Google Assistant's New 'Interpreter' Mode Can Translate 27 Languages in Real Time

Move over, Google Translate. The Google Assistant's new Interpreter mode can translate spoken French, Spanish, and 25 other languages into English (and vice versa) in real time, according to Gizmodo. The new technology, which will eventually be rolled out to Google Assistant devices and third-party smart displays, brings us one step closer to having a universal translator capable of interpreting all the world's languages—a device previously only seen in sci-fi worlds like Star Trek and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Currently, the Interpreter mode is only being used at three hotels in New York, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. During a demo at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, a Google employee approached the concierge and asked questions in German. The concierge, equipped with a Google Home Hub, used a voice command to prompt the device to go into interpreter mode. From there, the two were able to carry on a conversation back and forth. Although one error was made, the translated text appeared on the smart display, which provided enough context clues to figure out what the intended message was, according to WIRED.

Technology reporter Shannon Liao at The Verge tested it out with Mandarin. She writes that although it's not perfect, it's still "a pretty big improvement from not being able to understand a foreign language." One common complaint is the lag—users must wait a couple seconds for the Interpreter to issue a translation.

However, Google's product manager, Vincent Lacey, told Mashable that the Interpreter mode is faster and more advanced than that of Google's Pixel Buds—ear buds that provide real-time translations, but only to the person wearing them. With the Interpreter, all parties to the conversation will be able to understand what's being said.

Following the pilot phase at the three hotels, the Interpreter will be available on all Google Home devices as well as third-party smart displays by the end of the month, a Google spokesperson tells Mental Floss. It will also be rolled out to third-party smart speakers and mobile phones in the near future, according to Google. Interpreter Mode supports the following languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.