SpeakLike translates chatting as you go
SpeakLike uses quick automatic translation and human translators to break down language barriers over instant messaging.
It appears like an ordinary chat application as you type. Choose which languages you want to speak in. You can see what you're typing in your own language and what the other person is seeing translated. If a word or phrase is more complex, SpeakLike will go to a human translator and make sure it's accurate. The company says the more you use it the smarter it becomes and the faster it will return results in the future.
You can also add more than one person and language to the chat. Bonus: SpeakLike says it can automatically translate slang, idioms, and even instant-messaging shorthand. No word on whether it translates LOLcats.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
