This video shows us inching ever closer to the dream of a universal translator:

Anytime I’m traveling I use Google Translate to check translations in real time on signage. You have to see it to believe it. This is real and LIVE while you move your camera. @ Paris pic.twitter.com/SvvdR8ttFs

— Scott Hanselman (@shanselman) April 3, 2019

Scroll down through the thread to watch universal audio translations. I would love to see more of this technology coming from Apple.

As is, you can ask Siri to say a phrase in a supported language (for example, Hey Siri, how do you say “where is the closest drug store” in Spanish). And there are third party apps that translate text on the fly. Works well, glad to have it, but I’d love to see more.

UPDATE: As several folks have pointed out, this technology evolved from the original Word Lens, which ran on iOS, but was purchased by Google. I believe accuracy has improved since its original release, and lots of languages have been added as well. And, as I said above, check the other demos in the thread.