What kinds of translator devices do you use? Anyone have experience with the translator apps available for Blackberrys? Our primary concern is restaurant menus. Will be visiting Germany, France and northern Italy . . . is this overkill, wasted effort?
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
368 posts
We brought about 5 different translators (mostly free) on our iPod Touch last year, and never really used them once. They were too slow and painful to use in a real life situation.
You can normally figure out most things on menues, and the rest you can chalk up to an experience if you accidentally eat horse.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19095 posts
In my experience, translators do not use the vocabulary specific to menus. A much better bet would be Menu Master, by Marling. I believe you can find it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. It costs about $10 per language and is a small book, easy to fit in a purse or coat pocket, something to read on the plane over. It's not just a dictionary; it explains what the items are on a menu.