People use languages to communicate their feelings, needs and identities (Jones, 2016). In this globalizing world, language has become more and more important. Even though communicating with someone is much easier now because we have multiple ways to get in touch with someone, misunderstandings and mistranslations are still commonplace (De Valoes, 2014).
Google has recently introduced Google Pixel Earbuds, the earbuds that can make real-time translations in 40 different languages (Champy, 2017). People refer to it the introduction as ‘The real Babel Fish’, which is a reference to ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, a comedy science fiction book (Gershgorn, 2017). The Babel Fish is a universal translator, which is directly stuck to someone’s brain and immediately translates any verbal language (Adams, 1979).
So now when you are on a holiday in another country and you don’t speak the language, do not worry. Google will help you get in touch with the people there and the best part is that it works both ways. The earbuds are linked to Google Assistant and you can use the translation option when using Google Translate on your Android phone (Champy, 2017). The only thing you have to do is follow these steps:
- Hold on to your right earbud and say ‘Help me speak [insert one of the 40 languages, for example] Swedish’.
- Put your phone on speaker and talk in your own language.
It then automatically translates everything you say to the language you choose. But of course, you would also like to understand the other person. Therefore, it makes sure that when the other person speaks in their language, it automatically translates the message to your earbuds in the language you understand.
However, there are some drawbacks. For example, it only works if you pair the earbuds with a phone that works on Pixel or Android (Nougat 7.0 or higher) (Seppala, 2017). Therefore, iPhone users might have to wait a bit longer. This can be good news for the Android users! Now is the time to swoop in and charm your holiday fling with some romantic poetry from your own language. Be careful, though, as we all know that Google translate can still make some mistakes and we wouldn’t want that to happen.
Here is a demonstration of the Google Pixel Earbuds:
References
Adams, D. (1979). The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. London (UK): Del Rey.
Champy, A. (2017, October 4). Google Pixel Buds–wireless headphones that help you do more. Retrieved October 5, 2017, from blog.google: https://www.blog.google/products/pixel/pixel-buds/
De Valoes, L. (2014, February 26). Importance of Language – Why Learning a Second Language is Important | Continuing Education – Trinity Washington University. Retrieved October 2, 2017, from trinitydc.edu: http://www.trinitydc.edu/continuing-education/2014/02/26/importance-of-language-why-learning-a-second-language-is-important/
Gershgorn, D. (2017, October 4). Google (GOOG) built earbuds that translate 40 languages in real time like the Hitchhiker’s Guide’s ”Babel fish” – Quartz. Retrieved October 5, 2017, from qz.com: https://qz.com/1094638/google-goog-built-earbuds-that-translate-40-languages-in-real-time-like-the-hitchhikers-guides-babel-fish/
Jones, R. G. (2016). Communication in the Real World: An Introduction to Communication Studies. University of Minnesota Libraries. Retrieved October 2, 2017
Seppala, T. J. (2017, October 4). Google made its own earbuds because it killed the headphone jack. Retrieved October 5, 2017, from engadget.com: https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/04/google-pixel-2-wireless-earbuds/
