Abstract: Some embodiments of the present invention provide a speech translation system comprising a display upon which at least one word spoken by a user can be displayed. The speech translation system can include a holographic storage medium having a plurality of frames, each having data representative of at least one word in a source language. In some embodiments, the system includes one or more lasers positioned to direct a first beam of light to the display to generate a first modified beam of light leaving the display. This modified beam of light can be directed to the holographic storage medium to scan for a matching speech segment stored in the holographic storage medium. Upon detecting a match, some embodiments of the system can generate a translation of the speech segment by receiving a second modified beam of light from the holographic storage medium and carrying information representative of the translation.