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| Waygo App |
There is no doubt that being multilingual in this global village is an added advantage.
However, when compared to the thousands of languages in today's tower of Babel, it's next to impossible that one person would be able to speak them all.
But an advantage of today's world is its smart tech from which translation tech evolves. Here are some ways translation tech apps is empowering users with the right tongues at the right time:
Waygo
If you've ever been to a Chinese or Japanese restaurant you'd wish you had this app sooner. Waygo, available on iPhone and Android, is capable of recognizing and translating Chinese and Japanese menus and signs, simply by pointing a smartphone camera. The company behind it says it's working on more languages for the future. If this is true, it might come in handy at your favorite Indian restaurant very soon.
Google glass
In what might seem like a trick borrowed from Men in Black, you can simply look through your Google glass, hold your head by looking at a sign and say: 'Ok Glass, translate this.' Apps such as UniSpeech and Word Lens make this possible.
Skype Translator
With apps like the Skype Translator, people who do translations for a living might soon have to find another source of income. This Microsoft-designed app lets provides translations as people speak to one another in different languages during voice calls. It will launch for Windows 8 devices later this year.
The different languages of money
Online shopping giant, eBay isn't just making in different currencies, through its machine translation, it automatically translates listing details on its websites and apps. In June it bought a start-up called AppTek, which specializes in this area. eBay has also said it's interested in making more tools using translation such as instant messaging software for sellers and potential buyers to chat about a product even if they don't speak the same language.
'Tweeting in tongues'
Twitter has added Bing Translate, a feature powered by Microsoft's technology, to translate tweets from different languages. Users who have the feature on the iPhone Twitter app can tap on tweets to see a translation.
Apps for sign language
Understanding sign language is not the easiest thing for the average person. Imagine an app that can help you through this with a snap of the finger! Microsoft has worked with Kinect Sign Language Translator, using the Xbox camera and motion-detection accessory to translate sign language into text and spoken language.
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