"Making Yourself Understood in Beijing - We Test Over-the-Phone Translation Services...



"Getting a Dosa in New Delhi, Contempt in Paris" by Sarah Nassauer, July 17, 2008



"If you find yourself lost in translation while traveling abroad there are the usual fixes -- gesturing wildly as if playing the game charades, using a trusty phrase book, or hoping for the help of a bilingual bystander.

"But interpretation companies are hoping you use another tool: your cellphone. These services aim to give you access to a 24-hour bilingual interpreter; you call the service on your cellphone, explain your dilemma in English, then hand over the phone to whomever you need to speak with -- cab driver, waiter, police officer, doctor, or the object of your affection in a bar."


"We found the quality of the (Language Line Services) interpretation excellent.

The interpreter seemed to have local knowledge, asking if our waiter at a Chinese restaurant spoke Chinese or Indonesian."

Read the complete Wall Street Journal article here



Learn more about the Language Line® Personal Interpreter Service here