Machine Translation Systems for Official Languages of North-Eastern India: A Review

Language is the fundamental communication tool, and translation is a key instrument for understanding knowledge in an unknown language. Machine Translation (MT) is a Natural Language Processing tool where automated mechanisms are used to convert text from one natural language into another while retaining the sense of the text same. Though MT is a prime research field in India for many years, very limited work for the official languages of northeastern India has been done. The region is home to a diverse set of languages, many of which are classified as endangered or vulnerable. As such, there is a growing need for MT systems to facilitate communication and improve access to information in these languages. This paper shed light on the work carried out for these languages in the domain of MT and encourages researchers to advance exploration in the field. The review concludes by identifying areas for future research and development in the field of MT for the official languages of North-eastern India, including the need for more resources and tools to support the development of MT systems, as well as greater collaboration between researchers, language experts, and other stakeholders. It also provides a brief overview of how different MT methods operate.