Translating Languages on the Galaxy Tab 3 Using the S Translator App
Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
If you encounter someone who speaks another language and you have your Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 with you, then you can use your Tab 3 to hold a conversation with that person. Samsung pre-installed the S Translator app on the Tab 3 so you can type text and have it translated into one of the following languages:
- English (US or UK versions)
- Spanish
- Brazilian Portuguese
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Simplified Chinese
You can have the Tab 3 read these phrases aloud if you’re talking with someone face to face, or you can send the translated text in written form to online chat apps like Google Hangouts, e-mail or Gmail messages, or directly to another device. The app saves your previous translations so you can use them again without retyping them, and you can also select from a variety of preset phrases for use in situations where you may need translation such as when you’re in an airport within a foreign country.
Launch the S Translator app by tapping the Apps icon on the Home screen; in the Apps screen, swipe to the second page and then tap the S Translator icon shown in Figure 1.
)
Figure 1 The S Translator icon appears in the second page within the Apps screen
Specify the Translation What and How
The S Translator screen appears as shown in Figure 2. On the left side of the screen, the menu includes the S Translator, History, Favorites, and Preset Phrases options. The S Translator option is selected by default and the translator appears on the right side of the screen.
)
Figure 2 The S Translator option appears on the screen so you can translate text from one language to another
The translator is divided into two sections:
- The Text to Translate section at the top of the screen, which has a light green background. Within this section you translate text from Spanish by default.
- The Translated Text section at the bottom of the screen, which has a light blue background. This section shows the text translated into the specified language, which is English by default.
Begin translating a phrase by tapping the Spanish button at the top of the text and then changing to your desired language within the Change Language window shown in Figure 3.
)
Figure 3 The Change Language window allows you to choose from ten language options
For this example, I’ll tap English (US) because that’s my native language. Now you see in Figure 4 that the Spanish button has changed to English (US) to reflect my chosen language. Start typing text by tapping Enter Text below the English (US) button; the keyboard appears at the bottom of the screen so you can type. You can type a phrase, sentence, and even paragraphs separated by blank lines when you tap the Enter button within the keyboard.
)
Figure 4 Type the text you want to translate in the keyboard
When you finish typing your text, press the Back button. Now tap the Brazilian Portuguese button within the Translated Text section; in the Change Language window shown in Figure 5, select the language to which you want to translate your text. For this example, I’ll tap Simplified Chinese.
)
Figure 5 You can choose from one of eight languages into which you can translate your text
Update Your Samsung Account
Note that you may need to update your Samsung account to translate the text, but you won’t have to guess because the Samsung Account Update window appears on the screen and reminds you to update your account. If you decide against updating then you won’t be able to use the S Translator app, but the good news is that you only have to update the account once. After that, you won’t see this window when you translate text in the app.
Start the update process by tapping the Yes button in the Samsung Account Update window that appears on the screen. The next time you translate the words, the Samsung Account window appears and asks you to read and accept the new terms and conditions by tapping the OK button in the window.
Next, press and hold down the Home button so you can see the Task Manager screen. Open the Quick Settings and Notifications screen by swiping downward on the Status Bar and then tap Samsung Account Notice within the Notifications list. Within the Announcement window that appears on the screen, tap the OK button.
In the Samsung Account page, you can view the various terms and conditions pages by tapping Terms and Conditions, Special Terms, Privacy Policy, and/or Data Combination on the screen. Accept special terms and the privacy policy by tapping the checkboxes underneath the Special Terms and Privacy Policy headers. If you want to accept the Data Combination policy, tap the checkbox underneath the Data Combination header.
When you’re finished, tap the Agree button at the right side of the blue menu bar at the top of the screen. Now you return to the S Translator screen so you can translate the text.
Translate Your Text
Tell the S Translator app to translate your text by tapping the Translate button at the bottom right corner of the Text to Translate section. The button is circular with icons of a letter A and a Chinese character. After you tap the button, it may take a few seconds for the translated text to appear in the Translated Text section shown in Figure 6.
