Translate Speech

Azure AI Speech includes a speech translation API that you can use to translate spoken language. For example, suppose you want to develop a translator application that people can use when traveling in places where they don’t speak the local language. They would be able to say phrases such as “Where is the station?” or “I need to find a pharmacy” in their own language, and have it translate them to the local language.

[!NOTE] This exercise requires that you are using a computer with speakers/headphones. For the best experience, a microphone is also required. Some hosted virtual environments may be able to capture audio from your local microphone, but if this doesn’t work (or you don’t have a microphone at all), you can use a provided audio file for speech input. Follow the instructions carefully, as you’ll need to choose different options depending on whether you are using a microphone or the audio file.

Clone the repository for this course

If you have already cloned AI-102-AIEngineer code repository to the environment where you’re working on this lab, open it in Visual Studio Code; otherwise, follow these steps to clone it now.

  1. Start Visual Studio Code.
  2. Open the palette (SHIFT+CTRL+P) and run a Git: Clone command to clone the https://github.com/MicrosoftLearning/AI-102-AIEngineer repository to a local folder (it doesn’t matter which folder).
  3. When the repository has been cloned, open the folder in Visual Studio Code.

  4. Wait while additional files are installed to support the C# code projects in the repo.

    [!NOTE] If you are prompted to add required assets to build and debug, select Not Now.

Provision an Azure AI Speech resource

If you don’t already have on in your subscription, you’ll need to provision a Azure AI Speech service resource.

  1. Open the Azure portal at https://portal.azure.com, and sign in using the Microsoft account associated with your Azure subscription.
  2. Enter Azure AI in the search field at the top of the portal. Then select Azure AI services in the suggestions dropdown that appears.
  3. Select Create under Speech service in the results page.
  4. Create a resource with the following settings:
    • Subscription: Your Azure subscription
    • Resource group: Choose or create a resource group (if you are using a restricted subscription, you may not have permission to create a new resource group - use the one provided)
    • Region: Choose any available region
    • Name: Enter a unique name
    • Pricing tier: Standard S0
  5. Select Review + Create, then select Create.
  6. Wait for deployment to complete, and then view the deployment details.
  7. When the resource has been deployed, go to it and view its Keys and Endpoint page. You will need one of the keys and the location in which the service is provisioned from this page in the next procedure.

Prepare to use the Azure AI Speech Translation service

In this exercise, you’ll complete a partially implemented client application that uses the Azure AI Speech SDK to recognize, translate, and synthesize speech.

[!NOTE] You can choose to use the SDK for either C# or Python. In the steps below, perform the actions appropriate for your preferred language.

  1. In Visual Studio Code, in the Explorer pane, browse to the 08-speech-translation folder and expand the C-Sharp or Python folder depending on your language preference.

  2. Right-click the translator folder and open an integrated terminal. Then install the Speech SDK package by running the appropriate command for your language preference:

    C#

     dotnet add package Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech --version 1.30.0

    Python

     pip install azure-cognitiveservices-speech==1.30.0
  3. View the contents of the translator folder, and note that it contains a file for configuration settings:
    • C#: appsettings.json
    • Python: .env

    Open the configuration file and update the configuration values it contains to include an authentication key for your Azure AI Speech resource, and the location where it is deployed. Save your changes.

  4. Note that the translator folder contains a code file for the client application:

    • C#: Program.cs
    • Python: translator.py

    Open the code file and at the top, under the existing namespace references, find the comment Import namespaces. Then, under this comment, add the following language-specific code to import the namespaces you will need to use the Azure AI Speech SDK:

    C#

     // Import namespaces
 using Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech;
 using Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech.Audio;
 using Microsoft.CognitiveServices.Speech.Translation;

    Python

     # Import namespaces
 import azure.cognitiveservices.speech as speech_sdk

  5. In the Main function, note that code to load the Azure AI Speech service key and region from the configuration file has already been provided. You must use these variables to create a SpeechTranslationConfig for your Azure AI Speech resource, which you will use to translate spoken input. Add the following code under the comment Configure translation:

