Marat Gurjan, a 15-year-old lifeguard, poses for a picture showing his phone with a note in Russian and English on Google Translate in Samara, Russia, Tuesday June 19, 2018. Google Translate has been key to leap over the language barrier at the World Cup in Russia. Fans have also used the mobile app to order food, change money and meet new people, especially in cities like Samara, where few people speak anything but Russian. (AP photo/ Luis Andres Henao)
KAZAN, Russia: Soccer might be the most universal language on the planet. But when it comes to deciphering the Cyrillic alphabet or communicating with locals at the World Cup in Russia, the love of the game is sometimes not enough.
To get around language barriers in Russia, World Cup fans from around the globe have been actively using the Google Translate applications on their mobile phones. It has saved them the trouble of rummaging through phrase books or gesticulating to ask for directions or get their point across.
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