Language Translation Devices
 

Got nary a peep on the Tech forum so I'll try here next.

Have finally decided to get one of these gizmos. I speak fluent Japanese and passable German but frequently visit countries where those languages don't help..
Even if I'm with a native speaker, menus are the usually the biggest challenge...'this is a meat but I don't what you call it in english...'

Am interested in those who have tried the simple & less expensive LCD screen devices (Franklin & Lingo appear to be the main providers) versus those that actually speak the phrase/word to you thru headphones.

Also I have a Treo 600 so that's another possibility...
Tks.

My Japanese instructor in college carried around one of the simple LCD ones that she used when she wasn't sure of the meaning of an English word or how to explain some Japanese words & phrases. I'll see if I can drop her an e-mail to find out what brand & model it was, as it seemed pretty handy although certainly rather utilitarian.

It's pretty simplistic, but at least it fits on your Palm / Treo:

http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fu...1&prodID=13453

>Even if I'm with a native speaker, menus are the usually the biggest challenge...'this is a meat but I don't what you call it in english...'

Reminds me of when I was in Jordan. I had the business card (in Arabic) from my hotel, figuring that when I lept in a cab I could just show it to the cabbie.

That's what I did, but I led to no end of confusion, with the cabbie continually stopping to jabber at people in Arabic, while showing them the card. Eventually I figured it out: The cabbie couldn't read and he was asking people to tell him what was written on the card.

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada

ROTFLMAO

I do the same thing when traveling abroad; especially when staying at a smaller hotel and I never once thought about what to do if the cabbie was illiterate. Hmmmm might need a new idea when traveling abroad; maybe a picture of the hotel on my cell phone. :)

If it's mostly menus that you're interested in - perhaps a decidedly low tech menu reader will do. The books are usually small - and fit into a purse or jacket pocket. One of my favorite series is the Al Ellison menu readers (now out of print but available from time to time on Ebay or Alibris - books available for French - Spanish - Italian - German - Mexican - Latin American - Swiss and Portuguese foods).

By the way - what if anything do you recommend for restaurants in Japan (I assume you've spent time there because you speak fluent Japanese)? My husband is learning Japanese for our trip - but I think his speaking will be a lot better than his reading by the time we get there). Robyn

With the disclaimers that 1) the author is a friend of mine and 2) I've never used the book because I could read and speak Japanese before I knew it existed, you may be interested in this.

He's also got a website with restaurant listings for the Tokyo and Kyoto areas, and many of the reviews note whether the place has English menus or not.