One of the most interesting things about living and traveling abroad is hearing and learning new languages.\u00a0 However, trying to understand and pick up a language different from your own can be a daunting task.\u00a0 Until you\u2019ve reached fluency \u2013 which could take quite awhile \u2013 it\u2019s good to know the resources available that can help you translate along the way.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve got a smart phone, then basic fluency can be just a click and point away.\u00a0 Here are some of the top language translation apps besides general phrasebooks and word decipherers.<\/p>\n
Babelshot or Word Lens<\/strong> \u2013 Ever want to know what that sign or menu item says?\u00a0 Now you\u2019ll never be left wondering.\u00a0 All you have to do is take a photo of the sign, highlight the text you want translated, and reap the transcribed rewards.<\/p>\n Cool Gorilla Talking Phrasebook<\/strong> \u2013 Cool Gorilla\u2019s name says it all.\u00a0 It has the added bonus of being able to quickly find words using the search bar which can then be spoken by the app.<\/p>\n iLingual<\/strong> \u2013 This app allows you to choose from over 400 phrases in German, French, and Arabic.\u00a0 Once you choose the phrase and whether you want a man or woman\u2019s voice, and placing the screen over your mouth, a computer generated mouth will say the phrase for you in the chosen language.\u00a0 No one will ever know it\u2019s not you.<\/p>\n Jibbigo<\/strong> \u2013 This app is like having a human translator in your pocket, but without all the awkward looks.\u00a0 Basically, you speak into the phone and it automatically translates and speaks the words for you in the language you desire.\u00a0 It can also be used reversely, so another person who doesn\u2019t speak your language can respond and it will be translated as well.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking to take your translation services to the next level or need a higher level of accuracy, here are some other options.<\/p>\n Google Translate<\/strong> \u2013 This one is available as an app and as a website translator for your computer.\u00a0 It can be set to automatically ask if you want a webpage translated.\u00a0 It has a huge database of words and phrases and is one of the most accurate translation resources.<\/p>\n Live Online Translations Services<\/strong> \u2013 These companies let you get in touch with a live person who is bilingual and fluent in the languages that you need.\u00a0 You have the option of talking with them over the phone or messaging them directly.\u00a0 They can also act as a 3 way interpreter when you\u2019re trying to talk with someone over the phone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the most interesting things about living and traveling abroad is hearing and learning new languages.\u00a0 However, trying to understand and pick up a language different from your own can be a daunting task.\u00a0 Until you\u2019ve reached fluency \u2013 which could take quite awhile \u2013 it\u2019s good to know the resources available that can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":2099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[203,222,324],"yst_prominent_words":[12060,1737,16917,16912,16908,2461,7277,16907,16916,5157,16915,16914,3389,16911,16913,16909,16906,16905,16910,13555],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2098"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31446,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098\/revisions\/31446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2098"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}