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 advert-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 fictional 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 program 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 programs. 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 program 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 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 program, 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 par­tic­u­lar­ly 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 program for quick and to-the-point searches from English into 14 other languages.