Will Free Translation Software Kill Modern Languages? The Decline of Language Courses and the Future of Communication

The number of British universities offering specialist modern-language courses is in sharp decline, with some universities even considering closing entire language departments. The rise of free translation software, such as Google Translate, is thought to be partially responsible for this decline. However, the accuracy of these translations is not the main reason why they will not replace the need to learn languages.

Language learning is about connecting with a different language group, gaining an insight into how they think, and getting exposure to their history and culture. While automatic interpreting technology is helpful for short-term communication across certain language barriers, it's not a substitute for learning a language and really getting to know people and discovering other cultures. In fact, the introduction of this technology may increase the interest of people in language learning, as it will make our world smaller, bring people closer together, and encourage people to take the next step in getting closer to those who share their world by learning their language.

I hear more and more about automatic translation technology. Skype recently announced their Skype Translator Preview. This translation technology will make it possible for people to communicate via Skype across languages. Two people can speak two different languages and the conversation is automatically translated for each person to hear in his or her own language.

This technology is not surprising. Google Translate is already quite accurate for many languages, although not for all. The more closely related the languages are in vocabulary and structure, the more accurate the translations are. Recently, text-to-speech technology has greatly improved, enabling any text to be accurately voiced for someone to listen to.

How is this likely to affect language learning? I recently did a Google search for articles on the subject and came across a blog post by a Benny the Irish Polyglot where he discusses a product called Vocre. Benny points out that these translations are not always reliable. To me, this is a minor problem. The quality of these translations can only improve over time, since they are based on the accumulation of context examples of ever-increasing quantity, and in this way the context based on accuracy improves. I already find that Google Translate is much better than it was, and usually serves my purpose.

So I don't think that it is the accuracy of this technology that will be the main reason why it will not replace the need to learn languages.

Rather, it is because language learning is not just about learning to ask for directions and ordering beer. Language learning, in my opinion, is about connecting with a different language group, getting an insight into how these people think and getting exposure to their history and culture.

This new automatic interpreting technology is helpful for situations like the ones that I will face in Myanmar and Vietnam as a tourist, where I don't speak the language and very specific questions that I need to have answered. It is an interim communication tool. It is not a substitute for learning the language.

On the contrary, if after visiting Vietnam and Myanmar, I find that one of these countries is sufficiently fascinating. I may very well want to learn the language in order to get closer to those people, their history and their culture. I may simply want to be able to interact naturally with speakers of those languages, not via some interpreting devices.

Just as the advent of the computer increased the consumption of paper, I tend to think that the introduction of this kind of technology will increase the interest of people in language learning, and not decrease it. It is a short-term bridge or crutch which enables communication across certain language barriers, but not a longer-term resource for really getting to know people and discovering other cultures.

This new translation technology will again make our world smaller, bring people closer together, and as a result, people will want to take the next step in getting closer to people who share their world, and learn their language.