(Those traveling to Taiwan should remember that Traditional Chinese characters are the standard, which are even more complex.) The process works more smoothly for simpler scripts like Japanese hiragana and katakana, and is more involved for Chinese and some Korean hangul. Regardless, to commit to character drawing is to sign up for some time spent scribbling on your palm. (An initial translation for the Korean for “How much is it?” came out as “Is it frozen?”) Google Translate and Papago offer character drawing, but Google had an annoying habit of inputting a character before you’ve finished fully drawing - which puts you into a somewhat frantic race against time, and can radically change meanings. When I tested it recently in Manhattan’s Chinatown, a shop window’s heavily laminated sign would not register on Google’s photo app. Calligraphy, say, on a banner outside a restaurant, can be more common in parts of Asia than a typeset sign. Some smartphone apps let you use your finger to sketch any character you see - whether Chinese characters or Korean hangul - to get a quick translation.Ĭharacter drawing is useful for translating unusual fonts or reflective surfaces, which can confound photo translation apps. Try ‘handwriting’ what you want translated Travelers should also keep in mind that Google is blocked or otherwise hard to access in mainland China, meaning that you may have to use one (or multiple) of the alternatives. Google’s translator easily dealt with a customs import form written in Thai, or a simple newspaper story written in the Hindi script Devanagari. A feat, almost of magic.Īcross the board, photo apps are quick, functional, and generally offer decent translations - especially of printed material. I could point my phone camera at a menu or a sign, it would take Chinese characters, Japanese kanji and kana, and Korean hangul, and instantly translate it to English on the screen. When I first used a translation app in Asia, at the relative dawn of the industry (circa 2014), the only real option for non-Roman characters was Waygo. With a small amount of help, you can translate dozens of languages and scripts, illuminate pictographs and characters, and learn something new. We’ve collected some of the best language apps and technology for travelers to Asia - from full-fledged machine-learning translators to a simple tweak to your phone’s keyboard. A walk down a busy road in Malaysia, for example, may bring you into contact with Malay written Simplified Chinese spoken Mandarin, Cantonese or Hokkien Tamil and perhaps even Hindi.īut while language can be a hurdle, it can also be a joy. For an English-speaking visitor to Asia - which spans close to 50 countries - navigating a new language can be daunting at first.
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