Lifting the Language Barrier: A Spotlight Series by FII Institute

In its latest spotlight series, FII Institute discusses whether technology can become a linguistic equalizer in a world where we are all connected yet divided.?

The series highlights how in a world where?online word-of-mouth?is so rapid?that breaking?news stories nearly always hit Twitter before?national media sites,?there’s?little doubt the world remains divided along?cultural lines. Whether because of different?values, traditions, lifestyles, or politics, there?remain fundamental divisions that have?resisted?the pressures of globalization.

This?is important when it comes to preserving?local identities. But it can also impede?understanding,?empathy, and true connection?among many of the 7.7 billion people living

on this planet.

English has?now become the world’s second language, an?indispensable?tool for global?communication.?But as anyone who has tried to speak using a?second language will know that this can often?have its limitations.

The series asks what if the latest technological advances?could help overcome these barriers and bridge?the huge linguistic divisions that remain?

“If we’re in touch with?people from another language, we start to?learn about their culture, how they see things, issues, and people,” says Richard Mansell, a?senior lecturer in translation at the University?of Exeter in southwest England?quoted in the series.?

Translation?has traditionally?relied?on the hard work of human translators?or interpreters, which can be time-consuming?and costly. Even translation websites are?often limited to expressing or deciphering a?handful of phrases. But now, a new wave of?innovation in machine translation (MT) –?delivering near real-time audio translation?– is aiming to change all this.

Near real-time translation has come a long?way in recent years.??Many of the developments in the translation?are now becoming commercially available,?either as apps or as dedicated devices.?Near real-time translation is also being?added to the remote communication?platforms?on which we have become so?reliant.

The?rapid level of improvement in audio?translation technology has?also?significantly

Enhanced?its potential applications?in?breaking down cultural barriers, believes?tech industry analyst Jeff Kagan.

It isn’t only work, study, and travel that could benefit from advances in?MT technology, with a number of research projects also drilling down?into potential use cases in healthcare. These technologies could prove particularly?valuable for countries with a variety of local dialects and?languages,?where a physician may not share a language with a patient?and a human translator is either unavailable or not appropriate for?privacy reasons.

But as highlighted?by many of these projects,?there are still numerous challenges?in?getting?the?technology to a stage where it?can compete?with the accuracy and nuance?of human?translation.?There are linguistic obstacles as well,?such as the fact that different grammatical

rules may see words appearing in a different?order in a sentence, depending on the

language.

Then there is the lingering question?of whether an AI tool – no matter how?sophisticated?– can replicate the performance?of a human translator. Can it appreciate?each word's subtle context and nuance, deciding what is literal and what is not?

WHAT CAN WE DO?

∞ Focus on culture: Translators will need to

bridge cultural gaps more than linguistic ones.

Educational curricula should reflect this.

∞ Retain roots: As translations improve, there

will be fewer reasons for speakers to abandon

their native tongue – no matter how rare or hard

to understand it may be.

∞ Make technology accessible: If the audio translation

tech is widely available, it could help forge

new connections around the globe.

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