‘I Hope My Contribution Will Help the Development and Preservation of the Abkhaz Language’
Miron Baratelia, a student of the HSE Faculty of Computer Science, has integrated the Abkhaz language into the Yandex Translate service. The language is now available for translation from and into all languages supported by the platform. Miron spoke about his internship at a Russian multinational IT company and his successfully completed project in an interview with the HSE News Service.
Miron Baratelia
The Internship
This summer I applied for an internship at Yandex, passed all stages of the selection process, and joined the Yandex Translate team. There I worked on adding languages of the peoples of Russia to the service. My main task was to integrate the Buryat language. I managed to complete this work in full before the end of the internship, after which I joined the work on integrating other languages, including those of the peoples of the North Caucasus.
I suggested adding Abkhaz—my native language. By that time, I already had my own project: even before the internship, I had created the ApsuaTranslator as part of my coursework at HSE, supervised by Dmitry Ignatov. This project is what helped me get onto the Yandex Translate team.
Integrating the Abkhaz Language
At Yandex, my idea was supported, and I was allowed to integrate the Abkhaz language into the service. Having access to more powerful computing resources and new experience allowed me to significantly improve the quality of translation. It is now possible to translate into Abkhaz from any other language available in Yandex Translate, and vice versa.
For me, this was not just a technical task: I hope my contribution will help the development and preservation of the Abkhaz language and make its use in the digital environment more convenient.
About HSE University
I am currently in my fourth year at the HSE Faculty of Computer Science, studying on the Applied Mathematics and Information Science programme, with a specialisation in Machine Learning and Applications. I am originally from Sukhumi, but I have been living in Moscow for several years while studying. I enjoy studying at HSE: the university provides both a strong fundamental education and modern practical skills. I spent a long time choosing where to continue my studies, and I am glad that I made the right choice.