Travelling to destinations where you don’t speak the local language can leave you lost in translation. Communicating in the local language helps advance cultural exchange and improves engagement with locals. Overcoming language barriers increases travellers’ ability to immerse themselves in the local culture.

Translation apps are not a replacement for organic fluency, but they can help cross important communication barriers regarding local navigation, reading menus, managing public transportation, shopping or getting help, even in emergencies.

Risks and dangers of using translation apps

There are downsides to translation app technology.

For example, if you’re an English-speaking lawyer on vacation in France and want to tell a local person what your profession is, you could ask Google Translate to provide the French version of “I am a lawyer”.

Google Translate will suggest you say, “Je suis un avocat”. Unfortunately, you just told your French friend that you are an avocado. In French, the word “avocat” means lawyer and avocado. The critical distinction is using the French word “un” before “avocat”. With the word “un” before “avocat”, it means avocado; without it, the meaning is “lawyer”.

However, if you used Microsoft Translator, then it would recommend that you say, “Je suis avocat” - without the French word “un”, and that means you are, in fact, a lawyer.

The lesson here is that these tools, though often helpful, don’t always account for cultural nuances or context, and can stumble, sometimes disastrously, over colloquialisms, leading to bewildering misunderstandings and unintended comedy - or worse - when communicating with locals.

There are several other translation app risks, too, including:

What apps are available?

Several translation apps can assist with language translation, text recognition, voice translation and offline capabilities. The following are 10 of the best translation apps for tourists to consider using while traveling:

Before travelling, it’s wise to download and familiarise yourself with one or more of these translation apps to help facilitate communication and enhance your travel experience.

It’s also helpful to have a basic understanding of common phrases or greetings in the local language of the country you are visiting to show respect and courtesy to the locals.

Finally, obtaining travel protection services that provide access to an in-person, live translation resource is essential for situations requiring more precision, like ensuring a prescription is filled correctly, sorting out a legal issue, or managing a medical or security emergency.

 - TNS