Free Google language translation API using PHP

Language translation refers to the process of converting written or spoken text from one language into another language while preserving its meaning. It plays a crucial role in bridging the communication gap between individuals who speak different languages and enables the exchange of information and ideas across cultural and linguistic boundaries.

Language translation using programming involves leveraging software and algorithms to automate the translation process. Here are a few common approaches:

• API-Based Translation Services
• Machine Translation Libraries
• Natural Language Processing (NLP) Libraries
• Rule-Based Translation
• Neural Machine Translation (NMT) Models

The following PHP script provides one of the easiest way to achieve language translation using Google API.

Follow this video for complete guidance :

PHP Function to call Google API for Translation

function translate($text,$source_lang='en',$target_lang='es'){
  $curl = curl_init();
  curl_setopt_array($curl, array(
    CURLOPT_URL => 'https://translate.googleapis.com/translate_a/single?client=gtx&dt=t',
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => '',
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 0,
    CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION => true,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => 'POST',
    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => 'sl='.$source_lang.'&tl='.$target_lang.'&q='.urlencode($text),
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => array(
      'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
    ),
  ));
  $response = curl_exec($curl);
  curl_close($curl);

  $sentencesArray = json_decode($response, true);
  $sentences = "";
  foreach ($sentencesArray[0] as $s) {
        $sentences .= isset($s[0]) ? $s[0] : '';
    }
  
  return $sentences;
}

Complete source code

<?php

function translate($text,$source_lang='en',$target_lang='es'){
  $curl = curl_init();
  curl_setopt_array($curl, array(
    CURLOPT_URL => 'https://translate.googleapis.com/translate_a/single?client=gtx&dt=t',
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => '',
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 0,
    CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION => true,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => 'POST',
    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => 'sl='.$source_lang.'&tl='.$target_lang.'&q='.urlencode($text),
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => array(
      'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
    ),
  ));
  $response = curl_exec($curl);
  curl_close($curl);

  $sentencesArray = json_decode($response, true);
  $sentences = "";
  foreach ($sentencesArray[0] as $s) {
        $sentences .= isset($s[0]) ? $s[0] : '';
    }
  
  return $sentences;
}

if(isset($_POST['text'])){
  echo translate($_POST['text']);
  die;
}else{
  $output = translate('hello');
}

?>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bootstrap/5.3.0/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.7.0/jquery.min.js"></script>

<div class="container mt-5">
  <div class="row">
    <div class="col-6">
      <p class="mb-3" style="font-weight: bold;">English</p>
      <textarea class="form-control input" style="resize:none;" rows="20">Hello</textarea>
    </div>
    <div class="col-6">
      <p class="mb-3" style="font-weight: bold;">English</p>
      <textarea class="form-control output" style="resize:none;" rows="20" readonly><?php echo $output;?></textarea>
    </div>
    <div class="col-12">
      <span class="btn-translate btn btn-primary d-block btn-block mt-3">Convert</span>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>


<script type="text/javascript">
  $(".btn-translate").on('click',function(){
    inputtext = $(".input").val();
    postData = {
      'text':inputtext
    };
    $.ajax({
      url:'index.php',
      type:'post',
      data:postData,
      success:function(res){
        $(".output").html(res);
      }
    });
  });
</script>