Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Android
    • Android
    • Cloud
    • Development
    • Mobile

    Google Translate for Android Gets Multilingual Treatment

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    October 15, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Google Translate for Android, the mobile application of the popular machine translation software, now enables users to translate speech back and forth between 14 languages, the company said.

      Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) launched Translate for Android last year to help Android phone owners translate content into different languages via text and for spoken translation on Android handsets. The tool enables text translation among 63 languages, voice input in 17 of those languages, and text-to-speech in 24 of them.

      The company earlier this year added Conversation Mode, which lets users to translate chats between English and Spanish.

      Now Google has made the tool available from Android 2.2 handsets and later in Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Russian and Turkish.

      However, the technology is young and unpolished, which means background noise and regional accents may affect accuracy. This is true of most speech recognition technologies, where the software must cut through background chatter and noise to keep on task.

      Yet as with all Google speech recognition technologies, Conversation Mode learns from examples, so Google wants people to keep using it.

      Users who want to try the feature can speak into their Android handset’s microphone, and the Translate app will translate what they say and read the translation back to them aloud.

      The person to whom the user directed his or her speech can then reply in their language from their phone. Conversation Mode will translate what they said and read it back to the original speaker.

      The technology is important at a time when Apple’s Siri artificially intelligent personal assistant allows users to speak into their phone to have it find certain information and conduct other tasks.

      Google said it also added some features to make it easier to speak and read as a user translates. This enables the user to do other things beyond simply waiting for translated responses to conversations.

      “For example, if you wanted to say, ‘Where is the train?’ but Google Translate recognizes your speech as ‘Where is the rain?’ you can now correct the text before you translate it,”said Google Product Manager Jeff Chin. “You can also add unrecognized words to your personal dictionary.”

      Also when a user views written translation results, he or she can tap the magnifying glass icon to view the translated text in full-screen mode to easily show it to someone nearby, or pinch to zoom in for a close-up view.

      Clint Boulton
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×