¡Habla Conmigo!
The Google Translate app available for Android and iOS phones is already an extremely helpful app and it just became even more so. A new update for the app has brought big changes that will allow bring more ease to translating when traveling abroad.
The app now has the capability to translate signs and other written materials into the user's native language using the phone's camera. Even better is the fact that this is done without using an internet connection, which can be very pricey if you are not in your home country. This update will make navigating train stations easier, not to mention the ease it will bring to ordering food.
Another cool feature of the update? Live translation of a conversation. All it takes is for the user to set up which two languages are being spoken and after the initial set up it recognizes which language is being spoken when. Say you need to ask a French speaking person something, you select English and French as your two languages, hit the microphone button and start speaking. The app will take your speech in English and read out the appropriate translation in French. This can go back and forth until you have the information you need. For now they only offer a few different languages, but Google says they plan to roll out more soon.
My co-worker Kory and I did a test to see just how well this feature works and we were pretty impressed. I spoke in English and she spoke in Spanish. Once we figured out the initial set-up process things went pretty smoothly. The only real complaints we had were that you have to really enunciate, otherwise it would not necessarily understand what you were saying, but that tends to be a feature of most text-to-speech technologies.
So, for all you students who are about to study abroad, or plan to in the future, you are in luck! Don't worry about buying those translation guides, just download the free Google Translate app! Enjoy this new ability to hold conversations with people who speak different languages and don't worry about going into the wrong restroom in the bus station! Just hold up your phone to double check which it is! Good luck all you world travelers!
The app now has the capability to translate signs and other written materials into the user's native language using the phone's camera. Even better is the fact that this is done without using an internet connection, which can be very pricey if you are not in your home country. This update will make navigating train stations easier, not to mention the ease it will bring to ordering food.
Another cool feature of the update? Live translation of a conversation. All it takes is for the user to set up which two languages are being spoken and after the initial set up it recognizes which language is being spoken when. Say you need to ask a French speaking person something, you select English and French as your two languages, hit the microphone button and start speaking. The app will take your speech in English and read out the appropriate translation in French. This can go back and forth until you have the information you need. For now they only offer a few different languages, but Google says they plan to roll out more soon.
My co-worker Kory and I did a test to see just how well this feature works and we were pretty impressed. I spoke in English and she spoke in Spanish. Once we figured out the initial set-up process things went pretty smoothly. The only real complaints we had were that you have to really enunciate, otherwise it would not necessarily understand what you were saying, but that tends to be a feature of most text-to-speech technologies.
So, for all you students who are about to study abroad, or plan to in the future, you are in luck! Don't worry about buying those translation guides, just download the free Google Translate app! Enjoy this new ability to hold conversations with people who speak different languages and don't worry about going into the wrong restroom in the bus station! Just hold up your phone to double check which it is! Good luck all you world travelers!
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