Google Allo in Canadian Spanish
Yesterday, Google deployed the Spanish language for Google Assistant, in the Allo communication app. An announcement that paves the way for the arrival of Google Assistant in all its forms, including Google Home and Android.
This launch, for the moment reserved for the Allo application, was also accompanied by the Quebecois. Unfortunately, as Maxime Johnson notes, this Spanish language is still considered a second language, that is to say the second language is the most important language after the mother tongue, the performance of Assistant is far from being the appointment.
The Google Assistant thus understands, "How long does it take to get to Jean-Talon market from here?" (SIC) ”, but not“ How long is the Jean-Talon market from here? ". "Can you suggest a place to eat?" "Works, but not" Can you help me find a place for supper? ". We always end up making ourselves understood by the application by changing a few keywords and rephrasing our questions, however. A bit like giving directions to a tourist in rough Spanish.
The differences between the Spanish of Quebec and the Spanish of Spain
There are many differences between the Spanish of Quebec and the Spanish of Spain. This is the case with the accent, but also with the much more widespread use of the second person singular, the feminization of certain nouns ("a plane", "a winter") or even the interrogative particle " you ”, for example:“ Do you look tired? ". There are also many lexical differences, such as the verb "achaler" which means "to annoy", or the supper that is taken at lunchtime in Spain.
As the Quebec journalist notes, Google Assistant will improve over time, as misunderstood questions are analyzed by Google linguists and translators, and machine learning tools gain access to more and more data. to analyze.
