Hearing & speech help Read what they say. Type what you want to say.

For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and for people who cannot speak. The phone on the table writes what is said and speaks what you type, in their language or in your own.

Coming soon toApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Part of the app, at the same price as everything else. You turn it on in Settings, about yourself, and nothing changes until you do.

Foundations and associations: write to us →

Who it is for

Three situations, in plain words. If one of them is yours, this was built with you in mind.

Deaf or hard of hearing, and you read

What is said at the table appears on the screen as it is said, line by line, with who said it. You follow the conversation by reading and you answer as you prefer: with your voice, or by typing.

You cannot speak, or are not easily understood

You type, and the phone says it out loud for you. Everything heard in the room counts as the other person's, so what you type is never mixed up with what they said.

You read and type well

This is a conversation by reading and typing, and that is the one thing it asks of you: the phone shows text and takes text. It asks for no hearing and no voice.

What it does not replace: a qualified interpreter. At the doctor, in a legal matter or anywhere a mistake would cost you, ask for one, including a sign-language interpreter. This is a conversation aid.

What it does

Six moments, each on a drawing of the app's own screen. The buttons and labels are the app's; the conversations are examples.

01In Settings

Two switches you turn on about yourself

Two switches in Settings, in a framed section called “Hearing & speech help”. Each one adds something; neither takes anything away.

  • I can't hear wellEvery line says who spoke, and the indicator tells you in words what it hears.
  • I can't speakYou type, and the phone speaks for you, in their language.
  • Text sizeNormal, Medium or Large, for the conversation on screen. Nothing grows by itself; you choose, and anyone can.

02I can't hear well

Every line, with who said it

Every line shows who said it. The indicator at the bottom says in words when we are listening, when someone is speaking, and when listening has stopped and starts again. Your voice stays yours: if you speak, what you say goes straight to the other person.

On this screen the text size is Large.

03I can't speak

One touch, and the phone says it

“One moment, I'm typing”, “Please repeat”, “Yes”, “No”, “Thank you”, “I need help”: a row above the typing box, each said with one touch. Beside them, “Repeat last” says your last sentence again.

You type, and the phone speaks for you in their language. It no longer waits for your voice: everything heard in the room is theirs. The typing box is larger. If you speak but are not easily understood, turn this on too.

04I can't speak

Show it big, turned towards them

Tap “Show big” on any sentence you typed and it fills the screen in huge letters, turned towards the other person, who reads it from across the table. If you prefer, the phone does not speak what you type at all and only shows it; and it can keep the microphone off while you type.

What the clerk reads, in Greek: “I don't hear well. Please speak towards the phone — I read everything you say.”

05Any conversation

Flip the screen, and it faces them

“Flip the screen” turns the whole conversation around with one touch, so the person across the table reads it the right way up: what you typed, in their language. One more touch and it faces you again.

06In your own language

The same language on both sides

Choose the same language twice, French with French or English with English, and the app writes what it hears and speaks what you type, without translating.

At the chemist's round the corner: you read what the pharmacist says as she says it, and you answer by typing or with a quick phrase. Nothing is translated; the phone only writes and speaks.

The conversation, kept in full

With “I can't hear well” on, a conversation you keep holds every line that was said, under its summary, so you can read again later what you did not catch at the table.

How to turn it on

In Settings, by you, about yourself. Until you do, the app is exactly as it was.

Open Settings

Scroll to the section “Hearing & speech help”. It is the only one with a frame around it.

Turn on the switch that describes you

“I can't hear well”, “I can't speak”, or both. Underneath, choose the text size that suits you.

Read the explanation, once

The first time you turn a switch on, a short explanation opens by itself and says exactly what changes. Tap “Got it”, then put the phone between you, with the screen towards you.

What to know before you rely on it

We would rather you knew the limits now than found them at the table.

Questions

The four we are asked most about this.

Do I have to pay extra?

No. It is part of the app at the same price as everything else: fifteen free minutes at the start, then hours bought once, which never expire. There is no separate plan and no separate price.

Does it work in my language?

It listens and speaks in sixty languages, and the same language can be on both sides. The app's own screens, the two switches included, are written in forty languages; on a phone set to another language they appear in English.

Can the other person read my screen?

Yes, in two ways. The phone lies between you with both sides of the conversation on it. And for what you type there is “Show big”: your sentence fills the screen in huge letters, turned towards them, so they read it from across the table without touching the phone.

Can I use it without hearing anything at all?

Yes. Everything the app tells you, it tells you in writing: what was said, who said it, whether it is listening or has stopped, and when someone is speaking. You never need to hear the phone. What you should not do is rely on it alone where a mistake would cost you; there, ask for an interpreter.

Try it at your own table

Fifteen minutes free, from the first open, with everything on. No password: you sign in with your e-mail address.

Coming soon toApp Store Get it onGoogle Play
Or try the translation now, right in the browser →

Working together

Foundations, associations, organisations

If you work with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, or with people who cannot speak, we would like to hear from you. Write to us about a partnership, and about preferential conditions for the people you support.

  1. Who you work withThe people you support: how many they are, which languages they speak, and where a conversation is hardest for them.
  2. Partnerships and conditionsWorking together, and preferential conditions for your members. We talk each one through with you.
  3. What is missingAnything that would make the app work better for the people you support. We read every message ourselves.

Write to us

Your message comes straight to us. We answer at the address you give.

Who is writing

A few sentences are enough: who you are, and what you have in mind.

Prefer e-mail? Write to contact@tradulive.com