We are living in an increasingly connected world. Companies are expanding beyond their borders, seeking suppliers, manufacturers, and partners on a global scale. However, there are challenges when it comes to operating on a global scale: language. But Google is here to help with a recent update to Google Meet, which now supports real-time speech translation.
Google Meet real-time speech translation
Google has announced that it is bringing real-time speech translation to Google Meet, its virtual meeting platform. Computer-assisted translations aren’t new, but instead of text, you can now use voice. This means that participants in meetings can talk like they normally would, and Google Meet will translate the conversation in real-time.
Now, to be fair, written translations work just fine. We use it all the time to translate directions, websites, and so on. However, as Google points out, speech translation could be more inclusive and efficient. This is because when we talk, there is a tone in our voice that can be useful to gauge whether a person is happy, angry, receptive, or opposed to what we’re saying. These are the linguistic subtleties that sometimes get lost in written translations.
It also allows meeting participants to stay focused instead of being forced to read captions or subtitles.
Some limitations to consider
That being said, Google Meet’s new translation features do have some limitations. For starters, it only supports bidirectional translation between English and Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and Italian. We expect more languages will be supported eventually, but for now, this is it.
The second limitation is that it only supports single language pairs per meeting. This means that if you set the translation from English to Spanish, that’s all you get. If someone else were to speak in German or French, that conversation will not be translated. Lastly, while the real-time translation feature is coming to iOS and Android, it will only be available to Google Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus. Frontline Plus, Google AI Pro and Ultra customers.
This means that free users will have to sit this one out. At least for now.
The post Google Meet Gets Real-Time Speech Translation to Break Language Barriers in Meetings appeared first on Android Headlines.
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