I agree that the exact interaction will depend on the setting and that it will take time to perfect. We're on it and open to suggestions!
Re: "Do I have to be hospitalized?", I believe our original intent was to show practicality, though in retrospect it does seem off. Thanks for the catch!
"Do you have vegetarian options?" or "Does this food have eggs in it?", perhaps. (I know a few foreigners who carry business-card sized printouts with an explanation saying "Hello! The person who handed you this can't speak Japanese. She has an extremely serious medical allergy to eggs or anything containing eggs.")
Awesome suggestions and very simple to implement; look for it soon. I have many relatives who are celiacs (i.e. can't eat wheat) who have had this same problem!
Patrick here. Pinyin/romaji (+ other phonetic readings) as well as audio for each phrase are in the works. Let me know if you have any other suggestions!
Mantaphrase uses large readable text that can be read from a good distance away. That means you can show your device to another person without having to hand it over!
Re: "Do I have to be hospitalized?", I believe our original intent was to show practicality, though in retrospect it does seem off. Thanks for the catch!