(Hat Tip to Paul for alerting me of the app)
IHG recently introduced their IHG Translator App and I spent about 30 minutes playing around with the features. I selected French from the 12 available languages and a pop-up message told me to wait approximately 3 minutes for all the French language files to download. After downloading the language files, I was able to view the various phrase categories. The categories are very realistic (such as “yes,” “no,” and “where is the bathroom?”). The app supports formal, casual, slang, and crazy phrases (such as “see you later alligator” as a crazy way to say “goodbye”). Once you see the phrase you want to say or hear, click the slow or fast speaker icon and the app will pronounce the phrase for you. If you still are unable to understand the phrase, you can click the phonetic icon and see the English pronunciation of the phrase. The app is definitely well made and very intuitive to use. I am excited to try the app next time I travel internationally.
Take a look at the screenshots of the app (use left and right arrow keys to view all images):
The one downside of the app is that it comes with tiered access based on your elite status with IHG:
- IHG Platinum Elite and Ambassador members receive full access to all the features (see below)
- IHG Reward, Club, and Gold Elite members receive access to over 40 phrases in each language, a free audio lesson, and full access to the culture guide and travel tools
- If you do not receive full access, you can make an in-app purchase to unlock all the additional features
The IHG Translator App includes:
- Over 2,000 phrases in 12 languages (including slang)
- A voice-to-voice translator
- A 10,000 word offline dictionary
- Over 2,000 high-quality audio files to help you nail the pronunciation
- Built-in flashcards for practice
- Quiz Mode—challenge your language skills with customizable quizzes
- Audio Lessons—learn essential phrases in 10 different categories
- Tip Calculator—get quick advice on how much you should give for tips
- Currency Converter—learn how much you’re paying with this handy converter
- Live Translator—speak with a real person for translations in 180 languages
- A “culture crash course” to get familiar with local customs and etiquette
- Much more!
You can download the app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play App Store.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Good info! I am off to the Dominican Republic soon and can’t wait to try the Spanish.
Good luck Bob, I hope the app can help you out. Let me know how it goes for you.
Thanks Grant for sharing the info!
I tried the Spanish full version and it is good but not completely accurate.. A lot of the phrases are “literal word translation” which sometimes does not make sense in the sentence.
Nevertheless, it’s fun and should help get around if one has no knowledge of the local language!
Thank Adam, bad Spanish is still better than no Spanish to me. I appreciate the feedback. What do you think of the new photo layout? It’s a new photo plugin I’m trying out.
I haven’t tried the ihg one, but Google translator let’s you download many languages to your phone so you don’t need internet access to translate. I’ve used it many times in Italy and it works great for my purposes.
Thanks for sharing, I believe the IHG app works offline as well. If you get a chance to use the IHG Translator app, please let me know how it compares to the Google Translate app.
The sounds don’t seem to work even as a IHG platinum member. Maybe I have to buy an upgrade?
When you log in, do you see the popup message that says you are IHG Platinum?
Yep! It says that I am an ambassador with full access.
Try hard closing the app or deleting and re-installing the app.
i am trying to connect using my email and my pc # and it keeps saying error and wont sign me up!
Maybe your number and PIN is incorrect. Try signing into the IHG website to make sure you are using the correct login info.