Skype has kicked off the first preview of its real-time translation service for spoken English and Spanish, along with translation options for more than 40 languages within instant messaging conversations. The video below shows how a non-profit takes advantage of the technology, offering a heart-warming perspective on the aspirations Skype has for adoption of its latest technology.Skype conversations between people who speak different languages could soon become the norm for an interconnected world. Both provide near real-time translation, with the IM component taking what you type and delivering it directly to the recipient in the language of their choice after you hit ‘send.’ The Skype Translator preview app works in English, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin for spoken word, and in 50 languages for IM conversations. For IM, the recipient will simply see the text in their native tongue, rather than having to watch the text translation visually. At the moment, the voice service works in English, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin and will also offer a visual transcript of the call for reference.įor those other languages, the brand supports 50 languages for instant messaging conversations. The translations also occur nearly in real-time, so there are few delays.
This technology can expand a company's customer base without the additional expense of native speakers. As long as customers are willing to endure the slightly off-kilter intonations of the robo-voice, communication can occur in several languages. While there certainly is no replacement for true fluency, there is a need to connect at a personal level without worry of misunderstanding.Īnother potential is for customer service. This technology could be especially potent for globally distributed teams, such as in the hospitality industry, where common languages may not exist - or where a lack of confidence or basic fluency leads to complications amongst teams. Now Skype has released its own Skype Translator tool for mainstream adoption, which should accelerate its impact and accuracy of its language translations while also providing the service natively to the millions already using Skype. Up until now, Google Translate had been one of the only mainstream translation apps.
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