Trans­la­tion tools: handy Google Translate al­tern­at­ives

The tool Microsoft Trans­lat­or is offered as part of Microsoft’s search engine Bing and so operates under the name of Bing Trans­lat­or. With its clear, com­pre­hens­ive, and ad-free user interface, users can translate entire websites as well as groups of sentences of up to 5,000 char­ac­ters. The highly func­tion­al tool operates in 60 languages, including exotic ones like the native Mexican Querétaro Otomí, the east-Asian Hmong Daw, and the science fiction language Klingon. As a free al­tern­at­ive to Google Translate, Microsoft Trans­lat­or also offers ad­di­tion­al trans­la­tion sug­ges­tions with synonyms. When trans­lat­ing complete sentences or documents, the programme delivers com­pre­hens­ive and sur­pris­ingly high-quality results. Anyone who registers online or downloads the mobile app can also access the ‘Speech API’ for chats – a real-time trans­lat­or which allows for mul­ti­lin­gual con­ver­sa­tions. The app also offers the op­por­tun­ity to download in­di­vidu­al language packs for offline use.

One of Microsoft Trans­lat­or’s most notable features, and in a way makes it better than Google Translate, is the ‘Try & Compare’ function, which works via a neural network. This free ad­di­tion­al feature allows you to review and compare complex terms and longer sentences in up to 10 different languages. This makes for a sig­ni­fic­antly more accurate trans­la­tion. The supported languages are Arabic, ‘Chinese Sim­pli­fied’, German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Por­tuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Ar­ti­fi­cial in­tel­li­gence-supported special functions review the word-by-word context of a sentence, not just al­gorith­mic­ally, but also through a more complex language re­cog­ni­tion based on gram­mat­ic­al pe­cu­li­ar­it­ies. This makes the trans­la­tion sub­stan­tially more ‘organic’ compared to other trans­la­tion pro­grammes. Pro­fes­sion­al clients also have the option of pur­chas­ing a more extensive business version of Microsoft Trans­lat­or.

Many of the major and most popular dic­tion­ar­ies in the English-speaking world like Collins and Oxford dic­tion­ar­ies offer a trans­la­tion function, which is actually ‘powered by Microsoft’. This shows the extent to which Microsoft Trans­lat­or is trusted and respected as an al­tern­at­ive to Google Translate.

Con­clu­sion: Anyone searching for a com­pre­hens­ive Google Translate al­tern­at­ive can go very far with the Microsoft Trans­lat­or – as it auto­mat­ic­ally trans­lates phrases and entire websites, has access to a huge range of languages, and contains an AI-supported ad­di­tion­al feature.

Visually not as sleek as Microsoft Trans­lat­or, but also offering a large choice of languages, Dict.cc is another good option as a trans­la­tion tool. A total of 27 different languages can be trans­lated from English. Add-ons like a trans­la­tion app and browser plug-ins make it a viable al­tern­at­ive to Google Translate. An in­form­a­tion button (‘i’) in the tool provides ad­di­tion­al in­form­a­tion, including a direct com­par­is­on to other online dic­tion­ar­ies and portals like Wikipedia or Google. Plus, vocab­u­lary can be down­loaded for offline use. Thanks to its link with the shareware programme Lin­go­Click, Dict.cc also offers the function of trans­lat­ing single words from the internet with just the click of a button. Another thing that stands out is the large rep­er­toire of synonyms and phrases, so anyone looking for a large choice at minimum amounts of effort is well catered for with Dict.cc. Con­clu­sion: Efficient and extensive – Dict.cc has a large database for detail-ori­ent­ated trans­la­tions and can also be used offline.

An equally user-friendly and effective al­tern­at­ive to Google Translate is the trans­la­tion tool Linguee. Offering a sleek user interface and up to 25 languages, Linguee is a practical option when it comes to trans­lat­ing from one language to another. One huge advantage with this tool, and one which arguably makes it better than Google Translate, is that it searches the web for suitable trans­la­tions, meaning that alongside providing defin­i­tions from its own lexicon, it also offers al­tern­at­ive trans­la­tions from external sources. As the websites states, these al­tern­at­ives are mostly ‘un­veri­fied,’ but they are still a helpful com­par­is­on for finding the right word. Alongside an extensive trans­la­tion and synonym tool, Linguee also offers a search function for phrases, which also considers the context of certain words. This makes the website a very useful Google Translate al­tern­at­ive, as it also shows vari­ations of specific terms. The ac­com­pa­ny­ing app and in­teg­rated database also mean that Linguee can be used on-the-go as well as offline. Con­clu­sion: Linguee is a trans­lat­or and search machine rolled into one, i.e. search terms are used to direct you to similarly-themed pages. This makes it par­tic­u­larly suitable for writers of creative and technical texts.

A further practical and in­form­at­ive trans­la­tion programme, and an al­tern­at­ive to Google Translate, is Reverso. Ac­com­pa­ny­ing every trans­la­tion are il­lu­min­at­ing example sentences, which increase both ease of use and the learning effect for the user. Alongside trans­lat­ing, the tool also offers a handy con­jug­a­tion check for mul­ti­lin­gual verbs and a spell check with auto correct (French and English). This makes Reverso es­pe­cially suitable for proofread­ing and cor­rec­tions. The app ‘Reverso Context’ caters to smart­phone users as well. Further add-on features like word saving, search history, and even more example sentences, are ac­cess­ible after (a primarily free of charge) re­gis­tra­tion. The fee-based service ‘Reverso Localize’ combines options to translate, audit, and edit entire websites. This is also the case for documents and present­a­tions, CVs, and contracts. Links to news websites, en­cyc­lo­pe­di­as, and image searches mean that the browsing of other online resources can take place directly during the trans­la­tion. Con­clu­sion: Reverso gives you the pos­sib­il­ity of ad­di­tion­ally reviewing and cor­rect­ing your trans­la­tions. But bear in mind that the complete functions are only available to re­gistered users.

The trans­la­tion search engine Babelfish is another, if slightly simpler, Google Translate al­tern­at­ive. With its speedy trans­la­tion of terms and coherent sentences, Babelfish is perfectly suited as a browser ap­plic­a­tion for quick and efficient searches. From English you can translate into 14 other languages. While the tool only offers one trans­la­tion, i.e. no al­tern­at­ives, users also have the option of posting a question in the ‘How do you say…’ section of the website in order to get free trans­la­tion advice from other members of the Babelfish community. The ranking function means that the best trans­la­tions can be ‘upvoted’ by other users and be listed at the top of any thread. Active par­ti­cip­a­tion in the community is en­cour­aged, as Babelfish users can ‘win fortune, fame and monthly prizes’. Un­for­tu­nately, due to it using an automatic search function, it can mean that not all trans­la­tions are alway 100% accurate. For that reason, results should always be compared and cross-checked. But as a quick sup­ple­ment­ary trans­la­tion aid, Babelfish fits the bill.  Con­clu­sion: Babelfish is a simple trans­la­tion programme for quick and to-the-point searches from English into 14 other languages.