Do we need language specific LLMs? I can’t vouch for the data coverage or accuracy of Arabic in the leading models today, but I do know them to be highly cross-lingual capable.
Back when gpt 3.5 was released I was testing it for translating Tongan. A language that wasn't even on Google. It was doing okay. It lacks certain formalities and sort of contextual understandings in other languages like Tagalog or Spanish. But I noticed that if I put it into a character that is a native Filipino or Honduran. Or Tongan. It does do better. But gpt 5 really is leaps of evolution ahead compared to 3.5. It actually does really well now.
