Many genealogists whose ancestors spoke a language different from their own will enjoy the newly redesigned Google Translate.
Improvements include:
- Easier to find the feature to upload documents for translation, including .doc, .pdf, and .xls.
- More convenient to save and organize translations you regularly utilize or search for. Google has added labels to each saved translation, so if you speak multiple languages, you can sort and group your translations with a single click.
- Updated labelling and typography make it easier to navigate.
- More responsive website so it can adjust dynamically for screen size across all devices: mobile, tablet, or desktop.
The list of synonyms can also help a genealogist determine if translations are not quite accurate. For example, mineur in the document may not be a miner, but a minor. If the alternative translation and synonyms were there before, they weren’t as easy to see as they are now.
In addition to translating words, sentences, and entire documents, Google Translate can also convert an entire website into a selected language. To do this, enter the website address in the box on the left and select your preferred language in the right box and click on the link that appears.
Google Translate was launched 12 years ago. Since then, it has evolved to keep up with the ways people use it. Initially translating between English and Arabic only, it now translates 30 trillion sentences per year across 103 languages.
The synonyms list has been so helpful! I’m wading through 17th and 18th century French parish books right now and there have been several unfamiliar words that were also misspelled/hard to decipher. The synonyms list has saved me several times!
I like that we can edit the translation, especially for Quebec French, the words used are not always quite the same. Usually for a whole site I make sure to open it in Chrome then right click anywhere and choose Translate.