I've posed the idea before: how nice it would be for a VoIP data application that provides on-the-fly language translation. Well, there's already such a plugin for Skype in beta format. It's called ULRTMT - Universal Language Real-Time Message Translator. [Mathemagenic via Skype Journal]
Although
before you get too excited, it's for text conversations only.
Surprisingly though, it handles a whoppingly big list of language
conversions. I didn't count, but there's probably close to thirty
translations, some of which don't even involve English. And the
software supposedly works on both active and archived Skype text chats.
Unfortunately,
as Mathemagenic indicated, it takes a bit of effort to install. Follow
the instructions carefully and it actually does work. Use Internet
Explorer. (I didn't try Firefox browser, because the actual translation
window runs in an IE browser window. Don't forget to bookmark the link;
there doesn't seem to be a trigger from within Skype.)
I tested
the service with English-to-Japanese and English-to-French on archived
chats. Then I ran Skype on two different profiles on two computers,
with one set to French language (although this isn't necessary for
languages that use the Roman alphabet).
Unlike most Skype
plugins, the meat of the service runs in a browser window. [Like I
mention above, the instructions mention IE Explorer, so that's what I
went with.] After refreshing the translation browser window, I selected
the active conversation on my desktop - the computer with the so-called
English speaking user. Then I typed simple French greetings on my
laptop. The translation window immediately showed both my French text
and the English version. The desktop's Skype chat window, however,
showed the French text as typed from the laptop's Skype session.
Verdict:
Unfortunately, the Japanese translation does not use the Romaji letter
set, and my knowledge of the other three Japanese letterforms has
disintegrated with disuse. So I don't know how accurate the translation
is. The French-to-English translation, however, is reasonably accurate,
if a bit literal. I assume other translations will undergo the same
problem. It's part of the reason why machine translation of a language
is generally a last resort if a human translator is unavailable. Still,
it's a nice start, so bravo to ZOverLord for a great effort, and to a
product that just might one day be the closest thing to an IM Universal Translator. At least in text mode.
