Google Assistant Can Be Your Interpreter, And It’s Just As Cool As It Sounds

Google Assistant can now be your personal interpreter. If you have a Google Home Speaker or Smart Display, you will be able to have full conversations with your friends, in-laws, and neighbours in spite of any language barriers you may have with the help of Google Assistant which will serve as your real-time interpreter. Much like Google Translate, the interpreter will translate from and to a wide variety of different languages. However, the much improved interpreter mode is so effortless to use that you can to speak naturally and make eye contact with the person in front of you.

Who Is Using It?

As well as its help around the house, this function is proving to be very useful in hotels. Smart Devices equipped with Google Assistant are scattered around hotels frequented by overseas visitors. Language barriers are coming down with the help of this new technology and it is beneficial for both staff and guests. The interpreter mode allows guests to speak in their native language without having to worry about the staff members misunderstanding them and vice versa. In the past, hotel concierges might have struggled to help guests with their requests simply because of language barriers. Now, Google Assistant’s instant interpreting takes away the pressure for the staff and helps guests ask for exactly what they want. Best of all, nobody has to whip out their phone and type long paragraphs into Google Translate anymore.

In addition to the tourism industry, Google has suggested that this Interpreter Mode can be helpful in aiding humanitarian efforts. For more information, check out Google’s Blog post on the subject.

Which Languages?

This real-time interpreter makes communicating with language barriers a lot easier than typing into Google Translate and passing the phone back and forth and waiting for the person to read. At the moment, Google Assistant can interpret between over twenty languages. According to Google, the languages currently include: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Filipino (Tagalog), Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese. At this rate, Google Assistant might be able to interpret between a lot more languages and dialects very soon.

How Do I Activate It?

To activate the Interpreter Mode with Google Assistant, simply say “Turn on Interpreter Mode” or “Help me speak Finnish (or whatever language you want)”. You can specify the language after you ask your device to activate the mode. There should be a tone to signal that you can begin to speak. To stop this function, simply ask Google Assistant to “quit” or “stop” the Interpreter Mode.

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When Can You Use It?

Of course this interpreter would be absolutely fabulous for travel — much easier than flipping through a phrasebook. You will, however, need to carry your device with you all the time. But if you are in urgent need to order garlic bread or have missing luggage, this device would be a lifesaver. Of course, garlic bread is nowhere as important as humanitarian efforts so it would certainly be a step in the right direction if these nifty little devices make their way to where they are most needed.

Downsides

Unfortunately, the introduction of this new function on these little eavesdroppers will result in the loss of jobs for translators. Previously, hotels would use in-house interpreters to help bridge the gap between staff and guests with language barriers. With the Interpreter Mode on these Google devices, their skills are no longer required in hotels. Hopefully, hotels hoping to offer a more personalized experience will continue to employ in-house interpreters.

I have certainly been in situations in which I was hoping to get to know a new friend but our language barrier made that difficult. Conceptually, Google Assistant’s new Interpreter Mode would be the perfect solution. In reality, it might take some time to get used to having a robot voice between you and a new friend. Although, the alternatives are: do not get to know each other or hire a human interpreter, so Google Assistant’s new function is likely to be the popular choice. Now off we go on our backpacking expeditions with little interpreters!

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