Skype Learns New Languages, Opens Door to More Microsoft Services

Microsoft has added six new Austronesian languages to its text translation API, the company announced this week.

Now, users of the Skype desktop apps for Windows, trade instant messages with native Fijian, Filipino, Malagasy, Samoan, Tahitian and Tongan speakers. The languages are also available in the iOS and Android Microsoft Translator apps and Bing's Translator feature. On the business front, Microsoft's Translator is integrated into SharePoint and Yammer.

"Austronesian languages are spoken as far west as Madagascar and as far east as the Polynesian Islands; south to New Zealand and north to South China," the Microsoft Translator team wrote in an Oct. 19 blog post. "Introducing these 6 Austronesian languages to Microsoft Translators, unlocks new communication opportunities for approximately 119 million Austronesian speakers across the globe."

Today, Microsoft's Translator tech supports more than 50 languages. Meanwhile, Skype Translator, the company's real-time audio translation technology, supports a total of nine languages. Last week, the company added Russian to the roster of languages Skype can interpret during voice and video calls.