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Google's AI can translate language pairs it has never seen
Google's AI is not just better at grasping languages like Mandarin, but can now translate between two languages it hasn't even trained on. In a research paper, Google reveals how it uses its own "interlingua" to internally represent phrases, regardless of the language. The resulting "zero-shot" deep learning lets it translate a language pair with "reasonable" accuracy, as long as it has translated them both into another common language.
Google Now on Tap translates languages in any app
You no longer have to select text or keep a mini-app running to translate text in your Android apps. Google is expanding Android Marshmallow's Now on Tap feature to support text translation from any screen. If you're looking at text that doesn't match your phone's current language, Now on Tap will offer to translate that screen even if there are multiple unfamiliar tongues on screen. It's available today if your phone is set to use either a major European language or Russian... and it's not the only feature rolling out today.
Facebook auto-translates 200 million lines of text every day
Facebook reaches more than 1.6 billion users in every corner of the Earth. Making sure everybody understands one another, at least at the linguistic level, has fallen to the company's machine learning algorithms. According to Alan Packer, Facebook's Director of Engineering for language technology, the digital babelfish is doing a pretty great job of it.
Google Translate now works in apps on any Android phone
If you hate having to paste foreign language text into Google Translate just to understand it, your worries are over. Google has updated Translate for Android to introduce Tap to Translate, an expansion of the translation-anywhere feature it introduced on Marshmallow last fall. Anyone running Android 4.2 or later can now decipher unfamiliar text on the spot simply by copying it -- helpful if you frequently run into messages or social posts that aren't in familiar tongues.
Google Translate adds 13 more languages for a total of 103
Google Translate could help connect even more people now that it's added 13 more languages to its roster. Those 13 are Amharic (Ethiopia), Corsican (Corsica island in France), Frisian (Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands), Kyrgyz (Kyrgyzstan), Hawaiian, Kurdish/Kurmanji (Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria), Luxembourgish, Samoan, Scots Gaelic, Shona (Zimbabwe), Sindhi (Pakistan), Pashto (Afghanistan) and Xhosa (South Africa). Google says all of Translate's 103 available languages cover 99 percent of the online population.
Skype Translator is rolling out to all desktop users
After a preview offered access to Skype's live translation tool on the desktop earlier this summer, the feature is rolling out to all users. If you're in need of a quick refresher, Skype Translator converts video calls in English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin and Spanish and 50 messaging languages inside the Windows app. The company says that the software leverages machine learning, so it'll only get better as more people use it. In fact, folks who signed up for the preview have already pitched in there. When the tool arrives, you'll notice a new translator icon in Skype that'll let you know it's ready to go to work.
Google Translate can help you with text in 20 new languages
Let's face it: Google Translate is a handy tool when traveling abroad or reading text on the web that's written in a different language. The software already offered help with seven languages, and today Mountain View added 20 more. This means that you'll be able to translate to and from English to Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, Indonesian, Polish, Turkish and several others. You'll also be able to leverage one-way translation from English to Hindi or Thai. And all of those are just for printed text.
Twitter's Bing-powered translations are back
Twitter's great for connecting its users to people from around the world, but what about when they don't speak the same language? After testing out a solution in fits and starts, Twitter has officially introduced Bing-powered translations right in the feed. Of course, if you've ever relied on machine-translation (and if you've worked the late shift on a tech site, you definitely have) you know the results can vary in quality, but it's usually enough to get the gist of what's being said. It's definitely easier than copying characters back and forth, so until you actually crack open that copy of Rosetta Stone, just look for the globe icon and "translate this" button. (If it's not there, make sure "Show Tweet translations" box is checked in your account settings).
Google moves one step closer to becoming a universal translator
Even with the assistance of modern technology, holding a conversation in two different languages can be difficult. Google Translate allows you to speak with someone and have each utterance translated as text and audio, but until now you had to manually toggle every time the other person talked. As expected, Google is speeding up the process with smarter language recognition and speaker switching, which comes as part of a new update. So when you boot up the app and press the microphone icon, it'll recognise which of the two languages is being spoken, offer a translation and then automatically alternate whenever the conversation flips over. No more tapping on the screen again and again.
