Adventure Tech: New Google Translate App Opens Doors For Travelers

ByMary Anne Potts
February 10, 2011
2 min read


Not to undercut the value of actually speaking several languages, but the new Google Translate app is knocking down communication barriers—which just made it so much easier to travel. Just speak into the app and select a text or audio translation. The apps currently works in 57 languages—15 are available for speech to text and 23 languages available for text to speech. The menu includes Chinese, Croatian, Estonian…

We can't yet be sure of accuracy. And certainly slurring speakers out there might be in for a few fumbled translations. But in general, this is hugely practical for travel. So maybe you use it to order a burger in Greece? Or to strike up a conversation with an attractive local on your layover? Or why not even conduct your own boot camp and learn the language you've always wanted to speak? Try it and let us know what you think.

Free in the Apple Apps Store. 

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