Constant development of applications has turned your smartphone into a multipurpose tool. Camera translation is a new type of translation that can either get you out of a jam at a given time or make life more difficult if used in a professional environment. Despite its name, the machine doesn’t translate, it’s more of an interpreting system. If you'd like to know when you should and shouldn’t use it, this article is for you.
It’s simple. Take a picture of the text you’re interested in with your smartphone’s camera. The device processes it online and gives you a real-time translation that overlaps the original text in augmented reality. Some of the apps with this technology translate without taking a picture, just focusing the camera on the text is enough.
It’s not actually a translation since the mobile device interprets the symbols and translates them literally using its database. It’s an automatic process that doesn't take into account the intentionality of the text nor the linguistic context on which the specific meaning of a word, sentence or fragment depends.
The main feature of these applications is their immediacy. They are useful tools when you need to know the meaning of a word, by way of a bilingual dictionary. If you travel to a country where you don’t speak the language it can help you understand a menu or sign.
It can even be used at the workplace to help you understand an email or message from a foreign supplier or client, but under no circumstance should they be used to interpret long texts nor demand special attention. In that case, we recommend you turn to a professional translator, who will be able to grasp the meanings and nuances of the document.
Because of this, these tools have never been a good alternative to translate the content or projects you want to communicate to your clients or collaborators. Trusting a camera translation app can seem like an easy way to communicate your content in other languages, but you shouldn't forget that the machine “interprets” what it sees without understanding it and the result can be terribly awful for the image of your company.
There are several disadvantages that advise against turning a camera translation app into your translation resource.
Camera translation can be useful for your daily life, but if you really need a professional translation it is advisable to invest in the services of a professional translation company so as to turn your content into a beneficial asset.