Cool new features of Google Translate you should know

    

Google wants to make its language translation tool, Translate, more accurate and natural in its responses and for that the company is turning to AI (artificial intelligence). In simple words, it wants the tool to translate more than just words for you. According to Google, the neural machine translation works by translating an entire sentence at a time instead of breaking it first. This allows it to understand the context of a sentence better, resulting in translations that sound more accurate and natural.

Google has also been trying to make Translate available to a wider user base. It supports 103 languages, including nine Indian languages, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam and Kannada. However, the features available in a language often vary.

Here are some of the features of Translate which make it all the more indispensable for travellers, students and professionals.

Bringing more features in Indian languages

One of the cool features of Translate app is the instant visual translation. It allows users to put the camera integrated with the app over a word or phrase and the meaning will show on the phone’s screen.

Earlier, this feature worked in only one Indian language, Hindi. Now it supports seven more languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

Users can now use the offline translation feature too in these languages.

Offline translation works by downloading a language pack for a particular language in advance so one can use it even when the device is not connected to internet.

Works in other apps

You can take advantage of Translate even if you don’t have the app installed on your smartphone. Translate is integrated into the Chrome, Google app and the Gboard app.

You can open it in Chrome and Google app by typing Translate and the basic translation window would show where you can get the meaning of a word or sentence in any language supported by Translate.

In Gboard, you can access it by tapping on the Google icon followed by the Translate icon. It will open two separate tabs for the language you want to translate to and the language you are typing in. This allows users to make the most of the tool in social media and messengers.

Translate conversation

Another feature which makes Translate a powerful tool of communication between people who don’t speak or know the same language is the ability to translate conversations. Voice translation has been around for a while. But many do not know that the app can translate an entire text message. Users don’t have to copy paste the text message, the app has a separate page called SMS Translation where your entire message inbox shows automatically. To access it, tap on the menu icon-> SMS Translation and select the text message. This feature is available in all nine Indian languages.