# Writing Across the World's Languages: Deep Internationalization for Gboard, the Google Keyboard

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.01218 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01218/

## Key facts

- Cited by 10 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 3 Dec 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 10 of 10)

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- [Language Modelling with Pixels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.06991/) (2022)
- [A Material Lens on Coloniality in NLP](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.08391/) (2023)
- [Using Large Language Models to Accelerate Communication for Users with Severe Motor Impairments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.01532/) (2023)
- [Designing Speech Technologies for Australian Aboriginal English: Opportunities, Risks and Participation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.03186/) (2025)
- [Horizontal Federated Learning and Secure Distributed Training for Recommendation System with Intel SGX](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.05079/) (2022)
- [Robust Model Aggregation for Heterogeneous Federated Learning: Analysis and Optimizations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.06993/) (2024)
- [Think Outside the Data: Colonial Biases and Systemic Issues in Automated Moderation Pipelines for Low-Resource Languages](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.13836/) (2025)
- [Yor`ub'a in Unicode: An Overview of a Problem](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.33734/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This technical report describes our deep internationalization program for Gboard, the Google Keyboard. Today, Gboard supports 900+ language varieties across 70+ writing systems, and this report describes how and why we have been adding support for hundreds of language varieties from around the globe. Many languages of the world are increasingly used in writing on an everyday basis, and we describe the trends we see. We cover technological and logistical challenges in scaling up a language technology product like Gboard to hundreds of language varieties, and describe how we built systems and processes to operate at scale. Finally, we summarize the key take-aways from user studies we ran with speakers of hundreds of languages from around the world.