Do usable translation gadgets exist? An investigation 0 ▲ Random Thoughts 56 days ago · Tech · hide · Fediverse post I bought this 2005-era translation device because… because… OK, here’s the thing: Normally when I’m reading something in French, I’ve got some proper tools handy for doing translation — I’m gonna need it. But other times, like when I’m reading an English book from the 40s, there’ll be a few French phrases here and there (because there was an assumption that all proper Englishmen have at least a basic understanding of French), and that’s fine: I have no problem (finally) reading French at a level of a British 12-year-old from 1947. But sometimes I’m stumped by just the simplest word, because I just forget, say, whether “neck” is “cou” or “genou”. So I fish my phone out of my pocket and: That took literally half an hour! And now I forgot where I was in the novel! DID MISS MARPLE DIE MEANWHILE So I wondered whether somebody had made a li’l device that I could have on the table here, that’s instant-on, and you can just type a word and get the translation? And the answer is “no, not really… Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town