Google's translation app will soon turn speech into text on the fly
Converting unfamiliar speech to text in Google Translate is currently an awkward affair: you have to start a recording and wait until a moment after you're done to find out what the other person said. That's not exactly living up to the dream of a Star Trek-like universal translator, folks. However, the New York Times understands that Translate is about to get considerably smarter. Reportedly, an updated version of the mobile app (coming "soon") will automatically detect speech and translate it right away. All you'd really have to do is hold your phone up with the app running -- important if you'd rather not go through a song-and-dance routine just to find out where the washrooms are.
Google Translate for Android now deciphers handwriting in 13 more languages
If you're an Android user traveling to the Middle East or southern Asia, you'll likely want to grab a just-released update to Google Translate. The new app expands on a recent iOS upgrade with handwriting recognition for 13 extra languages that mostly come from the above two regions; you can now write in Arabic and Persian as well as Indian dialects like Gujarati, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. You'll also find support for Bosnian, Cebuano, Hmong, Maltese, Mongolian and Somali. This isn't the biggest Google Translate refresh that we've seen, but it could make all the difference if you're visiting Dubai or New Delhi.
Google+ gets Translate for foreign language posts, comments
While other Google products have lain fallow, the company has been tinkering with Translate quite a bit lately. Now, the search giant is "gradually" rolling out functionality to translate desktop Google+ posts and comments into users' native tongues. Below each foreign language post there should be a clickable "Translate" link that will convert the text inline; another click will undo the translation. The latter should be handy if that comment in French turns out to be an insult about your mother -- not like that's ever happened on the internet before.
Klingons to invade Bing translator, bIjeghbe'chugh vaj bIHegh!
Though some may look down on Star Trek's fictional Klingon language and invoke the infamous phrase uttered by William Shatner -- "Get a life!" -- Microsoft's Bing translation team doesn't see it that way at all. As part of a marketing join-up with Paramount Pictures, the service will be offering translation of the fictional tongue to and from its other 41 languages to support the release of Star Trek Into Darkness. According to the LA Times, the translator was developed with the aid of Klingon-fluent Microsoft engineer Eric Andeen, who said that it's as much about the passion for linguistics as for Star Trek. Originally developed by a language specialist based on a few words ad-libbed in Star Trek: The Motion Picture by 'Scotty' actor James Doohan, Klingon has taken on a life of its own thanks to fans and sites who developed full dictionaries and on-line translators. The Bing project will fire up later today, so why not check it out at the More Coverage link? After all, ghojmeH ta'vaD He tu'be'lu'!
Google Translate adds five more languages to its repertoire
Google Translate has been getting a fairly steady stream of new features as of late, and it's now gotten a new update where it counts the most. Google has today added five more languages to the service, pushing the total number of translation options to over 70. Those latest additions include Bosnian, the official language of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Cebuano, one of the major languages of the Philippines; Hmong, spoken in China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and the US; Javanese, Indonesia's second most-spoken language, and Marathi, spoken by more than 73 million people in India. According to Google, all but Bosnian are still in an alpha state, so you may well encounter more hiccups than usual as the company continues to make improvements to them. Those interested can put them to the test right now on either the web or in Google's mobile apps.
Google Translate gets new features, makes sure you choose the right words
Google has added functionality to the web version of its Translate service, now making it even easier for us to use and understand foreign tongues. Instead of a single result, you'll be presented with a list of the most common translations, ordered and labeled by how frequently each one is used. What's more, synonyms are also displayed next to the assortment of results, but this particular feature only works when translating into English, although more languages are expected to be supported soon. We've had a quick play around with it, and suggest you head over to the Google Translate page and try out the new elements for yourself. Now, if only the website translator could make those Japanese pages a little easier to read.
