Lost in translation? Today's tips.

4 Minute Read: This blog outlines some of my evolving tips and new technologies for foreign language translation as applied within a consulting setting. I expect this position will change based on further engagement and improving technology. I will update this document over the next few years.

Being Lost... for 30 years.

Over the last 30 years, as an IBM consultant, I have worked with various clients in multiple countries with many, many inherit language challenges. These challenges seemed to be overwhelming and never-ending - ranging from my inability to engage in simple day to day conversations to understanding technical documentation when not provided in English.

And this challenge was increased by the limited time I had to spend in each country - no particular trip had a sufficient duration for me to pick up the basics beyond "Good Morning" or "Thank you". For most trips I only had 1 to 2 weeks notices prior to departure - and each trip only lasted 2 to 4 weeks in a country. Should I learn Spanish, Mandarin or Thai? Japanese, Portuguese or Dutch? I had no time - and a work deadline to meet. So frequently I would stumble thru the engagement - supported by English-speaking local team member. Not a great look for an IT professional.

As a result, I found a virtual chasm had opened up between myself, my client and even the local team - purely based around my own inflexibility around my primary language and inability to converse in the local language.

For instance - in Shenzen, China a few years ago, I was once invited to a meal with a client.... who sat next to me (on the left) for the 3 hour meal. As I did not speak Mandarin, and he only spoke Mandarin... and my translation support was on my right... conversation was stilted / halting. This was a lost opportunity to connect. I made do... but I could have done better.

So how do I become fluent... in whichever language that is required.

Identifying Spectrums for Translation

Based on my past experiences, the translation requirements, for a consultant in a foreign land, can be broken into 4 main areas or Spectrums: Visual, Spoken Word, Text Chats and Documents.

VISUAL - ability to instantly translate text which may be displayed on a page, visual display or on a sign or a projected image (during a meeting)

SPOKEN WORD - ability to instantly translate the spoken language from an individual or a group into a text or audible output (without a human translator)

TEXT CHATS - ability to quickly translate text from a chat tool WhatsApp into an understandable context

DOCUMENTS - ability to confidentially and easily convert documents in various formats (excel, tables, word and PDF)

Identifying the right app for the right situation

For each of these translation challenges I was looking for an app or technology which was

1. Low cost/No Cost 2. Easy to use 3. Relatively accurate. 4. Independent. 5. Secure

In essence, I needed a low cost technology which would be easy to use, provide a medium level of accuracy, enable me to be independent of supporting language staff - to a certain degree - and provide a level of security.

While I had dabbled with document translation tools for PDF and Word with relatively high levels of accuracy (using internal document translators similar to Google) I had not been able to crack the spoken word with ease.

How Dutch became my 2nd language... ....overnight?

Well that all ceased in a recent trip to Netherlands - where I was able to experiment with various language technologies to translate Dutch language into English across all 4 language spectrums: Visual, Spoken Word, Text Chats and Document. This was a game changer for me and there will be no going back.

The graphic below outlines the technology I am currently selecting for each of the 4 language spectrums. In general I am using the Google Translate capability in all areas except documentation (and I will explain why later)

Let's talk thru each of these individually, I will explain where it worked, where it didn't, provide a link and rate each solution on a simple rating standard of ONE to FIVE ... where 1 does not meet the requirement and 5 fully fulfils the requirement.

1. VISUAL: Image translation

To instantly translate images of text on a page or a screen I started using the Google Translate App on my Android (and later on my Apple Ipad. With an easy-to-use interface which leveraged my built in phone camera I found, after a little bit of practice, that most of the words on the page could be translated in real time. While I would not advise translation of full pages of documents I found this very useful for diagrams or specific text on a screen.

The Google Translate App was also very useful when I was later in a Netherlands canteen trying to work out food options for lunch. Just point and translate - Chicken or Ham or Vegan all in Dutch - now in English. This was an unexpected bonus and I could see some real advantages when I next went to Tokyo...

             COST-5     EASE-3     ACCURACY-4     INDEPENDENT-4     SECURE-4

Link >> https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=docs&sl=auto&tl=en

Here is a brief overview which reflects my own experience.

2. SPOKEN WORD: Translating conversations

In meetings, especially in Japan, it was necessary to have a work associate translate for you as a meeting progressed. This could be quite distracting for other attendees.

With the Conversation feature of the Google Translate App on my Android I could 'listen' in to team meetings and have displayed translated text on the phone. Again the interface was intuitive but it appeared to have buffering issues so I needed to keep initiating the recording process. I also found in multi voice meetings, where some speakers were not close, that some elements were not picked up by the limited mic in my phone.

So there were some issues and as a result, from an accuracy perspective, I was achieving a lower levels than straight text translation... but it was still useful.

Would this be a replacement for human translator for a formal client meeting - I would say No... but for informal conversations it was definitely a help.

             COST-5     EASE-3     ACCURACY-3     INDEPENDENT-3     SECURE-4

Link >> https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=docs&sl=auto&tl=en

Here is a brief overview of the function:

3. TEXT CHAT: Chat translation

Frequently when I work with a new team they will now setup a WhatsApp channel and collaborate in the local language.

Again the Google Translate App on my Android allowed me to copy any text (in this case in Dutch) within WhatsApp and, with an additional click, get the translated English displayed. This was super handy and very easy to use... although I couldn't help but wish that WhatsApp just translated any text displayed automatically... hopefully this will be a future version.

             COST-5     EASE-5     ACCURACY-4     INDEPENDENT-5     SECURE-4

Link >> https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=docs&sl=auto&tl=en

4. DOCS - Document translation

For document translation, I leveraged an internal IBM translation tool using Watson capability which allowed me to translate all required formats including Word, PDF, Powerpoint and Excel and into to all target languages. This internal tool capability is based on the IBM Watson Translator tool https://www.ibm.com/watson/services/language-translator/

This is very similar to Google Translate and it allowed me to upload documents individually and then have them processed with the resulting text emailed to me.

Areas of improvement would be to have a bulk upload feature. But I was able to process 20 large relatively documents quickly within 10 minutes. I also found that the accuracy of translation to English was sometimes not as accurate as I would like to have achieved. This is the case in all the tools assessed - however it was sufficient for me to understand the 80 to 90% of all content which was sufficient for my purposes.

The other area where this capability excelled over Google Translate was in regard to security where I could load up documents within a secured network.

             COST-5     EASE-4     ACCURACY-4     INDEPENDENT-5     SECURE-5

Link >> https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=docs&sl=auto&tl=en

Future developments

.....with Bose Frames

I am looking forward to trying out a new set of Bose Frames - sunglasses which allow you to take audio from your phone and feed it via bluetooth to speakers in the frames,

Potentially I could use it to translate text (listened or read) directly via Google Translate App and send me translations to me via an audio link (which would not have an impact on others). I will let you know how this goes in my future trials...

Next steps

I would take a leap forward today, download Google Translate today and start experimenting...

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of IBM. Assumptions made within the document are not reflective of the position of IBM.