How do you say...?
"Wo ist die achste Bar?" How would anyone be able to find the nearest bar without knowing this German phrase? Well, you can carry around a huge phrasebook or download free translators for your iPod offered by CoolGorilla. They offer French, German, Spanish, and Greek. Actually, bringing a phrasebook is a good idea. However, the simplicity of these iPod translators is very attractive. They work by putting 700 to 800 categorized phrases in the notes folder of your iPod. 
When a phrase is clicked on, audio is played in the chosen language. It may seem complicated but it is fairly simple to do with their detailed instructions.
As for phrasebooks, I recommend the Lonely Planet Europe Phrasebook. It covers all the Western and Central Europe languages. There are many phrasebooks for individual languages but for backpacking purposes you would only want to carry a single book.
Update (05/25/07): It appears that CoolGorilla is no longer offering free translators. There are translators that can be purchased at Talking Panda. These are fairly expensive so if you are interested in the free translators just leave a comment expressing your interest and I will send you my copies.
3 comments:
Hey andrew.
I've been trying to get the coolgorilla language pack but i guess all of the free links are down.
Im going to italy and france this summer, so it would be a big help
Thanks!
chewie13_junk@yahoo.ca
Hi Mark,
I have been trying to email the French translator to you but it says there isn't enough space in your account. Let me know if you have another email I can try.
Thanks anyways Andrew,
I just got back, and i have a friend in paris who worked as a personal translator.
I hope you have a good backpacking trip.
Just as a tip, take the hip strap buckles off your packs before you check them. we got two bags back with broken buckles.
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