by John Gessner
Thisweek Newspapers

Burnsville police officer Dave McCabe recently pulled a man over for a traffic violation.

Attempts at normal conversation were futile. The man was Hispanic and spoke no English.

McCabe went to his car and got the Phraselator. He spoke simple phrases into the device, which translated them into Spanish and relayed them through a speaker.

The surprised man grinned and laughed in appreciation, McCabe said.

Burnsville police say their department is the only U.S. law-enforcement agency currently using a Phraselator. The one-way language-translation device is manufactured by Maryland-based VoxTec and was developed for use by the U.S. military.

ìIt eliminates a lot of confusion,î McCabe said. ìIt eliminates a lot of fear.î

An uncle of McCabeís developed the Phraselator technology, and the manufacturer has supplied Burnsville with the latest model, said police Capt. Brad Leach.

ìTheyíre asking for our feedback on its use,î Leach said.

The hand-held Phraselator is the size of a large personal digital assistant (PDA) and weighs about a pound. Its speech-recognition technology matches predetermined English phrases with prerecorded phrases in other languages.

The user can speak the phrase in English and have it translated by the device, or use a stylus to select a prerecorded phrase for the Phraselator to speak.

Police have had the device for about a month. Itís stocked with Spanish and Russian phrases, with more languages on the way.

ìOne language we donít currently have is Somali, but it has the ability to create those phrases,î Leach said. ìYou sit down with a native speaker or someone who speaks the language and create those phrases.î

McCabe is using the Phraselator mostly on traffic stops, Leach said.

ìAs we train more people on its use, I see a great potential for it,î he said.

The Phraselator doesnít translate other languages into English. Its value is in communicating vital information quickly. For example, Burnsvilleís Phraselator is stocked with phrases that could help non-English-speaking crime victims identify suspects.

ìThere are also medical applications,î Leach said.
ì ëPoint to where it hurtsí is one of the phrases Iíve seen, which is real important when rendering first aid.î

Leach used the device to explain to a woman and her daughter their stalled car would have to be towed.

ìItís kind of like science fiction in real life,î he said. ìIt really helps to break down some barriers.î

John Gessner is at burnsville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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