App: Google Translate, by
Google
For: All smart phones
Price: Free
If you like to travel to other countries and your only language is English, this app is a necessity. Google Translate can be a lifesaver when you want to communicate with someone that speaks a language that you don't. Let's say you want to ask about the location of a particular restaurant. Simply type (or speak) the phrase you want translated into your smartphone. Then hit the translate button and select the language. The translated phrase appears on your screen for you to speak. More impressively, you can press a speaker button to hear it spoken on your phone. This enables you to repeat the phrase with fairly accurate pronunciation. Better yet, you could just play it for the person you are talking to.
Google Translate is great for use in navigating a foreign country, for such basic conversations as asking for directions, the price of something, items on a menu, and so on. It is much easier and more efficient to use this app as opposed to fumbling through the pages of a translation book with the added feature of multiple languages in one free app. Where ever you may travel this summer you'll feel right at home with your enhanced ability to communicate with the locals.
Eric Pawlakos is a senior at Miramonte High School and on-air reporter for the teen radio program, Express Yourself!(tm)
For: All smart phones
Price: Free
If you like to travel to other countries and your only language is English, this app is a necessity. Google Translate can be a lifesaver when you want to communicate with someone that speaks a language that you don't. Let's say you want to ask about the location of a particular restaurant. Simply type (or speak) the phrase you want translated into your smartphone. Then hit the translate button and select the language. The translated phrase appears on your screen for you to speak. More impressively, you can press a speaker button to hear it spoken on your phone. This enables you to repeat the phrase with fairly accurate pronunciation. Better yet, you could just play it for the person you are talking to.
Google Translate is great for use in navigating a foreign country, for such basic conversations as asking for directions, the price of something, items on a menu, and so on. It is much easier and more efficient to use this app as opposed to fumbling through the pages of a translation book with the added feature of multiple languages in one free app. Where ever you may travel this summer you'll feel right at home with your enhanced ability to communicate with the locals.
Eric Pawlakos is a senior at Miramonte High School and on-air reporter for the teen radio program, Express Yourself!(tm)
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA