You can now speak Spanish to your Alexa-enabled devices in the US. While Alexa would have previously replied with, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” she will now be able to respond to your Spanish voice commands and reply in Español.
Amazon Teaches Alexa to Speak Spanish in the US
Given its proximity to Mexico, the United States has a high number of Spanish speakers. However, Google Home learned to speak Spanish in 2018, it has taken longer for Amazon to teach Alexa how to speak Spanish. But it has finally now happened.
In April 2019, Amazon announced that Alexa would soon be able to speak Spanish. In effect, the company had asked developers to “start building skills for Spanish-speaking customers in the US […] with the new Spanish for US voice model.”
How to Start Speaking Spanish to Alexa
With those skills having been certified, Alexa can now speak Spanish in the United States. According to The Amazon Blog, support for Spanish speakers runs deep, so there’s a “brand new Spanish voice, local knowledge, hundreds of skills, and more.”
There’s also a new Multi-lingual mode which allows users to switch seamlessly between Spanish and English. Once enabled, if you ask Alexa a question in Spanish she’ll respond in Spanish, but if you ask Alexa a question in English she’ll respond in English.
"Alexa, ¡Hola!" @alexa99 customers in the U.S. can now access Spanish language and Multi-lingual mode on supported Echo and Alexa built-in devices. https://t.co/BhmiJY8A1G
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) October 11, 2019
If you want to start speaking Spanish to Alexa and have her respond in kind, switch to “Español (Estados Unidos)” in the Alexa app. Or, alternatively, enable the Multi-lingual mode, which will be especially useful for multilingual households.
As a bonus for Spanish speakers in the US, Amazon has added a host of Latin music playlists to Amazon Music. These include a playlist full of urban artists and a playlist packed with dance songs. All of which you can ask Alexa to play in Spanish.
Is It Time to Learn to Start Speaking Spanish?
With 50 million Spanish speakers in the United States, this is long overdue. It has taken Amazon a while to catch up to the competition, but it’s better late than never. And if you’re not yet able to speak Spanish, here are the best apps to learn to speak Spanish.
Read the full article: Alexa Can Now Speak Spanish in the US
