Does anyone know of an app that works well for translating between English and Italian? Thanks!
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9436 posts
Google Translate is my favorite.
Posted by
Sioux Falls, SD, USA
3102 posts
While I understand the interest in being a polite tourist, our recent trip to Italy found most if not all persons in the tourist zone speaking excellent English
Posted by
340 posts
Susan from SF is spot on. We were in Italy and I used Google translate at the ATMs, the farmacia, train stains, and even had a great conversation in a pub with a couple of locals who couldn't speak English and better than I could speak Italian.
The bummer is -- if you don't like sharing your life with Google -- you have to let the app access your camera to use the app to read signs and operate an ATM. Presumably they're listening in to your conversation when it translates what you're saying to each other. But in the pub it was worth the loss of privacy. The Italians spoke into the phone and Google translated what they said to English. I responded and it translated what I said into Italian... and it was so fast there was hardly a lull in the conversation.
That said, nothing beats the appreciation I get from locals when I try speaking with them without the device.
Posted by
Fort Worth, TX, USA
129 posts
As an alternative - I just gave my wife the Fluentalk translator device for her birthday. This is a really cool device and it includes a 2 year data plan so you don't have to connect through your phone. It translates voices and the text in a picture, so you can shoot a picture of a menu for example and let it translate the menu for you. There are several reviews on this device on Youtube if you want to check it out.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32363 posts
If you're travelling with a smartphone, Google Translate is a good option to consider. It's not perfect but has been steadily improving and works reasonably well. When using any translator, I've found that it's important to use simple phrases and avoid slang. Using the speaking method is a bit slow and cumbersome, so that's not an ideal use. It does a great job with words and short phrases that are entered using the keyboard and it can speak the translations.
If you won't have a data plan when travellilng, you'll have to download Italian into the phone. I always have full data access these days, so have online access all the time.
Posted by
11609 posts
I love Google Translate. I used it in Japan in a taxi and it wrote the message in Japanese characters as well as saying the words.