5.1.6. Translation
Translation converts content between languages, breaking down communication barriers. Azure provides multiple translation services optimized for different modalities and scenarios.
Text Translation (Azure Translator): Azure Translator is a cloud-based machine translation service supporting 100+ languages.
Key capabilities:
- Real-time text translation via REST API
- Document translation preserving formatting
- Custom Translator for domain-specific terminology
- Dictionary lookup for word-by-word translations
- Transliteration (converting scripts, not languages)
Common scenarios:
- Translating website content for global audiences
- Multilingual customer support documentation
- Real-time chat translation
- Translating business documents while preserving layout
Transliteration converts text from one script to another WITHOUT translating the language. For example: "こんにちは" → "Konnichiwa" (Japanese text converted to Latin alphabet, but still Japanese). This helps readers who can't read the original script pronounce words correctly.
Speech Translation (Azure Speech): For translating spoken language, you need Azure AI Speech service, not Azure Translator.
Speech translation pipeline:
- Speech-to-text (transcribe source language)
- Text translation (convert to target language)
- Optional: Text-to-speech (speak translated text)
Common scenarios:
- Real-time meeting translation
- Multilingual customer service calls
- Conference interpretation
- Travel assistance applications
Custom Translator allows you to build translation models trained on your specific terminology—essential for industries like legal, medical, or technical fields where standard translations may be inaccurate.
When to use Custom Translator:
- Industry-specific terminology (legal, medical, technical)
- Company-specific product names and jargon
- Brand voice consistency across languages
- Improved accuracy for specialized domains
Translation API features:
| Feature | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Language detection | Auto-detect source language |
| Script detection | Identify writing system |
| Sentence length | Get source/target sentence lengths |
| Profanity handling | Filter, mark, or include profanity |
| Dictionary lookup | Get alternative translations |
Batch translation enables translating many documents at once while preserving:
- Document formatting and layout
- Tables and images
- Headers and footers
- Document metadata
⚠️ Exam Trap: Azure Translator supports TEXT-TO-TEXT translation ONLY. It does NOT support speech-to-text, text-to-speech, or speech-to-speech. For ANY speech translation scenario, you need Azure AI Speech service. This is a frequently tested distinction.
