Agencies
MUMBAI: Google has apologized after it came under fire in India for showing the Kannada language spoken in the southern state of Karnataka as the ugliest language in India.
Responding to the backlash, Google said, “We apologise for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments.”
The search engine giant said, “The way content is described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries. Naturally, these are not reflective of the opinions of Google.”
The Silicon Valley giant said it was continuously working on improving its algorithms.
Karnataka culture minister Arvind Limbavali had threatened legal action against Google, seeking an immediate apology.
The minister said, “The Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago! It has been the pride of Kannadigas all through these two-and-a-half millennia.”
Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago! It has been the pride of Kannadigas all through these two-and-a-half millennia. 1/2#Kannada
— Aravind Limbavali (@ArvindLBJP) June 3, 2021
Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy also slammed Google for the `blunder.’
“Not just Kannada, no language is bad, adding that abuse against languages is painful,” Kumaraswamy said.
“Is it impossible for Google to curb such hatred against any language?” he asked.
One among the four major languages in south India, Kannada is spoken by more than 40 million people in Karnataka and some areas of the neighbouring states.
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