While many people agree that having a live translator on hand is preferable over using a computerized translation service, it’s not easy or cheap to drag a professional translator along every time you go abroad. Services such as Google translate and pocket translators work when you need a single word translated, but they’re far from perfect when you’re trying to have a professional communication in a different language. With this in mind, a new company called Babelverse took the initiative to combine the value of live translation with the convenience of technology to create a mobile app for serious translation needs.
Translators are On Call 24/7
When you use the Babelverse app, you are tapping into a network of translators from around the world. In its development, the creators organized the app to separate these translators by their language abilities and their availability. So, if you need a Spanish translator at 11:00pm on a Sunday, the app will find one for you and connect you so that you can talk over the phone. In the promotional video for the app, a German man is depicted walking into a pharmacy. Since the pharmacist only speaks English, he uses Babelverse to communicate with the pharmacist flawlessly. Obviously, this situation could be a dangerous one without accurate translation.
Babelverse has Already Been Put to the Ultimate Test
Helping people in their daily lives is certainly a major goal of Babelverse, but it has already been used to help people in a national emergency. During the tsunami in Japan, Babelverse assembled a network of volunteer translators. These translators helped emergency crews, medical teams and even reporters understand what the victims and local news crews were saying. No other translator services could have assembled so quickly to help. Clearly, the ability for the service to be used in such dire times of need speaks to its accuracy and usability.
There are benefits and drawbacks to live translation and computerized translation. While live translation is certainly more accurate and emotional than computerized translation, computerized translation services are easier to access in a hurry. Babelverse has combined the best of both worlds with their new translation service. Since you don’t know which translator you’re being connected to, quality control might be an issue. If your business needs a translator, hiring a professional service might be better, but Babelverse is ideal for travelers in a pinch.