Joshua Parfitt
A TELEPHONE translation service has just launched in Spain offering instant Spanish-English interpretation for max. €1.57 per minute.
My Friend in Spain puts English-language, non-Spanish speakers in direct contact with bilingual interpreters to help in emergency situations within seconds.
The number for English-Spanish telephone interpretation is +34 807 499 846 and costs €1.21 from a Spanish landline or €1.57 from a Spanish mobile.
There is NO NEED to register and no extra costs. Callers pay for the exact minutes they use through their telephone service provider.
The instant Spanish translation service is only available from Spanish phones for English-Spanish, French-Spanish, German-Spanish and Spanish-English telephone interpretation – with more languages coming soon.
“With our new service you have a translator in your pocket 24/7,” Martin Ducos, owner of My Friend in Spain, told the Olive Press.
“If you get stopped by police at two in the morning, you have a number that will get your situation translated immediately by a friendly, polite human being instead of a machine.
“All you have to do is save +34 807 499 846 in your phone, and then remember to call My Friend in Spain whenever you’re in need.”
Martin said after learning Spanish he often helped his British and Spanish acquaintances in need of urgent translation and was always delighted to do so.
But not everyone has a friend like Martin. This is what gave him the idea to provide the valuable service to everyone in Spain, while also creating work for bilingual people living here.
“There are over a million foreigners in Spain, half don’t speak Spanish and they are always asking bilingual people for help,” Martin said.
“They would happily pay their friends to interpret for them with a plumber, a gestor or after an accident – but now they don’t have to.”
Martin added the instant interpretation service is provides flexible work for bilingual people – such as single parents, people looking to top up their wages, or as a full-time job – as they can log in whenever they are available and earn when it suits them.
“The staff are a mix of local and foreign bilingual people, all with the common experience of friends calling them for linguistic assistance,” he said.
“They have been trained to quickly translate and encourage the caller to end the call as soon as they finish their part, to keep costs to a minimum.
“They hope this approach will encourage frequent use of the service as people become comfortable with the quick, efficient and instant help when they need it most.”
Martin, who operates a real estate business out of Denia on the Costa Blanca, said the service will soon be available for customers calling from UK numbers and will have a UK number live by summer, 2020.
