I Art You

Although widely available in East Asia, the Talk Man language translator for the Sony PSP is difficult to find in North America. I ordered mine from the Asian game exporter Play Asia. The Talkman comes with a UMD disc full of language games and a USB microphone that plugs into the top of the PSP is provided. The user can speak words or phrases into the microphone and the Talkman will translate from English to Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin. It can also work backwards translating any of those languages to English. Just speak into the microphone and you will be given a list of phrases the game thinks your trying to say.
The whole process is moderated by an animated bird named Max. Luckily the game is not as lame as the bird, or the pathetic yet humorous video on the website. The video shows some Japanese guy picking up these ugly bottom of the barrel English teachers in Japan. As most devices marketed in Japan, classy is not in the Talkman’s vocabulary.
Don’t throw away your electronic dictionary just yet. The Talkman is only a game, and meant to be used to learn a language or navigate a foreign country. It is incredibly useful for asking directions and making some small talk, and although its vocabulary and range is impressive it is still only the equivalent to a small phrase book.
The Talkman is a great toy for anyone learning the languages it uses. It presents the language in a fun way, and is very big on proper pronunciation. I would also recomend it for someone traveling in Korea, China, or Japan with no knowledge of the local language, it can be a big help getting around. However, it takes a long time to get into the translation section from the time you turn on your PSP drasticly slowing its effectiveness as a translator.