It's a great little app in that it not only has the written translations, but when you tap on the word or phrase, a recorded voice reads it out loud. This feature is essential because Vietnamese is also a tonal language, and since I'm not familiar with Vietnamese accent marks, I need some audio to be sure I'll be saying the words correctly. Or, perhaps I can just hold up my iPhone and let it speak for me!
I'm a bit worried, however, because among the usual travel phrases such as "Have you a room?", "Please say that slowly," and "Too expensive!", I found the following:
I'm not surprised by "Police" or "Stop thief!", but I was definitely startled to see "Don't shoot!" and "Those drugs aren't mine!"These two phrases are demonstrated in a surreal little recorded dialogue that's included with the app. It takes place between an Australian tourist named Scott and a silk salesman named Anh, as follows:
Scott: Can you translate two last things for me? They're gonna sound a little strange, but you just never know what situation you're gonna be in. The first is, "Stop thief!", and the last thing I think I'll need is, "Don't shoot, those drugs aren't mine!"These phrases bring to mind some interesting scenarios, but none of them involve anything as banal as this lighthearted conversation between a local and a tourist! In fact, the scenarios I'm thinking of are actually downright frightening. I hope I'll never have to use this part of my language guide.
Anh: [laughing] You're a funny man, Scott. I'm not sure what you are planning, but I do hope you will never need these phrases. [Provides translation.]
Scott: Anh, thank you very much. You've been most helpful. I'm off to try some pho.
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