Even though Hokkien, a language from Taiwan, doesn't have a standard written form, Meta claimed on Wednesday that it developed an AI system that can translate the language into English.

The Universal Speech Translator project is being run by the Silicon Valley tech giant that owns Facebook and Instagram. Its goal is to make it possible for users from all over the world to interact socially, regardless of the languages they speak.

When Facebook changed its name to Meta a year ago, co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that the firm was focusing on a change to online life taking place in virtual realms, or the 'metaverse.'

In a blog post, Meta stated that spoken communications can help remove obstacles and unite individuals no matter where they are located, including in the metaverse. According to Meta, the in-progress Hokkien translation system is the first 'speech-to-speech translation system designed for an unwritten language.'

A person speaking Hokkien can communicate with someone who speaks English, but only using one whole sentence at a time, according to Meta, who also said that the translation technology will be provided for use by others.

The Chinese diaspora speaks a lot of Hokkien. The French National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations estimates that it is spoken by 16 million people throughout Asia, including 75% of the people in Taiwan.

According to Meta, the language does not have a standard written form, making it difficult to teach AI models how to understand what is being said.

According to the IT company, out of the 7,000 languages that are currently spoken worldwide, more than 40% do not have a standard or well-known written form. Language barriers may become obsolete in the future, whether they are written or oral, according to Meta.