technology
Skype can now translate Arabic in real time
Skype Translator now speaks Arabic. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, March 8, 2016.Modern Standard Arabic has become the eighth spoken language supported by Microsoft-owned Skype's Live translator feature.
Though best known as a voice and video calling service baked into a number of Windows devices, Skype has been pushing the boundaries of technology in order to break down communication barriers since 2014.
Skype Live Translator rolled out in beta form in December 2014, enabling live translation between English and a number of the world's other most spoken languages – Spanish, German, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Mandarin and Italian.
Arabic has several different dialects and while Microsoft hopes that eventually its systems will be smart enough to handle them all, Skype can only translate Modern Standard Arabic for the moment. But it's a start – this form of Arabic is the one taught in schools and used by journalists.
And while recognising and translating spoken languages in real time is a slow process, Skype already supports 50 written languages for text messaging while calling. – AFP/Relaxnews, March 8, 2016.
Please note that you must sign up with disqus.com before commenting. And, please refrain from comments of a racist, sexist, personal, vulgar or derogatory nature and note that comments can be edited, rewritten for clarity or to avoid questionable issues. As comments are moderated, they may not appear immediately or even on the same day you posted them. We also reserve the right to delete off-topic comments