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Google Translate is a commonly used tool across the globe for easy language translation and even though it surpasses more than a hundred billion words translated per day, users tend to stick to the basics. The core feature of Google Translate is typing translation, that is, simply typing a text or word to be translated into another language. It only takes simple steps like entering or pasting the text from any language which will be automatically detected and then selecting the language in which it needs to be translated. The applications have a lot more tools and features that users are not familiar with. The article is a breakdown of six of its features that every user should be aware of.
1. Handwriting Translation
Many users find it hard to type in the native language as many of them are too complex to be texted on the keyboard. Some languages can be typed in English and detected by the application but this case may not be accurate always. The handwriting translation feature eradicates this issue by letting the user write onto the panel to be translated.
To enable this feature, tap ‘Enter text’ on the homepage of Google Translate. Select the pen icon from the top menu and write with your fingers on the ‘Write here’ panel at the bottom of the page. Undo, space, and delete buttons are available for this feature as well. This is as if you are writing on a paper in your own native language. Any kind of handwriting is detected, even the worst ones, and translated. However, in any case, if the application doesn’t detect the correct word, you can choose the right one from the toolbar on the writing panel.
2. Conversation Translation
For people who still find it hard to write down words or sentences, or are talking to somebody in real-time, Google Translate has a feature called conversation translation that lets the users talk and translate. It is hard while travelling to catch up with people while they talk to be translated and this feature is the most handy when such critical situations occur.
To enable this feature, tap on the microphone icon on the homepage of Google Translate, and speak through the microphone of the phone. The speech will be converted into text in the application. The translation in the desired language will be shown as a text or if an interaction is needed, Google Translate can read out the text as well. Tap on the speaker icon right next to the text to hear the translation.
For a seamless conversation, click on the palm icon in the upper right corner to begin a conversation with a foreigner that lets them know the process by displaying a card that explains the process. Additionally, a censorship feature is available in settings, to mask any profanity the app recognizes with asterisks (***).
3. Live Camera Translation
What if a text on a billboard on the way needs to be translated? The live camera feature enables translating texts from the real world using the phone’s camera. To enable this feature, tap on the camera icon from the homepage which leads to Google Lens. Now point the camera on the text you need to translate or click a picture and select the text that needs to be translated. The text will be overlaid with the translation. The camera feature has a flash icon for light, a capture icon to click the image or freeze it, or you can simply upload an image from the gallery.
However, not all kinds of text can be detected as the system is still not perfect, but works well for common sign boards or menus with simple fonts.
Read more: How To Use Google Photos’ AI Tools For Photo Editing?
4. Store Languages Offline
Many of the features in Google Translate come in handy especially while traveling. There might not be a stable internet connection in all places while traveling and that is when storing languages offline can be helpful. Languages can be downloaded to use whenever needed even if there is no internet connection.
To enable this feature, tap the profile picture you see on the top right corner of the homepage. Then select ‘download languages’, select the language you want to download from the list of languages, and tap download. Most of the languages can be downloaded, but very few aren’t. Around 80 MB of storage will be utilized by the downloaded language packs.
You can delete the downloaded language whenever by tapping the trash can icon next to the language and selecting ‘remove’.
5. Save Common Phrases
For people who tend to forget words or phrases easily, and need to come back to look at the word again and again, Google Translate provides a feature to save such commonly used ones. The terms that need to be translated often can be saved in the ‘phrasebook’.
Click on the three vertical dots, which is the menu icon, and select ‘Add to phrasebook’ right after you translate the word or phrase that needs to be stored. Even if you forget to do this after translating the word, the word can be again accessed by searching on the history. History can be reviewed by swiping down the homepage. To save the word from the history, tap on the star icon next to the text.
To get access to these saved terms, click on the star icon on the top left corner and sort out the saved terms or phrases. To remove a phrase, just click again on the star icon next to the phrase.
6. Tap To Translate
Another feature that Google Translate provides is the tap to translate, in which the users can tap on anything that needs a quick translation. The feature is available on Android phones, where the users tap on any random words or texts that are translated instantly.
To enable this feature, tap on the profile picture at the top right corner of the homepage and click on settings. Then select ‘tap to translate’, where you can find three options, ‘tap to translate’, ‘auto-translate copied text’, and ‘show floating icon’. Turn on ‘tap to translate’ and ‘auto-translate copied text’ to automatically translate. By clicking on the Google Translate notification, the copied text from any app is automatically translated.
Instead of using the notification, by turning on ‘show floating icon’, a floating icon will appear automatically that translates the copied text. Translating texts directly from Chrome while reading something is also easier by simply highlighting the text and tapping ‘Translate’ from the context menu.
Also read: How To Use Google Photos AI Tools For Stunning Video Edits?
Conclusion
Google Translate has been in use since 2006, but it improvised a decade later with the Google Neural Machine Translation (GNMT) that increased the accuracy of translation from 55% to 85%. But even now many of its features are not so familiar among the masses. Newer features on the application address issues faced while typing a native language, tap and click translate options, and live camera translation to seamlessly converse between languages especially beneficial for travelers.
