ECTACO-NTL-2R pocket translator

[55North]

Has anyone experience or hearsay regarding this beast............

http://www.ectaco.co.uk/ECTACO-NTL-2R/



Thanks

[ScottinCrimea]

Just find an FSUW who speaks English and save yourself the trouble and expense. 

[Vaughn]

OR - study a little Russian instead. It really depends on exactly what you
want the beast for - but I see it as an expensive toy, and it'll soon become
expendable if being used for a budding relationship.

55, tell us why you're considering an electronic translator...

Vaughn

[2tallbill]

I have an Estaco pocket translator, it has came in handy more than a time or two.

If you want to buy something and don't know the word, it's very handy.
If you can't spell however then don't buy it. You have to spell the word or
phrase correctly for it to be any use.

The others are correct that finding an English speaking woman is a good idea, but there are many
times when she will not be around to tell you the word for milk, batteries, or where is Pushkin Street.
It is more compact than a dictionary and you can program things into it like the address where you are
staying so that if you get lost people can direct you in the right direction.

One of the best times of my life was in Odessa laying naked in a bed passing an Estaco translator back
and forth with a woman (also naked). Things didn't work out between us but I will remember that moment
for some time to come.

Good luck
Udachi!


Bill

[BillyB]

Has anyone experience or hearsay regarding this beast............

http://www.ectaco.co.uk/ECTACO-NTL-2R/

Ectaco makes some of the best electronic translators. Although there is always room for improvement, many of it's faults are due to the imperfect English language. Many English words have multiple meanings and may never translate correctly. The translations are better when doing English to Russian than if you translated Russian to English. Ectaco will also translate bad words to get your message across successfully.

[catzenmouse]

No clue on the infernal machine as I never used one, but do find it interesting that the marrieds ask why use it and the unmarrieds tell about the benefits. Just one of those RWD moments that make me go "Hmmmm?"

[Turboguy]

Well since I am half way in between both camps I will say that I spent a few evenings chatting using one of the regular translators and enjoyed the conversations.   I thought it was better than using a terp.  I do have to think as bad as voice recognition software works and as difficult as it is to get a good electronic translation that combining the two does not seem like it would make a very reliable weapon in anyones arsenal. 

[55North]

Thanks guys.

I have a wonderful English-speaking woman who I shall be revisiting this Christmas/New Year, in the North Caucasus, where there is little 'feral' English spoken.  I figured that, just maybe, I might have a little more independence and fun with this toy, even when partying as we shall be at times.  This time, I shall be meeting mother and sister-in-law (Alla's a widow), and was thinking of some one-to-one communication.  My Russian-learning has been abyssmal.

Bill, I too have had my "Odessa' moments, but I found that she was fluent in a language other than English or Russian that needed no translation!   

[alantodd]

When I first met my fiance we would use the electronic translator when the human translator went home.  Also, there are some things my fiance did not want the human translator to know.  I took Russian lessons and paid for her English lessons so we do not use the Ectaco translator anymore.  It did come in handy a year ago when we were in Carribean for 15 days with no human translator with us.  Can't hurt to have and there only around $400 bucks. 

I would encourage people to learn Russian before going.  Its not that hard to know basic speaking and if you get invited to her parents house do not expect them to speak your language.