)
Figure 6 The translated text appears in Simplified Chinese within the Translated Text section
If you don’t speak Chinese and you’re using the Tab 3 to talk with a Chinese speaker face to face, you have two options: You can show the Chinese speaker your screen so the speaker can read it and respond, or you can have the app speak the words through your Tab 3 speakers by tapping the blue microphone button at the bottom of the screen. This button also contains the name of the language that the app will speak.
Share Your Translated Text
You can also share your translated text on a variety of services and devices, including:
- A file you can place on your Dropbox account to share with others.
- To other devices such as a smartphone by using a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct connection.
- Online chat apps including ChatON and Google Hangouts.
- Email accounts through the Email or Gmail apps.
- Commenting on social network sites including Flipboard and Google+.
- Within a memo you can save in the Memo app for later use.
Share the translated text by tapping the Share button that appears at the right side of the blue menu bar at the top of the screen. Then tap the service or connection icon through which you want to share the translated text within the Share Via window shown in Figure 7.
)
Figure 7 The Share Via window allows you to share your translated text in one of ten ways
After you tap the service or connection icon, follow the steps on the screen to share your translated text with your selected service or connection type. For now, return to the S Translator screen by pressing the Back button.
View Past Translations
If you want to use a translation you’ve used in the past, you can do so by tapping the History option in the menu on the left side of the screen. The list of past translations appears in the list on the right side of the screen as shown in Figure 8, and the list is ordered from the most recent translation at the top of the list to the oldest at the bottom.
)
Figure 8 The translation performed earlier in this article appears in the History list
Within each list entry you see the original text to be translated in smaller blue text with the translated text in your desired language in larger black text. If you want to add the translation in the History list to your Favorites list, tap the star icon to the right of the translated text. You know the translation is a favorite when the star icon color changes from gray to gold.
Open the Favorites list by tapping Favorites in the menu on the left side of the screen. Tap the down arrow to the right of the star icon to see both the original phrase and the translated phrase underneath as shown in Figure 9. You can have the app read the phrase aloud by tapping the talk button to the left of the phrase text.
)
Figure 9 The phrase in the source language appears above the translated phrase
Use Preset Translated Phrases
If you find yourself in a specific situation, the S Translator app includes a wide variety of preset phrases and questions you can choose from so you don’t have to type in the question yourself. Access the list of preset phrases by tapping Preset Phrases in the menu on the left side of the screen. A list of preset phrases for the Airport category appears on the right side of the screen by default as shown in Figure 10.
)
Figure 10 The category and keyword appear above the list of preset phrases for that category
Two buttons appear at the top of the right side of the screen. The left button shows the source language you’re translating from and the right button shows the target language to which you’re translating the phrase. You can change one or both languages by tapping the source language or target language button and then selecting the new language in the appropriate window.
Below the source and target language buttons are the Category and Keyword options as you saw in Figure 10. The phrases you see in the Preset Phrases list are based on the category first and then the keyword, which is a sub-category name. Select a category by tapping Category in the list. Within the Category window in Figure 11, swipe up and down to find the category you want.
)
Figure 11 By default, the Airport category is selected
When you find a category you want, tap the category name. You see the new category name within the Category option. Next, tap Keyword in the list. The Keyword window appears as shown in Figure 12 so you can select a keyword from the list; what you see in the keyword list depends on the category you selected.
)
Figure 12 Swipe up and down to view all the keywords in the list
After you tap the keyword, you see your selected keyword name within the Keyword option. Underneath the keyword option, you see a list of all the preset translations within the Preset Phrases list that you saw in Figure 10. Swipe up and down in the list to view all the preset phrases.
Each preset phrase in the list shows the source language in small blue text above the target language in large black text. You can add a preset phrase to your Favorites list by tapping the star icon to the right of the source and target language for the phrase. After you tap the star icon, the icon changes color from gray to gold.
If you find a phrase in the list you want to use, tap the down arrow button to the right of the target and source language text. The original phrase and the translated phrase appear underneath the phrase similar to what you saw in Figure 9. Have the app read the phrase aloud by tapping the talk button to the left of the phrase text.
That concludes our quick tour of the S Translator app, so enjoy working with the app to communicate more effectively across multiple languages.