Techno-Translation: The Answer To Our Travelling Troubles?

Soon getting lost in translation could become a problem of the past.
It’s one of those experiences that any human who has travelled or migrated to another country can probably relate to: arriving in a place where you don’t speak a word of the language. It makes one feel out of their depth, confused and vulnerable. For most of human history, the only way to tackle this has been the hard way; that is, to slowly learn new and useful words, one by one. Or find a friendly and willing translator.
For some time now, whether it’s come from linguists or the imaginations of technologists, there has been a lot of excitement around the idea of a “universal translator”, or a technological solution that would allow all humans to communicate with each other seamlessly and effortlessly. There have been many iterations of this fantasy, from deciphering the language of aliens in many a sci-fi flick to the telepathic “babel fish” featured in Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. But in the age of mobile apps and smartphones there are more and more developers who are taking this idea out of the realm of fantasy and into a potential hand-held reality.
In this information age it’s easy to get excited about technical panaceas for problems that have plagued mankind for centuries. Different languages certainly falls into that category. And while the idea of using our phones as translators is definitely exciting—especially for those of us who travel a lot—it has to be taken with some caution and skepticism. There are far too many apps out there which don’t appreciate the nuance of language, and function on the premise that word-for-word translation is an effective replacement for actually understanding a language. Even worse are developers who don’t consult native speakers when building these technological solutions for translation.
While these are things to look out for when choosing a translation app, this is still an exciting space to watch grow. Here are some of the best translation apps on the market currently:
Google Translate: While the desktop version of this app will be familiar to many, the latest update to the mobile version earlier this year was significant. If you point your phone camera at a piece of text on a sign or menu for example, an English translation will appear on-screen (this feature currently works for only six languages). There is also a simultaneous speech mode which allows someone to speak into the mic, resulting in a translation. Google does its best to work on context analysis rather than word for word translation, which results in a more accurate translation.
SMS Translate: While it doesn’t have the wider application of an app like Google Translate, SMS Translate is great for sticky situations in other countries, such as texting a host or local contact who doesn’t quite understand English. Simply enter your required text together with your recipient’s phone number, and the app will send them a translated version of your text. The app will then translate any reply you receive.
iTranslate app: The main competitor to Google Translate, iTranslate offers an option to save phrases for later. It covers 80 languages. It also helpfully provides audio playback of phrases in a selection of difficult languages, so you‘re sure to get the pronunciation correct. One downside is that the app requires an internet connection, which Google Translate does not.
Speak&Translate: Known as one of the best apps when it comes to voice recognition accuracy, Speak&Translate listens to what you speak into it and then translates it both in text on the screen and a playback mode. A major benefit is that it offers multiple dialects of a same language, which is especially useful in countries like Spain or France, where dialects can vary tremendously from region to region.
Happy travelling! Does anyone know how to say virtual private server in another language? Let us know @VPSNET.