The Google Dictionary to COVID-19-related terms in Filipino and Cebuano has been launched to mark Buwan ng Wika (National Language Month) in the Philippines.
Google Philippines went live with the guide titled “Isang Gabay sa mga Salitang Kaugnay ng COVID-19” on the Diksyonaryong COVID 19 website.
The Google Dictionary provides the following features:
- Filipino translations and definitions
- Cebuano translations and definitions
- part of speech
- usage in a sentence
Accessible on any device, the site carries a growing list of 115 commonly used words and phrases that include some scientific and medical terminologies such as Aerosol, as well as new vocabulary that pertains to changes in business like Work From Home, Distance Learning education, and the New Normal new way of life.
For the Filipino terms, Google Philippines collaborated with Assistant Professor Eilene Antoinette G. Narvaez of the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature at the University of the Philippines Diliman, who is also a member of the Filipinas Institute of Translation (FIT).
The Cebuano counterpart was completed with Hannah Marie R. Aranas, former literature teacher of the University of San Carlos Department of Languages and Literature, and translator of COVID-19 materials.
Google Philippines says the initiative recognizes the significant role of local languages in creating an understanding among Filipinos regarding the most commonly used COVID-19-related words and in disseminating helpful information.
“The pandemic continues to bring an overwhelming amount of information that we need to process every day. Based on Google Trends insights, a lot of Filipinos are looking for the meaning of COVID-19-related terminologies in our local languages,” said Google Philippines Head of Communications and Public Affairs Mervin Wenke.
“As a response and as a Buwan ng Wika initiative at the same time, we collaborated with experts to build a progressive site to help more Filipinos better understand COVID-19-related words in Filipino and Cebuano in one place. We hope that this will be useful as well to students and to those who seek to expand their knowledge,” Wenke added.
Visit diksyonaryongcovid19.com to see the actual site. To send comments or suggestions on how to improve the glossary, please send an email to diksyonaryongcovid19@gmail.com.
For Buwan ng Wika in August 2019, Google Philippines added Cebuano to Google Translate and included the Philippines’ ancient system of writing on the Smartphones GBoard.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to the team behind the Google Dictionary to COVID-19 Terms in Filipino and Cebuano.
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