After launching the Skype Translator preview through invitations in December last year, Microsoft has now made the feature available for all Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 preview users. Seemingly inspired by Star Trek’s Universal Translator, Skype Translator brings with it real-time translation of both spoken and written languages for Skype users. The translator does not bring any Indic language yet in speech, but it does does have Hindi in the written language mix.
The preview version earlier supported English and Spanish spoken languages, and now supports Italian and Mandarin too. Apart from that there are 50 instant messaging (written) languages, which includes Hindi as well. You can download Skype Translator here.
Microsoft plans to expand its language database, and the feature will see many more upgrades in the future.
“Our goal for Skype Translator is to translate as many languages as possible on relevant platforms, and to deliver the best speech translation experience to our more than 300 million connected Skype customers,” the company said in a statement.
The language translator essentially translates what one is speaking and displays it as subtitles at the bottom of the screen. As is seen in the video below, a person will need to finish speaking for the translator to do its job. It translates selected languages in real time between the participating parties, and the feature displays on-screen transcript of the conversation as it happens. The company says that the service is built on top of machine learning and therefore the more people use it, the better and more accurate it will become.
Even though it is available to all, the Skype Translator is still in its preview version, and therefore the translator might not be as fluid and accurate as natively talking on the phone, but it is a revolutionary step towards the future nonetheless!
Watch this very moving example of how Skype Translator is making an impact in developing economies.
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