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Electronic Language Translators

If you are traveling to a foreign country, an electronic language translator is a very handy tool. In fact, some people would say that this device is just as important as a passport when traveling the globe. If your work puts you in contact with suppliers or colleagues from foreign countries, electronic language translators are available with features to suit a variety of needs.

Electronic language translators are also quite useful for students who are learning a foreign language. High school and college students often find these tools to be valuable study aids.

What Are Your Needs?

If you work in one or two languages in addition to your native tongue, you may want to consider a language translator with the capability to "speak" English as well as other languages. If your work or travel takes you to a number of different countries, then choose an electronic language translator capable of working in multiple languages. Other models allow users to scan text; this is perfect for users whose needs are tied to written manuscripts.

Electronic Language Translators Available Online

Ectaco offers a number of models of hand-held language translators. The ECTACO Partner ES800 offers a database of over one million words. Additional words or languages can be added through the use of a storage card. This model also includes a voice-recognition feature. If the Partner is able to understand a user's attempts to speak a foreign language, then a human will too. Additional words can be added to the user's personal dictionary. Slang can be included or blocked, depending on the consumer's needs. Another interesting feature is "instant reverse translation," which is designed to give an explanation of why certain words or phrases were chosen for a specific translation.

For people who need translations in multiple languages, the Lingo 10 Talking Electronic Language Translator is one option to consider. This unit has the capability of translating in 10 languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. The "talking" feature provides the correct pronunciation of the requested words. The word capacity on the Lingo 10 is approximately 60,000 words. Travelers will appreciate this translator's currency conversion function. In addition, users of the product can find out the local time in 200 cities worldwide.

Hammacher Schlemmer also offers a talking electronic language translator. The version available through this company allows the consumer to translate 240,000 words or 27,000 phrases into one of 12 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian. The user can see the spelling, phonetic pronunciation of the selected word or phrase and then hear the correct pronunciation. This would be a good choice for travelers, since it is lightweight and compact.

If you are studying English as a second language, consider the QuicktionaryII by WizCom Technologies. This product has the ability to scan one word or a full line of text. Single words can be translated from English to Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and more. Language students looking to improve their abilities in Spanish, German, Italian, or Portuguese will also find the QuicktionaryII helpful. The device has the ability to translate from these languages to English. If desired, additional dictionaries can be loaded into the unit. The QuicktionaryII is shaped like a pen and can be used by both right- and left-handed people. This product has the ability to recognize more than 300,000 words. QuicktionaryII can also be used to translate words from sources that cannot be scanned, including traffic signs.

The IrisPen Translator Express also looks like a pen. The user can run the tip of the device over text from a number of sources, including books, magazines, letters, and spreadsheets. The IrisPen Translator has the ability to take the scanned text, translate it, and upload it into many computer applications. The IrisPen also has the ability to "read" text to provide the consumer with the correct pronunciation.

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