Hey Google – Translate This for Me!

Not so long ago, instant translation was the stuff of science fiction. I remember watching shows like Star Trek and being amazed by the idea of making oneself understood across cultures without having to spend months learning and becoming fluent in another language.

Who could have guessed that by the early 21^st century, instant translation would become a reality? Enter Google Translate. It’s not quite as easy to use as Star Trek’s “universal translators”, and it can’t translate alien speech (yet), but until that day comes it’s an extremely useful tool… and it’s FREE!

What is Google Translate?

Google Translate is a free machine translator that can be used to translate text, documents, websites, and even conversation from one language into another almost instantly. It supports over 120 languages, and you can use this translation service on your iPhone, iPad, Android devices, or on your computer.

It’s important to note that Google Translate is not a perfect translator and should be used as a guide to get the basic concepts of a piece, not as an accurate translation.

How Can You Use Google Translate?

Translate a word or phrase from one language to another

1. On your mobile device or using a web browser on your computer, open Google Translate
2. Select the languages you want to translate from and to, or let Google detect the original language
3. Type in, copy and paste, or speak the word or phrase you want to translate
4. Translation is instantaneous

Translate a document on your computer

1. On your desktop or laptop computer, open Google Translate
2. Click on the Documents button to translate an entire document
3. Select the languages you want to translate from and to, or let Google detect the original language
4. Upload your document and click the Translate button
5. Click on the Download translation button

Translate a website from one language to another

1. Go to the website you want to translate into another language and copy the website address
2. On your desktop or laptop computer, open Google Translate
3. Click on the Websites button to translate a website
4. Paste the website address in the appropriate box and click the arrow button next to it to translate
5. Google Translate will translate all the text, pages and menus on the website but it cannot translate text found in images

Translate text in an image

1. Open the Google Translate app on your mobile device
2. Tap the Camera button to access the camera
3. Focus on the text you want to translate and take a picture
4. If the text is one word, the translation is immediate. If more than one word, tap on a word to translate just that word, or tap the Select text button to select and translate all the text in the image

Translate a speech

1. Open the Google Translate app on your mobile device
2. Choose the language you want to translate from and to, or let Google detect the original language
3. Tap the Transcribe button and Google will begin listening and translating immediately. You may need to allow Google to access your microphone

Translate a conversation

1. Open the Google Translate app on your mobile device
2. Choose the languages you want to translate from and to, or let Google detect them
3. Tap the Conversation button
4. From here, you can choose to let Google translate for just you, just the person you’re speaking to, or both of you
5. Google will listen to the person speaking, then translate out loud in the other person’s language

Why would you use Google Translate? Maybe English is not your primary language, or you want to translate some autism research from France. Try Google Translate and the world will be yours (insert maniacal laughter here)!