Lost in translation? Not on Paris metro during Summer Games

PARIS : Paris' public transport system (RATP) will provide more than 2,000 agents with artificial intelligence-supported translation devices to help hundreds of thousands of visitors navigate the capital's network during this year's Olympics.

The handheld Tradivia device can translate between French and 16 different languages, including Mandarin, Arabic and Korean, with the text appearing on a screen as well as being read out loud.

The service will remain after the July 26 to Aug. 11 Olympics in Paris, one of the world's top destinations for international visitors.

"We will have visitors from all over the world who will come ... It is important to provide them with the right information," RATP representative Gregoire de Lasteyrie told reporters.

"Being able to speak to them in as many languages as possible and helping them find their way in Paris is extremely important."

Metro workers said the device would also give them more confidence.

"We no longer have this apprehension, this apprehension of approaching visitors," Paris metro worker Raphael Gassette said.

"We no longer have this fear of thinking 'oh no we're not going to understand each other', and here we know straight away, with regards to the languages here, to press ... and immediately have clear, more precise information and we can be sure that when the visitor leaves, they're satisfied."

(Editing by Kylie MacLellan)