Finding your language wallah

Google also offers a Translator Toolkit. You can find it by clicking on the link on the Google Translate splash page. Those free components make it possible for a technically savvy user to build a translation application using Google’s system. The programming approach is consistent with the approach taken on Google’s Code Playground. A person with elementary programming skills can explore the functionality of the Translate system. Google also provides a Gadget (code snippet for a Web page) so your Web pages can appear in other languages.

Give it a spin

For more experienced developers, Google provides an AJAX Language API. That programming interface allows a developer to create an application that weaves together a number of Google services. For example, it is possible to build a complex application that translates and detects the language blocks of text within a Web page. In addition, a developer can enable translations on any text field or text area in a Web page. An example would be transliterating text to Hindi. The API makes it possible for users to spell out phonetically Hindi words using English and have them appear in the Hindi script. Google provides useful examples of its Translation API at http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxlanguage/documentation/#Examples. You or your developers can give the Google Docs translation function a spin.

You will need to get a free Google account.

The enhanced translation features in general and the Google Docs’ Translate feature in particular are significant for a number of reasons. First, the service is available within a user-friendly word processor. This means that anyone with basic knowledge of word processing can create and translate documents with zero training. Google’s interface is spare, but it makes a complicated task using traditional translation software almost foolproof.

Raising the game

Second, a developer can fiddle with Google’s sample code and create specific applications or browser add-ins to tailor the translation function to the needs of an organization or a specific group of users in an organization. One example is an administrative office where staff handles general correspondence and order information. A user can process those documents within the Google Docs environment and “move” the translated text into another system by clicking an icon to activate the developer’s script. With more effort, Google Docs provides templates and tools to create an application to handle creating invoices in English and a target language. Weaving together Google functions continues to become quicker and easier with each incremental tweak to the Google Docs and Google Apps ecosystem.

The established vendors of translation programs will have to raise the level of their game. Google’s basic lineup of more than 50 language pairs and its competitive pricing translate to increased competition. Large-scale online translation systems can hit six figures when deployed across an organization. Google’s approach can drop that cost to a fraction of the established vendors’ fees.

Think of Google’s translation and Apps functions as your organization’s language wallah.