In 2004, Google’s automated translation service was still in infancy. A fan in South Korea sent an e-mail stating Google was their favorite search engine. Creators used their Google Translate service to translate the e-mail and the results read: “The sliced raw fish shoes it wishes. Google green onion thing!”
Google Translate has come a long way since then. Of all the recent Google ventures outside their “search engine” comfort zone, all Google translation services stand out as a shining beacon amongst a host of troubled projects. Their legal-locked digital books project and the stalled social networking site, BUZZ are a few examples.
However, this growing success took time. In 2007 Google began offering 800-GOOG-411, a free directory assistance service that interprets spoken requests, giving Google the upper hand in recognizing spoken English. One year later, Google released a search-by voice system.
In late 2009, it introduced Goggles, a smartphone app which analyzed photos, matching them to a database of images.
Google isn’t resting on its laurels. Last month, Google took their translation services one step further with the launch of a software allowing phones to translate foreign test from photo images ranging anywhere from street signs to restaurant menus.
Combine these advances and it’s easy to see the birth of a fully functioning automatic translator. Google translation services are growing by leaps and bounds and for quick fun translations, we’re okay with you using them.
Read the full article and let us know if you agree.
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