Microsoft has finally released for everyone and without any need to register for an invitation, its Skype Translator program, which works as a real-time interpreter in video calls made with Skype, also in Italian . Basically, if you speak in videochat in Italian to a person who speaks only English or French, they will be able to see the translation of what we say on the screen with subtitles or even hear our voice already translated .
Conversely, we too will hear what the other person says with the translation of the virtual voice interpreter .
It is therefore a rather revolutionary and hitherto non-existent program that really breaks the language barriers and that will be especially appreciated in the corporate and multinational sphere, to speak with distant customers or colleagues in a fluid way, even if you don't know a word of the other language.
The translation is done with a very advanced technology developed by Microsoft, capable of understanding what is said orally and translating it in an understandable and not approximate or random way.
Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) not only interprets and translates words, but also tries to make sense of it in context and phrase, also by understanding the differences in interruptions, tone of voice and rhythm.
Skype Translator, which also supports Italian, is a program for Windows 8 and Windows 10 PCs and tablets only and can be downloaded as a free application from the Microsoft store .
UPDATE: Skype Translator is now included in the latest version of the Skype program and therefore a separate app is not required.
The application is like the normal client with a few more language options.
To work, both people who communicate must have the Skype Translator application and obviously have a webcam (if you are making a video chat) and a microphone on the computer.
When you open a chat with a person from Skype Translator, you can activate the translation option by choosing the language spoken by the other person in addition to ours already set at the beginning.
You can then choose a translation language for the voice interpreter from Italian, English, Spanish and Chinese and one for the translation of the written chat which can be any language in the world.
In the chat window with a person, you can start the voice call or video call to see the instant translation at work in a real and real-time conversation.
As the app tells us in the initial presentation, it is important to speak clearly and not too fast, naturally and without using words in dialect.
The icon with the gear in the chat window leads to the application settings to choose the voice that the other person will hear when we speak, to adjust the volumes, the pauses, to also activate the written translation and to prevent the translation of vulgar words.
The voices, as can be verified immediately are a bit robotic, but all in all natural and can be male or female.
These choices are made the first time the application is started and can then be changed.
When making a video call, the program will show the written translation of what is being said by voice and will also provide, after a sentence, the audio translation that speaks like a real interpreter .
Skype Translator already works really well even if still in preview version, it is able to understand words and their context well, without getting too lost in the pauses and natural interruptions of a conversation.
This Skype Translator application will change the lives of those who have distant friends or relatives who speak Italian poorly, who have business in China and who work with foreign customers, partners and colleagues, who can truly save time and money in understanding each other.
Below the Skype Translator demonstration video
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