If your language learning journey isn’t going as planned, or your Duolingo streak is long since broken, Google has introduced a new tool that could make navigating the world of foreign languages more intuitive—with no reading required.
Rolling out today on Android in beta, Google Translate will now support real-time audio translation via your headphones. The beta will support almost 70 languages, including Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, and German, via the Translate app. Google says this means you’ll be able to understand conversations in a different language, listen to a speech or lecture while abroad, or watch a TV show or film in another language.
At present, the new tool will be limited to users located the US, India, and Mexico, and an iOS rollout is planned shortly. To try the tool out, connect your headphones, open the Google Translate app on your mobile device, and tap “Live translate” to hear a real-time translation in your preferred language.
In addition, Google is also rolling out tools to improve its translations when it comes to things like idioms, local expressions, or slang, which might not make much sense in a purely literal translation. For example, phrases like “stealing my thunder.”
This update is also rolling out from today in the US and India, translating between English and almost 20 languages, such as Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, and German. It will be available on Android and iOS, and on the web version.
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After first introducing dedicated language features back in August this year, Google Translate is now also rolling out “improved feedback” for users’ speaking practice, as well as tools to track how many days in a row you’ve been learning, comparable to language learning tools like Duolingo and Babbel. It’s also adding new language combinations such as German and Portuguese for English speakers, as well as English for Bengali, Mandarin Chinese, Dutch, German, Hindi, Italian, Romanian, and Swedish.
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