By Maxi Albrecht
German Language Intern
App: Bon Appétit!
Price: $1.99
Bon Appétit! is a translation app custom-made for any questions or needs that might arise in a restaurant setting in France.
Even though I am quite good at Spanish and do know a bit of French, my travels have often put me in situations where I was sitting in front of a restaurant menu and had no clue whatsoever what half of the words actually meant. Also, it would be quite a pity if you ordered a nice Filet Mignon at an expensive restaurant but cannot tell the waiter the way you want it done. Bon Appétit! can help with these problems by providing not only the correct translations for many food terms but also by giving the most important sentences and expression from the French culinary realm.
The app menu is structured quite clearly and logically. First, there is a search bar, where you can search for different terms or words manually by typing them in or just looking them up in the alphabetical list.
When clicking on the term, it is possible to listen to the word in French, English etc. This is particularly useful if one is not very familiar with French pronunciation.
Secondly, there is a menu item entitled categories, in which different types of meals or food groups are listed. This is quite useful if one is only interested in certain categories, but the search function essentially provides the same information. Nevertheless, it is interesting if one wants to see which types of foods are normally consumed at a certain meal.
What is more, there is one category entitled ‘Expressions and words.’ This is one part of the app which I personally find the most useful. Often, certain ways of preparation, for instance, are very peculiar to a country or certain region and this is a very handy tool to quickly understand them. Furthermore, this part of the app provides a couple of phrases to use in a restaurant setting.
The third menu item provides more expressions and full sentences to use in culinary contexts.
It is also possible to add words or expressions as favorites, which will then appear in the fourth menu item. I found this particularly useful in two aspects: firstly, it helps to keep track of which food(s) you enjoy, which is particularly necessary if the cuisine differs quite greatly from what you are used to. On the other hand, it can also be used to have words close at hand, that you may want to remember. Thus, this item can also serve as a sort of vocabulary trainer.
Under the last menu item ‘More’ you can set language preferences, voice preferences and also contact the creators of the app about bugs, further wishes etc.
All in all, this is a very useful app for dealing with French language problems in the French culinary realm. The app provides translations for French food terms and expressions in English, German, Dutch, Italian, simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Moreover, it is possible to choose between male and female voices and Hong Kong or Taiwan Chinese.
Bon appétit, indeed!