    C#

     // Configure translation
 translationConfig = SpeechTranslationConfig.FromSubscription(cogSvcKey, cogSvcRegion);
 translationConfig.SpeechRecognitionLanguage = "en-US";
 translationConfig.AddTargetLanguage("fr");
 translationConfig.AddTargetLanguage("es");
 translationConfig.AddTargetLanguage("hi");
 Console.WriteLine("Ready to translate from " + translationConfig.SpeechRecognitionLanguage);

    Python

     # Configure translation
 translation_config = speech_sdk.translation.SpeechTranslationConfig(cog_key, cog_region)
 translation_config.speech_recognition_language = 'en-US'
 translation_config.add_target_language('fr')
 translation_config.add_target_language('es')
 translation_config.add_target_language('hi')
 print('Ready to translate from',translation_config.speech_recognition_language)

  6. You will use the SpeechTranslationConfig to translate speech into text, but you will also use a SpeechConfig to synthesize translations into speech. Add the following code under the comment Configure speech:

    C#

     // Configure speech
 speechConfig = SpeechConfig.FromSubscription(cogSvcKey, cogSvcRegion);

    Python

     # Configure speech
 speech_config = speech_sdk.SpeechConfig(cog_key, cog_region)

  7. Save your changes and return to the integrated terminal for the translator folder, and enter the following command to run the program:

    C#

     dotnet run

    Python

     python translator.py
  8. If you are using C#, you can ignore any warnings about using the await operator in asynchronous methods - we’ll fix that later. The code should display a message that it is ready to translate from en-US. Press ENTER to end the program.

Implement speech translation

Now that you have a SpeechTranslationConfig for the Azure AI Speech service, you can use the Azure AI Speech translation API to recognize and translate speech.

If you have a working microphone

  1. In the Main function for your program, note that the code uses the Translate function to translate spoken input.

  2. In the Translate function, under the comment Translate speech, add the following code to create a TranslationRecognizer client that can be used to recognize and translate speech using the default system microphone for input.

    C#

     // Translate speech
 using AudioConfig audioConfig = AudioConfig.FromDefaultMicrophoneInput();
 using TranslationRecognizer translator = new TranslationRecognizer(translationConfig, audioConfig);
 Console.WriteLine("Speak now...");
 TranslationRecognitionResult result = await translator.RecognizeOnceAsync();
 Console.WriteLine($"Translating '{result.Text}'");
 translation = result.Translations[targetLanguage];
 Console.OutputEncoding = Encoding.UTF8;
 Console.WriteLine(translation);

    Python

     # Translate speech
 audio_config = speech_sdk.AudioConfig(use_default_microphone=True)
 translator = speech_sdk.translation.TranslationRecognizer(translation_config, audio_config = audio_config)
 print("Speak now...")
 result = translator.recognize_once_async().get()
 print('Translating "{}"'.format(result.text))
 translation = result.translations[targetLanguage]
 print(translation)

[!NOTE] The code in your application translates the input to all three languages in a single call. Only the translation for the specific language is displayed, but you could retrieve any of the translations by specifying the target language code in the translations collection of the result.

  1. Now skip ahead to the Run the program section below.

Alternatively, use audio input from a file

  1. In the terminal window, enter the following command to install a library that you can use to play the audio file:

    C#

     dotnet add package System.Windows.Extensions --version 4.6.0

    Python

     pip install playsound==1.3.0

  2. In the code file for your program, under the existing namespace imports, add the following code to import the library you just installed:

    C#

     using System.Media;

    Python

     from playsound import playsound

  3. In the Main function for your program, note that the code uses the Translate function to translate spoken input. Then in the Translate function, under the comment Translate speech, add the following code to create a TranslationRecognizer client that can be used to recognize and translate speech from a file.

