us one step closer to breaking down language barriers for people across the world.”
Calling Russian one of the most “dialectically complex languages on earth,” anyone with a Skype account can now use the Translate feature to chat with someone from the expansive country, or with Russian speakers anywhere.
“We are excited to explore what the future holds as more and more people from diverse backgrounds discover the magic of Skype Translator,” the company concluded. “User feedback is crucial to Skype Translator’s growth and we would like to sincerely thank all of our users and beta testers for their enthusiasm in helping us grow this product.”
Article originally published in March 2016. Updated on 10-11-2016: Added news that Skype Translator now supports Russian.
