1.25 Billion More People Can Use Google Maps
On March 27th Google announced that it has added 39 new languages spoken by an estimated 1.25 billion people worldwide to Google Maps.
These new languages are: Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bosnian, Burmese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Estonian, Filipino, Finnish, Georgian, Hebrew, Icelandic, Indonesian, Kazakh, Khmer, Kyrgyz, Lao, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Mongolian, Norwegian, Persian, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Vietnamese, and Zulu.
When Google Maps was first launched 14 years ago it was only in English. But the grand total of languages it now supports is 74—a lot more appropriate for an app that helps you to navigate the planet!
Widely Available Internet
Ensuring that Google Maps is more welcoming for its users around the globe is an important step in Google’s goal to make Internet widely available everywhere.
Of course, if something is available in your native language you’re going to be more inclined to use it. First-time users in locations just getting Internet will feel comfortable trying out Google Maps as their first daily use application.
How to Change Language on Google Maps
Want to check out what Google Maps looks like in another language? Or switch it up while you’re learning said language? Or is your language now available and you can finally stop using English? This is how:
- If you’re using a desktop computer, head over to www.google.com/maps
- In the top left corner, you’ll see three horizontal stacked lines—click them!
- Scroll down and under “Take a tour” you’ll see “Language”—click it!
- You’ll now be presented with a list of available languages. Pick yours and you’re all set.
Updating your map on your mobile device is as simple as doing it on your computer. The default language that your maps are set at is saved through your Google account, making the change occur on your phone as well.
2018: The Year for Increased Communication
So far it would seem that as far as Google is concerned, 2018 is the year to amp up communications. With their business location panel changing to make notifications more manageable and questions simpler to answer and report, users can expect more ease of use throughout Google applications. We’re looking forward to it—how about you?
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