Translation devices

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pcatterall

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At 78 my capacity to learn a new language is greatly diminished! I can learn a word or phrase but forget it the next day.
can anyone recommend a translation device so I can communicate please?
I am looking for a stand alone device rather than a phone app. Just voice will do but something with a camera for documents/menus would be great.
 
Years ago - I had a 'Winston Resources' pocket translator .. Russian <to> English ..... sadly not available now ... but it was used when I lived in Russia .... it even helped when I met present wife ....

When I look at translators today - amazing development on from the text screen / keyboard job I had !!
 
Google Translate is the one I use.

It must be pretty good because Bouba, who has lived in France for a long time and has a French wife and must therefore be bilingual, has never found fault with anything in French I have posted here :)
 
I had a friend in Hamburg Germany. I thought I'd show off my bi-lingual skills (of which I have none). I used Google Translate Google Translate
Later when she got to know me she told me she understood what I was trying to say but my German was "strange" - very old-fashioned. She said she spent hours and hours researching German colonies around the world where I may have picked up my strange German!
 
Poignard said:
Google Translate is the one I use.

It must be pretty good because Bouba, who has lived in France for a long time and has a French wife and must therefore be bilingual, has never found fault with anything in French I have posted here :)
Click to expand...

Google translate is OK as long as you are using it for casual chat .... but anything serious and its crap !!

I've just spent last 3 months working on an Italian Tender for a serious contract. All 63 pages in Italian and online. Each page with series of questions and requirements. I spent as long trying to understand the stupid Google as doing the tender docs !! I developed a 'word association' to get through it .. imagining what alternative words or text it could be ...
It was not helped that each time I answered SI (yes) to a question ... another page would add !!

My Russian wife commented often on how tired I looked after a day at that !!

Try English Russian... you'll have the Russians laughing their nuts off !! That's if you are lucky that means anything !!
Try English Latvian... Latvian will just look at you - is he stupid >>
 
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