The language barrier remains one of the biggest challenges in travel. Being able to communicate with locals can make your trip a lot better. To some extent, it’s a little easier for those who know English. It’s spoken by one in five people in the world, making it understandable anywhere from Athens to Japan. But sometimes, that knowledge doesn’t help at all, like when you’re trying to explain directions to a taxi driver in Tokyo or choosing medicine in France.
This is why automatic voice translation apps can be extremely useful when you are abroad. Google Translate is probably the most popular of them all. However, there are many other worthy options.
Say Hi
SayHi can process text, voice recordings and spoken language in real time. It supports 90 languages, and has an automatic translation function from the camera. The translation can be copied and sent to the messenger.
You can choose a male or female voice for the translation. If necessary, you can slow down the playback speed.
Yandex Translator
Yandex Translate supports 95 languages. The app is also useful offline. Without an internet connection, text translation is available, but not voice translation. You can translate any foreign word or text by simply pointing the camera at it — no need to take a photo or type anything.
When it comes to voice translation, the app supports 46 languages. It also has the ability to translate from camera or images offline.
Another useful feature is the translation of websites and text in other applications (without having to exit them). There is a built-in dictionary and cards for easier learning of new words. Translated texts can be saved in the Favorites folder for quick access in the future.
Google Translate
Google Translate is a product of the world's largest Internet company. It is quite obvious that it is very popular and trusted by many users from all over the world.
103 languages are supported, but speech recognition is only available for 32. Translates from camera in 38 languages, from photos in 50, from handwriting in 93, and 59 in offline mode. For offline use, you need to download additional language packs. These files allow you to use the app offline.
Microsoft Translator
Microsoft Translator has a patented feature for handling conversations between multiple people. Up to 100 people can communicate at the same time. Their voices are processed almost instantly.
In addition to the voice translator, there is a camera translation, a built-in phrasebook and a pronunciation guide. The application translates text into 64 languages and speech into 21. It works both with an Internet connection and offline (more than 60 languages).
Microsoft Translator provides the user with an extensive phrasebook and pronunciation guides. Phrases can be read or listened to. If necessary, the neural network can reproduce the translated text with a regional accent.
Speak & Translate
Speak & Translate has one of the highest ratings on iTunes. There is a free (with limited functionality), paid and premium version. It supports 117 languages for text and 54 for speech.
This uses Apple's speech recognition technology. When processing voice recordings, the original language is detected automatically. Offline mode is only available in the premium version.
Version for iPhone.