Skype Translator

{{Skype Limited}}

{{short description|Speech to speech translation application by Skype}}

Skype Translator is a speech to speech translation application developed by Skype, which has operated as a division of Microsoft since 2018.{{cite web|last1=Rooney|first1=Ben|title=Microsoft to buy Skype for $8.5 billion|url=https://money.cnn.com/2011/05/10/technology/microsoft_skype/}} Skype Translator Preview has been publicly available since December 15, 2015.{{cite news|last=Van Allen|first=Fox|title=Microsoft Launches 'Skype Translator Preview'.|url=http://www.techlicious.com/blog/skype-translator-preview-app-launch/|newspaper=Technilicious|date=15 December 2014}} Skype Translator is available as a standalone app and, as of October 2015, is integrated into the Skype for Windows desktop app.

Skype Translator was built on developments in deep neural networks{{cite news|last=Hernandez|first=Pedro|title=Microsoft's Skype Translator Provides On-the-Fly Translations. Say "Hola." Microsoft seeks to demolish language barriers with a preview of its near-real-time translator technology.|url=http://www.eweek.com/cloud/microsofts-skype-translator-provides-on-the-fly-translations.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160316040201/http://www.eweek.com/cloud/microsofts-skype-translator-provides-on-the-fly-translations.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 16, 2016|newspaper=eWeek|date=15 December 2014}}{{cite web|title=Skype Translator: Breaking down language barriers| website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu9kMIeS0wQ&index=1&list=PLD7HFcN7LXRfCBvaE0EdiHe8zg2bLUIxM}} for speech recognition and Microsoft Translator's statistical machine translation{{cite news|last=Thurrott|first=Paul|title=Microsoft Launches Skype Translator Preview. Habla Español?|url=http://winsupersite.com/skype/microsoft-launches-skype-translator-preview|newspaper=SuperSite for Windows|date=15 December 2014}}{{cite web|title=Milestones on the path to Skype Translator|url=http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/about/speech-to-speech-milestones.aspx|website=Microsoft Research}} technology. Users converse in their native languages, and the speech is translated from one language to the other in “near real-time”,{{cite news|last=Foley|first=Mary Jo|title=Microsoft to integrate Skype Translator functionality into its Skype desktop apps. Microsoft is folding its Skype Translator real-time translation technology into the desktop versions of its Skype apps for PCs, starting with the Windows 8.1 version.|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-to-integrate-skype-translator-functionality-into-its-skype-desktop-apps/#!|newspaper=ZDNet|date=8 June 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Lowensohn|first1=Josh|title=Skype shown automatically translating multilingual voice calls|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/27/5756166/microsofts-skype-translator-will-translate-voice-calls-on-the-fly|website=The Verge|date=28 May 2014 }} with the output translation presented by computer-generated speech synthesis. The current version supports speech translation to and from English, French,{{cite web|title=Bienvenue dans la version bêta de Skype Translator|language = French|url=http://www.skype.com/fr/translator-preview/}} German, Chinese (Mandarin), Italian,{{cite news|last=Whitney|first=Lance|title=Skype Translator adds Mandarin and Italian to its repertoire. The translation feature for the Internet-calling service now speaks the languages of Beijing and Rome. But the translator is still available only in preview mode.

|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/skype-translator-adds-more-languages-and-smoother-translating/#!|newspaper=CNet|date=8 April 2015}} Spanish,{{cite news|last=Sieber|first=Tina|title=Can Skype Translator really help you converse in any language? We tested it to see. Skype Translator Preview brings real time text and voice translation to your desktop.|url=http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/get-instant-text-voice-translation-skype-translator-preview/|newspaper=Digital Trends|date=7 February 2015}} Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese and Russian.{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.skype.com/2016/10/11/%d0%bf%d1%80%d0%b8%d0%b2%d0%b5%d1%82-skype-translator-says-hello-to-russian/|title=Привет! Skype Translator says Hello to Russian|date=2016-10-11|website=Skype Blogs|access-date=2016-10-11}}

The application also features on-screen text transcripts of the spoken phrases in their original language along with the translation. In addition, Skype Translator supports Skype Instant Message, which can translate users’ instant messages into more than 70 languages supported by Microsoft Translator.{{cite web|title=Skype Translator Preview|url=http://www.skype.com/en/translator-preview/}}{{cite news|last=Shaw|first=Ray|title=Microsoft now speaks 50 languages – use almost any device.|url=http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/business-software/68956-microsoft-now-speaks-50-languages-–-use-almost-any-device|newspaper=IT Wire|date=11 August 2015}}

In October 2015, Skype announced{{cite web|title=Skype Translator unveils the magic to more people around the world|url=http://blogs.skype.com/2015/10/01/skype-translator-unveils-the-magic-to-more-people-around-the-world/}} that Skype Translator has been integrated into Skype for Windows desktop. This functionality is available to users following automatic updates to their Skype desktop app.

In March 2016, Microsoft Translator announced{{cite web|title=Microsoft Translator brings end-to-end speech translation to everyone with the world's first Speech Translation API|url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/translation/archive/2016/03/30/microsoft-translator-brings-end-to-end-speech-translation-to-everyone-with-the-world-s-first-speech-translation-api.aspx}} that the Microsoft Translator API that powers Skype Translator is available as service for businesses that want to add speech translation to their custom apps and solutions.