Talking Panda sets a new standard for language translation software. Designed for the iPod, it’s stocked with over three hundred essential words and phrases of the language you want to speak, organized for instant access. Download and install the program right now and begin your adventure abroad. Virtual fluency available in French, Spanish, and Japanese for $10 per language.
Conventional phrase books and dictionaries can’t teach you pronunciation. But with Talking Panda you can replay the words and phrases as many times as you like until you can speak like a native! Or if you’re really shy, pop the iPod headphones into a waiter’s ear, press play, and get exactly what you want!
More info and download links here.
MacDailyNews Take: Another innovative use for Apple’s iPod shows Cupertino’s little device is so much more than an “MP3 player.”
Related MacDailyNews article:
Duke students’ new 20GB iPods will do more than just play music – July 20, 2004
I wouldnt call it “translatino software” exactly – sounds like a small multilingual dictionary. Usefull but hardly revolutionary.
this really sucks… back to audiobooks… why don’t they make it work with earlier products… only the newest one… disappointing as usual.
YES! I’ve been struggling trying to learn Japanese, and this might just be the thing for me! I was even toying with the idea of paying $300 for a program I wasn’t sure was going to cut it…but this is SO MUCH BETTER! Both my daughter and I can learn Japanese for $10…SWEET!
I don’t think the iPod is an MP3 player, MDN.
Although 300 words/phrases seems a bit limiting, the very quick access (much faster than any dictionary) and an accurate pronunciation may make it valuable for those quick trips abroad… or into the 7-11 store.
Ahhhhh, cunning linguistics in my ipod. Life is good.
hey hey… no jokes about talking like a native
ooooh i will take some of that.
DakRoland,
Speaking as a native English speaker that has learned Japanese, I seriously doubt a program like this will help you learn more than a few words. There is actually an excellent series of textbooks published by the Japan Times press with audio CDs/cassettes that would give you and your daughter a much more well-rounded Japanese learning experience.
If you’d like more information on the series, drop me a line at thwalker [at] mac (dot) com.
Wanna learn Japanese….get a tutor.
I’ve tried some of those programs and they suck. Working with a native speaker of the language is the best way to learn the language correctly.
Having learned all those … I look forward to enjoying the no-doubt hilarious results of hearing machine translations.
Can it translate the following?
I’m sorry. While taking my pantyhose off, I stumbled and my stiletto heel went through the Toto control panel, short-circuiting the electronics. Does it have manual flush?
Penguin’s “Teach Yourself Japanese” is good if anyone is starting from scratch.
I wish the people who compared this to language-learning programs and referred to “machine translations” had taken a moment to look at the web-site and tried the demo. They would find that it is a very neat and simple set of human-voice recordings of common phrases. It is not a teaching program. But next time you’re in Paris you can practise your “where is the bathroom?” a couple of times before embarassing yourself in front of the waiter (of course, he may still ignore your question and just bring you a plate of boiled squid anyway).
When they add German I’m right in there.
Hana no naka ni yubi ga arimasu.
(I don’t have the Japanese characters installed. Damn!)
Translation…
Your finger is up your nose.
ah, so desu ne. hajeme ni, anata no hana no naka ni yubi aru to omoimashita. ima ha, wakarimashita!
Amateurs — stop murdering the language!
Naani hojitten’no? Hanakuso ka?
Kudos to the first accurate translation from a non-native speaker without cheating.
Hana no naka ni yubi ga arimasu.
There’s a finger in [some upsepecified person’s] nose.
ah, so desu ne. hajeme ni, anata no hana no naka ni yubi aru to omoimashita. ima ha, wakarimashita!
Oh yeahhh. For a start, I thought there was finger [no sic] inside your nose. Now, I [understood / found out / know].
> set of human-voice recordings of common phrases
So, what seems to be the problem?
__ [click] Do you have a doctor? I am sick.
Yes, I see… uhh… fever? Nausea? Tummy ache?
__ [click] I have a pain in the stomach.
Oh, when did that happen?
__ Excuse me?
WHEN–DID–THAT–HAP-PEN?
__ [click] I have a pain in the stomach. [whirr-click] Do you have a doctor? [click-click] I am sick.
DID–YOU–EAT–SOME-THING?
__ Excuse me? Ahh… [click] When is the next train to [pause] stomach! (Wait, that’s a mistake…) [click-click-click-click-click]. Can you tell me where the bathroom is?
Oh… this way, this way … T-H-E-R-E… (asshole!)
__ [click] stomach [pause] STOMMICK!