Timely tool to break language barriers

Dubai: British soldiers will be able to watch what they say, literally, with a new translation device that helps them overcome language barriers.

The invention, a device on a wristwatch, is the brainchild of a Baghdad-born student who sought refuge in Britain, BBC Online reported. It uses voice recognition technology and will help troops and civilians find the right word or phrase to get out of a tense situation.

Phrases such as "don't shoot," "stand back" and "help is on its way" are just some of the phrases that will be translated.

The student, Ameen Esmail, is based in Derby and the device was unveiled at the University of Derby's Arts Design and Technology Degree Show earlier this year. The military top brass were impressed and Esmail was offered a job with a military equipment producer which hopes to get it into production by the New Year.

The device is called Ahky, Arabic for "speak". "One reason I wanted to undertake this project was because it was my way of thanking the British soldiers, people who are abandoning themselves from their loved ones to bring freedom to Iraqi people,'' Esmail said.