Is a cell phone voice to voice translator useful?

David,

Having tried that concept in Europe several times this year, my opinion is that while it sounds like a good idea in theory it doesn't always work as well in practice (I'm using Google Translate). Having each person speak into the phone and then waiting for the translation is a rather awkward and cumbersome approach. Also (and perhaps most important), iTranslate and many similar app's require a data connection. If you don't have some sort of roaming data plan, that can become very expensive in a hurry!

One other significant issue (and I've verified this with native French, German and Italian speakers), is that although the translation app's may work to some extent, they're not perfect and may not even convey the desired meaning.

I also don't speak much French, although I can get by for ordering a meal or whatever (probably as a result of going to school in Canada, as that was one of the required courses in high school). If you learn the basic polite greetings, you should be able to manage without too much problem, as most people in France that deal with tourists can function to some extent in English.

I have Google Translate (it's free) installed on my smartphone. The app does some amazing things, but I have never had any occasion to use the voice feature. In touristy areas, anyone who wants your money will speak english. The photo translate feature on the google app has come in handy a few times. You hold the camera of your device up to a sign, label, or menu and it will translate the writing on your screen in front of you in real time. For french you don't need to be online.

As a teacher of French, these apps and sites are useless. People look for a quick fix, but a quick fix is not always available. While it may help you translate ingredients on a menu, it's just not useful when you are talking to someone.

Funny story. I was teaching a unit on food and had the students talk about their favorite dessert. One student felt the need to use google to translate hers. Unfortunately her recipe called for "les doigts de femme" (a woman's fingers) instead of the cookie lady fingers Another one used petrol instead of olive oil. Learning moments.

I've seen three attempts to use them. It seems to me that it is less important how good a job it does translating, it is all about the other person and their attitude about wanting to deal with you and your device. I think it depends on how much the other party is invested in hearing what you have to say. A hotel clerk who wants to know what your complaint is, may be ok about listening and talking to your phone. A clerk in a store with a line of people waiting or a person you stop on the street for directions, might not. If it was me (maybe age has something to do with it) in the latter cases, I would be irritated to be expected to do a favor by stopping what I was doing and have a difficult conversation with your phone.

Lady fingers! Ha Ha.

I like Google Translate and more often Google searching to help me with menu items. It can also use the camera to capture words and turn them into English. This is neat for signs as well. Here's a demo of this "Word Lens" feature when it was separate from Google's Translate app: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2OfQdYrHRs

As far as needing to translate and hold up the phone for another person, I don't see a use case for that. You do find people from time to time who are not confident with their English, but to locate someone who can't read also would be quite the feat.

What I do recommend is using the app to say phrases for you, so that you can compare your pronunciation and improve your speaking skills.

I would think that would be fairly useless in France. What we found useful on our trip to Russia and Czech Republic is holding the phone up to the menu or grocery store shelf label or museum text and having it translate on the phone so we could read it. I would also type in a phrase I needed in English and listen to the Russian for example so I could use the phrase in an interaction. In Russia most people with whom we interacted could not speak English and so some minimal language was useful; occasionally I would show them the phrase in Russian on the phone. I have a food intolerance and it was very useful to know how to ask if that ingredient was in a dish or show them the phrase. But people generally don't want to fiddle faddle around with this cumbersome technology and in France, those who deal with tourist will be able to minimally communicate. So short answer for us -- the phone was not useful in speaking to others, but useful in helping us prepare to speak or to understand written passages. We were in 4 different language zones besides English and while we know a little French, once spoke German well, the Czech and Russian were totally new to us. Being able to remind ourselves what basic phrases were in those languages was useful but noising the phone AT someone, not so much.

Hi,

I agreed with Alexander. Linguistically, I would not trust this translation "stuff" to give you the correct and appropriate diction, nuance, context that you need, all the more so in French. For German I would not even think of using it.

I have used Babelfish to translate what I wanted to write -- but before I sent an email I used it to translate it back into English and found that sometimes the wording was a little ... confusing. Maybe it's better to use the Rick Steves method of simple standard words -- "auto kaput" is one of my favorites.

In 15 years of travel and maybe 20 trips for both pleasure and business, I continue to find that having a vocabulary of a few essential words and phrases coupled with a slow and deliberate attempt to communicate to be the most effective.

English is the most commonly spoken international language and in Europe, most of those in the hospitality industry have a grasp on English out of necessity (not just to speak with Americans...an Italian and a German will often resort to English to communicate)

I have tried a number of translators as an experiment from time to time, and while they have gotten better, it is still hit or miss. Stick with simple communication, maybe some stock phrases, even some printed on cards, and you will communicate more effectively without a "device" getting in the way.

I agree -- the device is useful in preparing to speak -- but not in intervening between the two speakers.

I have tried this with the Jibbigo app and had some success in France. I don't think you're planning to have any deep conversations with this method! If you stick to short phrases and common questions, put into the simplest terms, it can be helpful. Jibbigo allows you to speak or type in English. I found that the written translations are more accurate than the spoken.

To add to my previous post, I've found that the best translator in the world is the one sitting on top of your shoulders. If you're really concerned about being able to communicate in France, you may want to sign up for a basic night school French course, or use one of the language programs such as Pimsleur. I'm a big fan of technology but find that the translation app's aren't quite ready for prime time yet.

As mentioned previously, you'll likely find that most of the people you're dealing with can function reasonably well in English.

My great thanks for the several replies. Excellent advice. I am going to take the advice to do some cram course French learning before we head out. I will have the translator for my own reinforcement. I will look into and try to learn how to do the sign/menu translation as it sounds like this was helpful for several people.

I would not try to carry on a conversation with a translation program but as a back up, they work great. I've been happy with an app called Vocre as well as Google Translate. If you use one, keep your sentences short and direct. Try not to use idioms or slang.

In certain instances, a translation program can be a life-saver. I left my hotel in Evora, Portugal and after driving toward the rural Coa area, I realized I left my phone's charging cable in my hotel room. Getting off the highway in Castelo Branco - a small city - I cruised around looking for a telephone store with no luck. Not speaking Portugese, I stopped in a supermarket parking lot and was able to communicate with a lady who was kind enough to give me directions to a mall with three cell phone stores. Last month I called someone in Germany. I speak some German but did not know how to ask a specific question. I used the phone for a quick translation and it bailed me out again.

.