Microsoft Translator has already been incorporated into Skype, allowing for real-time translation into French, Mandarin, and four other languages. Now it's also been integrated with Cortana, Microsoft's personal digital assistant, on Windows 10. Users of Microsoft's new operating system will now be able to translate words, phrases, and sentences into almost 40 languages from the desktop.

Cortana can translate into almost 40 languages

Windows 10 users can access the real-time translation feature by saying "Hey Cortana, how do you say" followed by the sentence they want to translate, and the language they want to hear it in. For example, you could say "Hey Cortana, translate 'Where is the nearest taxi stand' in French?" to find out how to get a cab from your Paris hotel, or "Hey Cortana, how to say 'garlic' in German?" The answer, of course, is "knoblauch." You'll also be able to translate without using your voice — type the same request into the task bar and Cortana will find a translation into your chosen language.

Cortana could previously aid with some translation duties, but the new feature is more comprehensive and offers more languages than before, including Bulgarian, Swedish, Korean, Japanese, and — most usefully — Klingon. The feature is currently only available in the US and Chinese editions of Windows 10, but Microsoft says Cortana's advanced multilingual skills will be added to more versions in the future.