Babylon

Printed dictionaries have outlived their usefulness. Nowadays, we have computers and smartphones, which enable us to translate words or entire phrases instantly, without having to sift through countless pages. If you are looking for a reliable translation utility, Babylon can meet your expectations. It provides support for 77 languages and it is capable of translating between any of these languages, in both directions. Also, the application provides you with word definitions, spoken pronunciations and much more.

Babylon is free for personal use, with some limitations. Installing the application is an effortless task, which takes only a few seconds to complete. The setup wizard will offer to install a series of additional tools, including browser plug-ins for Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. The application does not use too many resources and you don't have to install any prerequisite tools.

The application comes with a compact user interface, on which you can look up individual words, in various languages and translate text fragments, on separate tabs. If you wish to look up a certain term, you only need to insert it into an input field and choose a language. By default, Babylon will display definitions, derivatives, origins and many other details, in English, but you can bring up the same type of information in other languages, on different sub-tabs.

When it comes to translating text, all you have to do is paste the original paragraph in a text box, choose the source and target languages and click a button. In a few seconds, the translated text will appear in a separate box, beneath the original. The source and target languages can be selected in separate drop menus and you can also swap them instantly, with a single click. Additionally, you can set the application to detect the source language automatically.

Another useful feature is Babylon's integration with MS Word, which gives you the possibility of translating entire Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents, without opening them and copying their contents. This is done by clicking a small icon, in the lower right corner of the interface, to bring up an options window, on which you have to select the document and the languages. When the operation is complete, the translated document will be opened automatically.

While the application is working in the background, you can look up any word you see, by holding down the CTRL key and right clicking the word. This will bring up the search results on Babylon's interface immediately. The same can be done on a web browser, if you install the appropriate plug-in.