NTT DoCoMo translation app converts languages in real time (hands-on video)
Last year at CEATEC, we saw NTT DoCoMo demo its translation app, which made life easier by translating a Japanese menu into English text. This time around the carrier is showing off the new Hanashite Hon'yaku service for Android devices, which can translate spoken Japanese to English and vice versa (it supports a total of 10 languages, including French, German and Korean). In addition to providing an on-screen translation, the system reads out your speaking partner's words in your language.To use the service, you need an Android-enabled (2.2 and higher) device running on either the carrier's spumode or moperaU plan. Provided you fit those requirements, you'll simply have to dial the other party, speak into the phone and wait for it to play back your words in a foreign tongue. Of course, you can also use the service in person, which is exactly what we did at DoCoMo's booth. When we gave it a test run with some simple questions ("Where are you from?", "What time is it?"), the app had no trouble spitting back those phrases in Japanese so the DoCoMo rep could respond. When he answered in Japanese, the translation to English was equally seamless, taking just a second or two to communicate that he is from Japan. Though the app is free, you'll have to pay call and data charges (using the service for face-to-face conversation only entails a data fee). The cross-cultural barriers will break down starting November 1st, but you can get a glimpse of the service in action just after the break.
NTT DoCoMo preps automatic translation from Japanese through Android, leaves no one an island
Japan's unique language makes calls to other countries a challenge: locals often don't have much choice but to brush up on someone else's language or hope there's a Japanese speaker on the other end of the line. If all goes well with NTT DoCoMo's planned Hanashite Hon'yaku automatic translation service, international calls will be as comfortable as phoning a store in Nagano. As long as a subscriber has at least an Android 2.2 phone or tablet on the carrier's moperaU or sp-mode plans, the service will automatically convert spoken Japanese to another language, and reverse the process for the reply, whether it's through an outbound phone call or an in-person conversation. The service will bridge cultures starting from November 1st, when it will translate from Japanese to Chinese, English or Korean. Indonesian, Thai and five European languages are coming later that month. If you're not that patient, NTT DoCoMo will provide a holdover on October 11th through Utsushite Hon'yaku, a free Word Lens-like augmented reality translator for Android 2.3 that can convert text to or from Japanese with a glance through a phone camera.
Google's Voice Search on Android adds support for 13 additional languages
Even though it's also on iOS now, Android is still the first love for Google's Voice Search and the company announced today it's adding support for an additional 13 languages on the platform, bringing the total to 42 languages and accents understood in 46 countries. The list includes Basque, Bulgarian. Catalan, European Portuguese, Finnish, Galician, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak and Swedish. Just like it has since at least 2010 when Voice Actions were introduced it will require Android 2.2 or higher, and is easily accessible either from the search box on your home screen or in the Voice Search app. We should note that it still only understands one language at a time and you may need to change some settings, also the new languages weren't showing up yet on every device we tried -- just some of them. Hit the source link for a few more details on how machine learning was used to extrapolate the pronunciation of all Swedish words based on thousands of samples from native speakers, or just grab a nearby phone or tablet and have Pau Gasol speak some Catalan to it -- although obviously Salvador Dali would be preferred, were he available.
Google Translate app gets weighty update, will translate signs through your smartphone camera
Google's multi-lingual translation app decided that (online) words were not enough. Beyond digital text, a new update to Translate will let Google's bots translate what you're looking at, whether that's hand-written directions or a sign saying, "wrong way." Though its not the first time we've seen an app that translates text from the camera (not even for Google) the update includes a convenient touch-guided interface that allows you to draw over the text you'd like converted into English -- it seemed to master our beginners' Spanish textbook with ease. The update also adds improvements to its voice translations, with new dialect preferences and improved handwriting recognition for Japanese input. Grab the download before you board that flight abroad this summer -- just ensure it's on a WiFi-only connection once you get there.
Google updates translate plugin and Android app, unites nations
If your website lacks a little... je ne sais quois, it either needs something special, or that thing was lost in translation. If your managing different languages with Google's Website Translator plugin, however, then a new feature could put a stop to odd or inaccurate interpretations of your text. It's only in beta at the moment, but if you add a customization meta tag to a webpage, readers who know better can click on badly translated text and amend it (pending your approval). Likewise, you can fix up any broken translations yourself, and folk will see that version when using Chrome, or Google Toolbar to switch languages. Likewise, it looks like the official translate app for Android got a little spit and polish too, plus Esperanto support and new text to speech languages, so at least you can look a little more stylish while you order unknown items from the menu. Travel on over to the source links for the Rosetta stone.
