Top translation options in 2025

Even in today’s age of emojis, abbreviations and pictorial DIY instructions, language remains a uniquely challenging concept.

The most learned individuals will die of old age long before mastering the myriad nuances of their mother tongue. And that’s before attempting to learn – or speak – foreign ones.

As anyone who has ever wrestled with German adjective endings or stuttered over Slavic pronunciations will ruefully acknowledge, foreign languages are best left to the professionals.

But what happens if you need to translate something, or someone – especially in real time?

As it happens, there have never been as many translation options available to us, but some are more dependable than others…

The AIs have it

Generative AI has been roundly criticised for its myriad faux pas in recent months, from generating absurd historical images through to attributing made-up news stories to the BBC.

However, some AI engines are performing sterling translation work in areas where even humans may struggle if they’re unfamiliar with regional variations in accent, language or culture.

The north-south divide in the words used to describe British evening meals is a classic example, as is our almost instinctive adoption of slang and local idioms.

Well-programmed gen AI quickly learns from its mistakes, giving it a potential edge (albeit not yet realised) when translating anything from travel directions or restaurant menus to scientific journals.

Key translation options

1. Human translation services

Although humans are fallible, they do bring instinctive logic to translation, which might not be replicated by AI.

This goes beyond merely following language protocols, extending to watering down expletives, tiptoeing around cultural differences and reflecting regional variations.

The history books are full of translation fails, such as the “Come alive with Pepsi” marketing strapline being mistranslated as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead”.

Numerous companies offer human translation services from almost any language or dialect to almost any other one – admittedly at an often substantial fee, generally quoted only on request.

One business has over four thousand native-speaking linguists on its books, another uses experts to verify specialist texts, and a third works with many of the UK’s biggest brands.

2. Search engines

If cost is an issue, you could always use Google or Bing to conduct translation services – both offer translations between over 250 different languages and dialects.

However, results may vary depending on the efficacy of the translation software’s algorithm.

As an experiment, we entered the previous sentence into both Google and Bing’s translation platforms.

Both search engines returned identical translations in German and Portuguese, though there were marked differences in their Ukrainian translation.

Google translated “software” as “program”, while it also changed “efficacy” to “performance”. Bing got closer to the original text by substituting “efficacy” with “effectiveness”.

Either translation would be entirely understandable, and both outcomes are admirable given they were (a) free and (b) almost instant, but more complex text might lose nuance or precision.

3. Smartphone apps

Operating along similar principles to Google and Bing’s translation algorithms, smartphone app stores offer a multiplicity of programs capable of translating.

Some additionally provide vocal translations, either transcribing inputted text or working in real time to provide translation services for two people speaking different languages.

There are apps which help to translate books, apps designed to improve language learning, and even an app focused on translating PDFs. Some are free, while others are paid.

We’d generally recommend the latter, to ensure the highest quality output – especially for professional purposes like presenting websites in multiple languages.