GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Mobile App Translates Speech in Real Time

Rebecca Kutzer-Rice | Date: 02-02-11 | Comments

A new mobile application lets users translate their speech in real time to add a new level of fluidity to bilingual conversations.

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Mobile App Translates Speech in Real Time
With the Internet connecting the furthest ends of Earth, the ability to communicate with speakers of other languages is more important today than ever before. New technologies are starting to appear that make multilingual communication fast and painless. Translation tools are particularly important for businesses, which often operate in more than one country.

We recently highlighted the "Roboceptionist," a bilingual robot that can communicate with customers and provide appropriate cultural clues. Now, Google has brought a new level of sophistication to translation technology. The company recently announced an upgrade to its mobile phone application that translates voice chats in real time.

With Google Translate's new Conversation Mode, users click on the microphone icon while they speak. The device then translates speech and reads it out loud in real time (source: Google).

Text translators have already been online for years. Google's translation tool, Google Translate, includes more than 50 languages�from Afrikaans to Yiddish�and lets users translate entire Websites. It can even detect in what language a text is for unsure users.

But, until now, no reliable voice translator has existed. Although some attempts have been made, most voice translators are limited in vocabulary and voice recognition technology.

With the new Google Translate tool, dubbed Conversation Mode, users simply press the microphone on their mobile phone and start to speak. The device will then instantly analyze the speech and read a translated version out loud. A user's partner can then use the device to translate from his or her own language. Two or more people can use the technology simultaneously to create a fluid bilingual conversation.

Currently, the technology only works for translating between English and Spanish. On its blog, Google identifies a few other limitations:

"Because this technology is still in alpha, factors like regional accents, background noise or rapid speech may make it difficult to understand what you're saying. Even with these caveats, we're excited about the future promise of this technology to be able to help people connect across languages."

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