Google apologizes for calling Kannada India’s ugliest language

New Delhi : Karnataka is planning to send a legal notice to Google after it showed Kannada as the Ugliest Indian language in its search result.

On Thursday, Google showed Kannada as the top search result for India's ugliest language. The same day, tech giant issued an apology for "the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments".

The search result was fixed after massive outrage was registered in the matter.

Many, including leaders from the southern Indian state, expressed their outrage at the search result on Thursday.

Karnataka minister Aravind Limbavali asked for an unconditional apology in the matter, saying it is an insult of the pride of Kannadigas [Kannada speakers].

"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," Mr Limbavali tweeted.

In a statement issued on Twitter, Google said that the search feature wasn't always perfect, and that sometimes "the way content is described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries".

"We know this is not ideal, but we take swift corrective action when we are made aware of an issue and are continually working to improve our algorithms," the statement said.

"Naturally, these are not reflective of the opinions of Google, and we apologise for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments."