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THE PARIS METRO has launched an instant translation app ahead of next year’s Olympic Games to help hapless foreign visitors navigate the French capital’s urban transport system.
The meandering metro, featuring more than 300 stations whose names can be hard to find or pronounce even for natives, easily becomes a nightmare for anybody without fluent French.
The Summer Olympics, to be held in the French capital between 26 July and 11 August, will bring millions of visitors without knowledge of French or even English to the capital, most of whom will be using public transport to shuttle between sports venues.
In comes Tradivia, an instant translation app able to handle 16 languages, with which metro operator RATP has equipped 6,000 of its staff across the network’s stations.
The app translates spoken queries, including in English, German, Mandarin, Hindi and Arabic, into French for the benefit of RATP’s agents whose responses then get translated back to the language of the visitor.
“We had a real issue here, because our agents can’t be expected to answer queries in all languages,” said Valerie Gaidot, customer experience head at RATP.
The app has been specifically tailored to the Paris metro experience, and knows its way around station names, itineraries and the various ticket and travel pass types that can leave tourists bewildered.
This, RATP said, is a decisive advantage over general translation help like Google Translate that sometimes fails to make sense of the metro’s idiosyncrasies.
After experimenting on three urban lines first, the operator rolled out the service across the network over the summer.
In addition, four languages – English, German, Italian and Spanish – are currently available for special platform announcements, with Mandarin and Arabic to be added before the Olympics.
Some 15 million people are expected in Paris and surrounding regions for the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
No need for that. Just make sure to let the Parisians know you’re not English or American and they’re very helpful.
@Louis Jacob: True
@Louis Jacob: Are you expecting a load of English hooligans to rock up at the Olympics, jingoistic nonsense at best is your comment.
@The Firestarter: that went directly over your head obviously! The French generally aren’t terribly fond of the English or Americans, and since they make up the majority of English speakers French people will make certain assumptions when asked ‘parlez vous anglais’, so it’s a long running joke/fact that if you preface the question with ‘excusez moi, je suis irlandais’ you can find a francophone nation of English speakers that remains invisible to our English and American cousins.
@The Firestarter: You aren’t bright. French despise the English (not so much the Americans).
Everybody despise the English anyway.
Instead of increasing Police in Dublin they should guard the borders….nobody is even mentioned the reason…joke
Im more worried about the stabbing of a child more so then riots, yet the main stream media are not even mentioning it. Says it all really.
@Shane O Mac: *than* riots
@Brendan O’Connor: tanks
Paris is one of the few paces on earth where the city is actually nice, the food is great, but its people makes it a kip.
@J Ven: Not to mention their Police are hopeless at policing major events and are quite heavy handed.
@The Firestarter: Non sense from a turd like you.
@J Ven: exactly
@The Anti palestine And Islam: ur birth giver is a lady of very low morals
wouldnt go there for all the money in the world. Terrorism hot spot
Until you get to the stadium and they won’t let you in
Extra guards being moved to Dublin from where? Who is guarding the rest of the country over the Christmas holidays? Rest of us will be beyond the pale again
Whats the french for bed bugs?
@Declan Gibney: le bed bugs
I used to think the saying that French people were “snooty. Rude .and didn’t get along with other nationalitys. That was before I worked in a restaurant in the states . A family run establishment with four locations around the city of Houston. And not only was the stereotypes true .. I say it day in day out with their clinetell. In my opinion.. the French people are extremely Rude.
Once the French know you’re Irish they have now issue helping you. On the other hand if your English or American, good luck!
Paris mayor and it politicians love Israel more than Paris itself.
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