    C#

     // Translate speech
 string audioFile = "station.wav";
 SoundPlayer wavPlayer = new SoundPlayer(audioFile);
 wavPlayer.Play();
 using AudioConfig audioConfig = AudioConfig.FromWavFileInput(audioFile);
 using TranslationRecognizer translator = new TranslationRecognizer(translationConfig, audioConfig);
 Console.WriteLine("Getting speech from file...");
 TranslationRecognitionResult result = await translator.RecognizeOnceAsync();
 Console.WriteLine($"Translating '{result.Text}'");
 translation = result.Translations[targetLanguage];
 Console.OutputEncoding = Encoding.UTF8;
 Console.WriteLine(translation);

    Python

     # Translate speech
 audioFile = 'station.wav'
 playsound(audioFile)
 audio_config = speech_sdk.AudioConfig(filename=audioFile)
 translator = speech_sdk.translation.TranslationRecognizer(translation_config, audio_config = audio_config)
 print("Getting speech from file...")
 result = translator.recognize_once_async().get()
 print('Translating "{}"'.format(result.text))
 translation = result.translations[targetLanguage]
 print(translation)

[!NOTE] The code in your application translates the input to all three languages in a single call. Only the translation for the specific language is displayed, but you could retrieve any of the translations by specifying the target language code in the translations collection of the result.

Run the program

  1. Save your changes and return to the integrated terminal for the translator folder, and enter the following command to run the program:

    C#

     dotnet run

    Python

     python translator.py

  2. When prompted, enter a valid language code (fr, es, or hi), and then, if using a microphone, speak clearly and say “where is the station?” or some other phrase you might use when traveling abroad. The program should transcribe your spoken input and translate it to the language you specified (French, Spanish, or Hindi). Repeat this process, trying each language supported by the application. When you’re finished, press ENTER to end the program.

[!NOTE] The TranslationRecognizer gives you around 5 seconds to speak. If it detects no spoken input, it produces a “No match” result. The translation to Hindi may not always be displayed correctly in the Console window due to character encoding issues.

Synthesize the translation to speech

So far, your application translates spoken input to text; which might be sufficient if you need to ask someone for help while traveling. However, it would be better to have the translation spoken aloud in a suitable voice.

  1. In the Translate function, under the comment Synthesize translation, add the following code to use a SpeechSynthesizer client to synthesize the translation as speech through the default speaker:

    C#

     // Synthesize translation
 var voices = new Dictionary<string, string>
                 {
                     ["fr"] = "fr-FR-HenriNeural",
                     ["es"] = "es-ES-ElviraNeural",
                     ["hi"] = "hi-IN-MadhurNeural"
                 };
 speechConfig.SpeechSynthesisVoiceName = voices[targetLanguage];
 using SpeechSynthesizer speechSynthesizer = new SpeechSynthesizer(speechConfig);
 SpeechSynthesisResult speak = await speechSynthesizer.SpeakTextAsync(translation);
 if (speak.Reason != ResultReason.SynthesizingAudioCompleted)
 {
     Console.WriteLine(speak.Reason);
 }

    Python

     # Synthesize translation
 voices = {
         "fr": "fr-FR-HenriNeural",
         "es": "es-ES-ElviraNeural",
         "hi": "hi-IN-MadhurNeural"
 }
 speech_config.speech_synthesis_voice_name = voices.get(targetLanguage)
 speech_synthesizer = speech_sdk.SpeechSynthesizer(speech_config)
 speak = speech_synthesizer.speak_text_async(translation).get()
 if speak.reason != speech_sdk.ResultReason.SynthesizingAudioCompleted:
     print(speak.reason)

  2. Save your changes and return to the integrated terminal for the translator folder, and enter the following command to run the program:

    C#

     dotnet run

    Python

     python translator.py

  3. When prompted, enter a valid language code (fr, es, or hi), and then speak clearly into the microphone and say a phrase you might use when traveling abroad. The program should transcribe your spoken input and respond with a spoken translation. Repeat this process, trying each language supported by the application. When you’re finished, press ENTER to end the program.

[!NOTE] In this example, you’ve used a SpeechTranslationConfig to translate speech to text, and then used a SpeechConfig to synthesize the translation as speech. You can in fact use the SpeechTranslationConfig to synthesize the translation directly, but this only works when translating to a single language, and results in an audio stream that is typically saved as a file rather than sent directly to a speaker.

More information

For more information about using the Azure AI Speech translation API, see the Speech translation documentation.