Translate websites on the go

We’ve been long-time fans of Google’s free translation tool at https://translate.google.co.uk and the companion apps for IOS ( www.snipca. com/37417) and Android ( www.snipca. com/37418). You can either paste in foreign text for a direct translation, or enter the address of a foreign-language web page and it will display a link that directs you to a translated version. It’s very efficient, but wouldn’t it be even better if you could cut out a few steps?

If you’re using Safari and running IOS 14 (available for iphone 6s and later) you can, though at the moment this works only with a handful of languages, including German, French and Spanish, but we hope to see that range expand.

Open Settings and tap About, followed by ‘Language & Region’. Tap ‘Add’ Language… in the Preferred Language Order box, and choose the language you want to use for translations. When asked whether you want to change to the new language or keep your existing setting, choose ‘Keep English (UK)’, and your device will take a few seconds to install the necessary vocabulary as an add-on. When it’s finished, close Settings.

Next, open Safari and visit the foreignlanguage web page you want to translate. When it’s finished loading, tap the ‘AA’ button on the far left of the address bar followed by ‘Translate to English’. If this is the first time you’ve used the translation function, tap Enable Translation (see screenshot below left). The web page will be converted to English, preserving its original layout and fonts.