Universal translation is one of ten emerging technologies that will affect our lives and work “in revolutionary ways” within a decade, Technology Review says.

Researchers are concentrating on phrases rather than individual words, which can have various shades of meaning and result in awkward translations.

Phraselator’s translated phrases are pre-recorded by native speakers, so they are clearly understood. Carnegie Mellon is working on “Speechlator” for use in doctor-patient interviews. The limited range of the typical conversation in a doctor’s office greatly helps.

More sophisticated devices that can put words — not just phrases — in their natural context remain some way off.