Tag: Language »

Getting around in a country when you can't understand the primary language can be tough. Fortunately there are several options available to help wold travellers with the important stuff like giving directions to a cab driver or asking where the restroom is. Now we can add the Insight Guides Phrasebook app to that list.

Heart to Heart, by nomtasticapps,is a new Apple watch app that translates your speech to others using abluetooth connection. It's like having a babelfish strapped to your wrist.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Friends First Words byStoryToys Entertainment is a visualdictionary for pre-schoolers based on the popular books by Eric Carle.

The app acts like a 3D pop-up book with over80 words to learn in English,French, German, or Spanish. The book also features a quiz at the end to let kids see how well they learned thier new words.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Friends First Wordsis available now for$2.99.

At long last, a brand new Apple product category is almost here. In 2015, five years after rewriting the whole tablet rulebook with the iPad, Apple looks to do the same to wearable technology with the Apple Watch. However, while watching its debut during the most recent Apple press conference, I couldn’t help but notice a disturbing trend amidst all the talk of fitness integration, luxury gold bands, revolutionary payment systems, and elegant digital crowns: when it comes to how we actually communicate with each other, Apple Watch seems like a big step back.

The TripLingo series of apps have done a great job of deciphering popular slang in various foreign languages, as we noticed when reviewing the Spanish version last year. Now, with the London 2012 Olympics upon us, there's a special themed version out in the form of TripLingo UK Edition.

The app uses a "Slang Slider" to enable users to see four different ways to say each phrase, with the options of Posh, Cockney, Scouse and Jafaican. It's worth pointing out that Scouse isn't actually a dialect of London, instead being located in the North West of the country in the city of Liverpool, but it is a enjoyable comparison to make.

As a Brit, I'll say this now, we don't ALL use such slang in our day to day living but it is a fun selection of words and terms that were once much more common within the UK, with a hint of parody about it. And don't worry, visitors to Britain, it's still possible to hear many such terms used if you happen to visit the right area.

Whether you're travelling to Britain soon or just want to have some fun learning a new type of slang, you'd be barmy (crazy) to miss out on TripLingo UK Edition.

It's out now and free to download.

Here's a reminder of just how great technology is: Worldictionary is the kind of translation tool that would have seemed mystical years ago.

All the user has to do is point their iPhone's camera at a word and Worldictionary defines and translates it. There's no need to type in words. An internet connection is required but otherwise, it's pretty seamless.

The app recognizes 22 languages, including Traditional Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish and Spanish. In each case, results promise to be instant and accurate. Live translation isn't the only option either, with it possible to take a photo for later reference, such as when an internet connection is available.

Google, Wikipedia and YouTube search functionality is available for definitions and it's always possible to check the translation history at a later date.

Worldictionary should prove to be a great assistant for regular travellers.

It's out now, priced at $3.99.

Word games are fun. Any sane person can appreciate that, right? So, how about checking out Mega Multilingual Word Find? It is indeed quite a long name for a game but it's a fun concept.

From the makers of Word Lubbers, Mega Multilingual Word Find is a wordsearch game that's not only fun, it's potentially educational!

Mega Multilingual Word Find offers numerous different categories, catering for all interests. Categories include athletics, body parts, clothing, colors, crime, feelings, food, mammals, science, travel, weather and numerous others. There's also the option to unlock additional languages comprising of Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.

To further add to the educational benefits, players can choose different puzzle and word list languages so that the player can learn as they search.

Mega Multilingual Word Find is out now and it's a free download. To unlock all the languages, there's an in-app purchase priced at $4.99 or users can unlock one language at a time for $0.99.