"English to Kinyarwanda quick translator", a tool for automatic translation from English to Kinyarwanda, was a special project started by a group of students at Hendrix College. The main motive was a need for a portable reference to help English speakers adapt in a Kinyarwanda-speaking community. It was originally designed to service an English to Kinyarwanda word to word translation and provide an itemized collection of useful expressions for daily use. With about 2600 words in the database as of January 2012, the translation service is accessible online at http://smartrwanda.org/translate and via text messages by sending the keywords "smartrwanda translate WORD" to 368674 (DOTORG) with WORD being the word to translate.When it was presented to the public, unexpected requests to translate full sentences were received. Consequently, a second step to full text translation from English to Kinyarwanda and more was attempted and found practically possible. The new project consists of adding more words.
Once successfully completed, the English-Kinyarwanda translator will be a great resource for the community as it will be providing a bidirectional word to word dictionary as well as a full text translation. Kinyarwanda grammar and basic language elements will be added after the completion of the translation software, and additional phrases will include useful expressions for daily use in different places such as markets, restaurants, schools, and families. Mobile services outside America will be accessible via developed smartphone apps that will follow. We hope this toll will help those who want to translate English to Kinyarwanda or Kinyarwanda to English while online or on the go.