From old-fashioned phrasebooks to talking devices, a number of tools are available to help travelers navigate linguistically abroad.

Language translation applications are widely available for smart phones, but other, separate tools exist, from phrasebooks to hand-held “talking translators.” As summer travel season is in full swing, I decided to check out some online audio files used to demonstrate the quality of these machines.

Lingo is the world’s leader in this type of device, and promotes the company’s devotion to travel and language: “We're passionate travellers first and dedicated travel product developers second,” explains their website.

Their nine “talking translators” promise to render audio translations of useful travel phrases in anywhere from 6 to 52 languages, depending on the model. And I’m sure they do – although the day I checked the site out, some of the audio files seemed to be experiencing technical difficulties.

While some translations of the phrase “Good morning” were clear and natural, others sounded like they were being spoken by quick-talking cartoon characters who had inhaled from helium balloons.

That hopefully temporary webpage glitch aside, these “talking translators” definitely look like fun linguistic toys that could be of some use for extensive travelling, especially for those who are too shy to mangle phonetic pronunciations from phrasebooks.

For business, medical and other official translation purposes, it is of course important to turn to a qualified language service provider such as Language Translation, Inc. in San Diego, California.

Betty Carlson

See Also

• Language Translation, Inc.
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