CommunicationBuildingUpdated Aug 4, 2026
SpeakEasy Translator
Translation apps usually expect you to read a screen, which makes them close to useless in a live conversation if you cannot see the text.
Why this matters
Language access and disability access are the same problem when the only output is printed on a screen. Speech in, speech out is the version that actually works in the moment.
- Current idea
- SpeakEasy Translator listens through the microphone in one language and speaks the translation aloud in another in near real time, with simple from/to language pickers and no reading required.
- Accessibility notes
- Voice in, voice out. Controls are large, labelled, and reachable by keyboard or screen reader, and the whole flow can be completed without ever looking at the screen.
- What was learned
- Latency matters more than polish in a live conversation — a slightly rougher translation that arrives quickly is far more usable than a perfect one that arrives late.
Development updates
Progress in public
In development: live microphone capture with text-to-speech output and language pair selection.
Feedback
Have thoughts on this project?
Head to the Ideas board to share a related barrier or idea. Attribution is optional.
Open the Ideas board