title: Kuwain 1.5B: An Arabic SLM via Language Injection
summary: Enhancing existing models with new knowledge is a crucial aspect of AI
  development. This paper introduces a novel method for integrating a new
  language into a large language model (LLM). Our approach successfully
  incorporates a previously unseen target language into an existing LLM without
  compromising its prior knowledge. We trained a tiny model with 1.5 billion
  parameters named Kuwain by injecting the Arabic language into a small
  open-source model mainly trained in English. Our method demonstrates
  significant improvements in Arabic language performance, with an average 8%
  improvement across various benchmarks, while retaining the model's existing
  knowledge with a minimum amount of the original model's data. This offers a
  cost-effective alternative to training a comprehensive model in both English
  and Arabic. The results highlight the potential for efficient, targeted
  language model expansion without extensive retraining or resource-intensive
  processes.
paper_authors._id: 680733cf7722bb6407ca0787
paper_authors.name: Khalil Hennara
paper_authors.status: extracted_confirmed
paper_authors.statusLastChangedAt: 2025-04-22T09:37:47.479Z
paper_authors._id: 65276c7911a8a521c91bc10f
paper_authors.avatarUrl: https://cdn-avatars.huggingface.co/v1/production/uploads/65276c7911a8a521c91bc10f/39dbuUtqQTJERTJ_WkxSh.jpeg
paper_authors.fullname: Khalil Hennara
paper_authors.type: user
paper_authors.user: Hennara
paper_authors._id: 680733cf7722bb6407ca0788
paper_authors.name: Sara Chrouf
paper_authors.status: admin_assigned
paper_authors.statusLastChangedAt: 2025-04-23T13:01:31.400Z
paper_authors._id: 650b64fb443b2a59d4d432e3
paper_authors.avatarUrl: /avatars/12f284e007e8b5cddeadf4491a0a1fe8.svg
paper_authors.fullname: Sara Chrouf
paper_authors.type: user
paper_authors.user: SaraChrouf
paper_authors._id: 680733cf7722bb6407ca0789
paper_authors.name: Mohamed Motaism Hamed
paper_authors.status: claimed_verified
paper_authors.statusLastChangedAt: 2025-04-23T08:37:25.702Z
paper_authors._id: 63aa7667769a10efc404fbbc
paper_authors.avatarUrl: https://cdn-avatars.huggingface.co/v1/production/uploads/63aa7667769a10efc404fbbc/tn8ZxUmTEMS0Gze7_F7JL.jpeg
paper_authors.fullname: Mohamed Motasim Hamed
paper_authors.type: user
paper_authors.user: Moatasem444
paper_authors._id: 680733cf7722bb6407ca078a
paper_authors.name: Zeina Aldallal
paper_authors.status: extracted_confirmed
paper_authors.statusLastChangedAt: 2025-05-04T10:24:16.300Z
paper_authors._id: 65704741e1cfce1764ce652e
paper_authors.avatarUrl: /avatars/9189aaf417426af4ebe381ed364a6c0e.svg
paper_authors.fullname: Zeina Aldallal
paper_authors.type: user
paper_authors.user: ZeinaD
paper_authors._id: 680733cf7722bb6407ca078b
paper_authors.name: Omar Hadid
paper_authors.status: admin_assigned
paper_authors.statusLastChangedAt: 2025-04-23T13:01:37.791Z
paper_authors._id: 65aab3940150f64adfcf5ba6
paper_authors.avatarUrl: https://cdn-avatars.huggingface.co/v1/production/uploads/65aab3940150f64adfcf5ba6/umkbppPt4grNdhLxP7ZUh.jpeg
paper_authors.fullname: Mohammad Omar Hadid
paper_authors.type: user
paper_authors.user: omarhadid
paper_authors._id: 680733cf7722bb6407ca078c
paper_authors.name: Safwan AlModhayan
paper_title: Kuwain 1.5B: An Arabic SLM via Language Injection
paper_summary: Enhancing existing models with new knowledge is a crucial aspect of AI
  development. This paper introduces a novel method for integrating a new
  language into a large language model (LLM). Our approach successfully
  incorporates a previously unseen target language into an existing LLM without
  compromising its prior knowledge. We trained a tiny model with 1.5 billion
  parameters named Kuwain by injecting the Arabic language into a small
  open-source model mainly trained in English. Our method demonstrates
  significant improvements in Arabic language performance, with an average 8%
  improvement across various benchmarks, while retaining the model's existing
  knowledge with a minimum amount of the original model's data. This offers a
  cost-effective alternative to training a comprehensive model in both English
  and Arabic. The results highlight the potential for efficient, targeted
  language model expansion without extensive retraining or resource-intensive
  processes.
paper_ai_summary: A method for integrating a new language into a large language model enhances performance in the target language while preserving existing knowledge.
paper_ai_keywords: large language model LLM language integration Kuwain Arabic parameter-efficient language model expansion