Google Translate uses AI to help you practice pronunciation

Source: Engadget

Google Translate adds pronunciation practice

Google is celebrating Translate’s 20th birthday by launching pronunciation practice, which the company says is one of the most requested features for the product. The feature is currently rolling out on Android for English, Spanish, and Hindi in the US and India. If it’s available for you, a Practice button appears at the bottom of the app, offering the options to pronounce what you’ve translated or to listen to native‑speaker pronunciations.

Pronounce

• Translate listens to your speech, uses artificial intelligence to analyze it, and provides instant feedback.
• It shows a phonetic spelling of how specific words should be pronounced. For example, Google demonstrated a Spanish speaker saying “jugo” with an English “j” sound; Translate suggests the phonetic spelling HU‑go to indicate the correct Spanish pronunciation.

Listen

• You can hear how native speakers pronounce the translated text.

Google reported that roughly one‑third of mobile users employ Translate to practice speaking and listening for real‑world conversations, making this addition particularly useful. The company also shared broader statistics:

• Supports over 250 languages, including endangered and indigenous ones.
• Over 1 billion monthly active users.
• Users translate more than 1 trillion words each month.

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