Need help with those foreign languages?

My partner is very much into the CSI-Miami and CSI-New York series constantly running on British TV channels. I on the other hand develop a rash every time they are on, and get far more joy out of coming up with new meanings for the CSI acronym.

So while CSI is on, I will usually read a book, but lately I have also dusted off my PSP and played a few games instead. Now I can think of nothing more relaxing than a few games of Go!Sudoku or Lumines, but realising that those games are hopelessly out of fashion I decided to scour the net today for games that might add to my non-existing street-cred.

TalkMan to the rescue

In my search, I stumbled across TalkMan which seemed like a fun, new way of using your psp when travelling.

TalkMan is not really a game as such but a translation tool. The idea is for you to use TalkMan as a translator when trying to communicate in a foreign language. It supports translations between English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese and works by reading aloud a translation of a phrase that you or the person you are talking to have chosen.

TalkMan comes with a microphone and to some extend allows you to speak in your language and have TalkMan translate what you
are saying. You will, however, still need to choose from a set list of phrases what you want to say, so it will not put any real translator out of a job.

Will it make me cool?

It seems more of a fun way of getting your children interested in foreign languages than a serious travelling tool. Max, the blue animated bird doing the talking for you, also seems to suggest so. Having said that though if I was 12 and travelling with my parents in a foreign country, I would probably find it the coolest travelling tool ever. TalkMan comes with a unit converter, alarm, voice memo and even has a game mode where you can practise speaking any of the 6 languages. What more could a 12-year-old globe-trotter want?

So will I be rushing out to buy TalkMan? No, is the answer to that. As innovative and fun as it may seem, it screams “come mug me” when used by a 30-something woman and won’t do much for my aforementioned lack of street cred.

External links:

TalkMan review on uk.gamespot.com >>

TalkMan web site >>

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