Translation Devices for Construction

In the United States, the construction industry has always employed non-English speakers. In the past, these were nearly always laborers. Immigrants would come to America and seek manual labor jobs because the language barriers kept them from other opportunities.

Today, you still have non-English speaking laborers. The most well-known example is the Mexican. But you just might have, for example, an Indian engineer or German project manager. Many construction contractors are also finding their customers have limited English. This is especially true in places where Asian entrepreneurs are expanding or renovating.

In your line of work, you need to communicate with these people. Misunderstandings can result in rework, cost overruns, and equipment damage. And then, of course, there are the obvious safety implications.

But what if you don't speak that other language?

One approach is to hire a human interpreter, but where do you have the budget for that in your project? Not only must the person be bilingual or multilingual, but you must also provide this person with safety training and personal protective equipment. Worse, this person's translation abilities might needed in multiple places on multiple job sites simultaneously. How many can you afford to hire?

And, a little-known fact. Human interpreters don't always interpret correctly. They may simply guess and hope nobody figures that out.

A great solution is to buy an electronic translator (or several such devices). And, yes, we accept Purchase Orders for these impressive devices.

The device you want is the TL-2. Here are some reasons why:

The TL-2 has a ruggedized case. On construction sites, this is important!
It's designed the the same PDA standards as the other devices people use today, so the learning curve is flattened significantly.
It's expandable. Simply buy an inexpensive MultiMedia Card (MMC), and you add a second language--or even an entire set of languages.
It's the best value in a translation device.
It's even more affordable when you need multiple languages.

TL-2 vs low-cost tourist devices

While most translation devices seem like a bargain because of their low price, you don't even get what you pay for. Those devices are pretty much useless for construction people because they have very limited vocabularies and phrases designed for basic tourist functions. The TL-2 is designed for communication. The cheap units are a complete waste of money because for the construction environment, they serve no purpose.

A TL-2, on the other hand, provides very high value. The only other device that is comparable is the Ectaco 800. But for the construction environment, the TL-2 is the better choice and it costs less than an 800.

We have TL-2s for many languages. To see the entire selection, click here. Below, you will find a summary of TL-2 for Spanish.

TL-2 models with Spanish

Translate Spanish with the Spanish-English Ectaco TL-2S Electronic Translator, featuring speech output, voice recognition, and sentence builder. Over 1 million words and 14,000 categorized phrases. It can display possible replies you may hear in response to a phrase it just spoke to the other person.

Ruggedized case, adjustable font sizes, and virtual keyboard. Designed to PDA interface standards for ease of use. Convert to other languages via inexpensive Multimedia Cards (MMCs).