Posted 08 Feb 2010

Google has announced that it is working on technology that may afford instant translation over the phone – news that those teaching English abroad may welcome.

Building upon its Google Translate service, the internet search engine is attempting to introduce instant real time translation to its smartphones in the future.

This is according to an admission by Franz Och, Google’s head of translation services, who told the Times that the company sees this possibility to be viable and expects it to "work reasonably well in a few years’ time".

He continued: "If you look at the progress in machine translation and corresponding advances in voice recognition, there has been huge progress recently."

Another piece of novel translation technology that may impress expats is NEC’s Tele Scouter – which costs a hefty US$83,000 (£49,700).

The product comes in the form of a pair of glasses that is capable of translating conversations carried out by the wearer.

Category: Living Abroad