Dina Indelicato
If you’ve ever gone to a foreign country where you don’t speak the language I’m sure you’ve experienced frustrating moments where they either didn’t understand you or – even worse – they though they did, but they really didn’t.
Now, there are two solutions. You spend the time to learn the language or you get some sort of dictionary. Now, however, they’ve got some absolutely phenomenal apps. Here are the best ones I’ve come across.
With the update that Google has thrown at their translation service back in 2016, they’ve changed the entire idea of how translation works. As a result, Google Translate is one of the best services out there. Here is what it can do:
• Support 103 languages when you have internet access.
• Support 52 when you don’t.
• Real time video translation of 30 languages.
• Camera mode where languages seen in the camera are translated for 37 languages.
• Directly translate speech into another language for 32 languages.
• Translate handwriting for an impressive 92 languages
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Grab it here.
Not to be outdone, Microsoft also offers a translation service. It offers a lot of the same features as Google Translate. One feature it does not have is the video translation feature. So if you want to have conversations with people in other corners of the world in other languages, that won’t work.
To compensate, it has one really cool feature which is that it can translate a conversation you’re having with another person while you’re having it. That’s pretty awesome. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do this for a great many languages (only ten and 60 overall) so make sure that the language you need is included.
Another app that will translate what you’re saying as you’re saying it. iTranslate is a great choice. What I also really like about the service is that you can save common phrases to a phrase book. This helps you both have those phrases handy and speed up your learning as you take, say, 10 phrases that you’re trying to learn and get them to repeat them back to you a few times a day. As repetition is the key to learning languages, that’s a great trick.
The great thing about SayHi is that it doesn’t just work for the iphone and andriod but for the kindle as well. So it’s a great alternative for those people who don’t have a smart phone (Yes, they do exist).
There are 90 languages included. As an extra bonus, you can decide if the voice is male or female as well as the speaking speed. The thing I don’t like about it is that you do need internet access. So, if you’re in the jungle somewhere trying to explain what kind of snake just bit you, you’re just flat out of luck.
On the plus side, there is dating app included. So if you’re single and not planning to venture into the far unknown, it’s a great choice.
This is a great choice in case you’re planning to travel Asia as the app can translate Japanese, Korean and Chinese without a data connection. So definitely include it if your travel plans include any of those countries – or if you like manga and Korean movies.
It has the same direct camera translation app that I mentioned with Google Translate – which is both a neat party trick and a great way to be able to order the really nice Dim Sum that we don’t understand.
Another app that’s about translating Korean, Japanese and Mandarin, the cool thing Papago does that Waygo doesn’t do is figure out context. So, if there are several ways to translate a word, then this software package will offer you pictures to figure out which context you’re actually in.
It also has a conversation mode and does money conversion as well – which really is quite useful when you just arrive and aren’t all that good at math.
Though it only includes 23 languages, what’s nice about Triplingo is that it has what is known as ‘slang levels’. That means that you don’t have to always sound like Jeeves the butler whenever you’re speaking in a language, but can learn how to speak like a young person right from scratch – that’s something that every online translation service should be able to do, if you ask me.
Do remember to set the slang level to an appropriate level. Otherwise you might end up offending your friend’s grandmother.
Another great tool is the local culture feature, where you get to know things about the place you’re in so that you don’t hand people things with your left hand in India (that’s your toilet hand) and don’t show people the bottom of your feet in Japan.
Want something quick and robust that doesn’t have too many bells and whistles but gets the job done? Then go for iHandy. It has 52 languages that translate every which way. The great thing about this app is that even grandma can use it without ending up speaking Japanese to an Alaskan.
One downside is that it doesn’t have an android version.
The name gives away the intention. This app is all about translating languages as you speak them. It has quite a big number of languages that it can do this with, as it’s able to directly translate 100 languages.
What’s nice is that it has automatic language detection, so that even if you’re at a multi-cultural conference and somebody starts speaking to you in a language you can’t understand or recognize, the app will translate it for you.
For some reason it also has a phone ID function, where it recognizes numbers you don’t yet have in your phone book. I don’t know why they added that, but hey it’s nice to have.
Another accurately named app, this one is very useful if you often visit web pages written in languages you don’t understand and would then like to have an app which reads them back to you in your own language.
So, if you drive a lot, or if you don’t really like reading, or if the way for you to fall asleep is to have people read you text books, then go with speak text!
Dina Indelicato is a blogger enthusiast and freelance writer. She is always open to research about new topics and gain new experiences to share with her readers. You can find her on Twitter @DinaIn...
