Language is something which we all strive to communicate better with but sometimes the eyes is all you need to understand how great something can be. This happened yesterday as I found a site that really blew me away. Awesome graphics, great looking content and it was even chock full of great advertisements so I know there’s great SEO going on. Furthermore, the site is a PR7! However, there’s one thing. It’s in Spanish.
I don’t know espanol from nada to por favor. At least to complete a sentence. But this got the wheels on my hairs twirling. I know it’s something you probably thought about too but haven’t yet tried.
How many international blogs have you visited?
I have to say null. If I don’t understand the language than I don’t make an effort. That’s what I thought you’ll say. However, get this, with translation becoming better and better online, the tools which will enable you to write, speak and even communicate in another language are out there.
While English is the international language of business, there are still so many other languages which dictates our lives. Learning a second language is now more encouraged than ever. For that reason, foreign content are equally valuable as our native tongue and sometimes even more.
I was able to find a lot of ‘underground’ stuff this way. Stuff which I won’t name but are quite in demand when in comes to information. 
Let’s move on to see what ways we can better read the sites of our neighbors and friends. Most importantly how can we build conversations with them. Using the tools I’ll give you below. You can start commenting on any blog. After all, understanding the content they give out is one way of connecting further and besides culture is something which makes our world colorful. Without it, we’ll be making up our own.
So what tools are available?
Most of the tools I found have been browser based but there are also toolbars available if you want to implement the process right into your browser. Below are some sites which you can translate web pages to read from. Following them are some tools you can implement into your browser or blog.
NOTE: As I compiled this, the majority came from Google. So if you haven’t already implement Google’s translating into your blog hopping, now might be a good time. Continue on for the resources below to see how you can do that.
Yahoo Babel Fish – Translate a block of text or input in the URL of the site to spit back out a language. Translation includes English to or the other way around where you can convert the site into English.
Google Translate – There are more options here for translating. Including Vietnamese, the language Tinh and also myself speak although not so fluently since I’m American born.
Google Language Tool – Here is a more in-depth browser tool where you can also search for a phrase you’re translating. Great for keyword research! If you browse below, you’ll see all the languages supported by Google’s language tool with relevant flags too!
For your browser and blog
Wibiya – I use this personally on my blog. Not only does it come with a translation tool, there’s a whole slew of other options you can implement into your site. The toolbar alone is full of interactive features like chat and integration of social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
Google Toolbar – Installing this will include the translator. Also allows you to share and comment on content exclusively. We all know it’s the search which is needed when we’re online. It’s handy without having to go directly to the site.
Google Translate on your blog – From the same suite you can input a snippet of code that allows your readers to translate your site into their own native language. This is helpful for international readers where English is the second language.
Google Translate Firefox Extension – up to the latest version of 3.6+, this plugin will allow you to translate any page from any language right from where you are with just one click. You don’t need to go to a browser to input in the URL.
More resources
Online Translation Tools – a large resource page for all the sites which can help you translate a page, a phrase or even a word.
Thu Nguyen is the founder of Blogging For dot INFO where she blogs about blogging, marketing, branding and self-development online. There’s none of that hyped talking just real performance.
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