Referees at The World Cup 2014, be very afraid…

/in /by

The FIFA World Cup, the epitome of international football a competition which is steeped in history, a competition that has seen the footballing elite grace the world stage time and time again. The competition which began in 1930 hosted and eventually won by Uruguay has seen many superstars created such as a relatively unknown 17 year old kid from Brazil who went by the name of Pele, as well as tarnishing reputations on a worldwide scale. The World Cup may also be held in such high esteem because much like the Olympics is only staged every 4 years.

Translation services are not always the immediate thought you would have if you had to think of anything even remotely associated with The World Cup, but the truth is the process of translating languages from one to another is a major part of The World Cup, the clue is in the name. Furthermore it is key in helping a global audience understand everything about the competition hosted on foreign soil from advertisements, commentary and ceremonies to name a few. Interpreting services would also play a crucial role in determining how quickly each footballer of each national team can settle in.

Now in 2014 the World Cup is just around the corner and where better to host the most prestigious tournament in world football in no other than, as some would say ‘the spiritual home of football’ and the home of Pele himself, Brazil. Brazil are the most successful team in The World Cup winning the tournament on five separate occasions 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002 respectively. The Brazilian national synonymous with the Yellow, Green and Blue colours of the national flag have produced some of the finest players to ever appear in football players such as Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zico, the list goes on and on. Along with these great players Brazil are also known for their flair football. In Brazil the official national language is Portuguese but rather the same language from Portugal, the Brazilians speak a slightly different locale with many ‘slang’ words you might not often find in the Portuguese language which has come to be known as Brazilian Portuguese. These slight differences could have major implications which further highlight the need for professional translations services at The World Cup because without them the majority of words will get lost in translation.

Among these important effects translation services could have on The World Cup, none are more so important to the diehard football fans than being able to vent your anger and frustrations at the referee. So imagine the delight and adulation around all corners of the globe as the language learning network Busuu have launched their “Busuu banter translator” which is able to translate football phrases or ‘banter’ as it is known into Portuguese as well as 12 other different languages. These phrases include “Até a minha avó poderia ter marcado esse gol” which roughly translates into “Even my grandmother could have scored this goal” and many more. The founder and CEO of Busuu,Bernhard Niesner had commented on their ingenious idea saying “The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest international events on the planet, and the upcoming series anticipates fans from all corners of the globe flocking to Brazil. We wanted to equip Brits with the banter which will give them the edge over their international counterparts, making them part of the global conversation of football.” This idea will no doubt prove popular with the fans and just shows the relevance of translation as well as interpreting services on global events such as The World Cup and The Olympics which will also be hosted in Brazil in 2016. Will the Busuu banter translator be reintroduced in 2016 for the Olympics? It remains to be seen.

Will Skype Translator kill languages?

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The announcement of Skype Translator to be launched as early as before the end of 2014 in some languages is without a doubt a major breakthrough in the world of technology. This ground breaking technology would allow people to effectively communicate with people in another language in near real time. Take for example an English speaker Skyping a German speaker, this technology would allow ones words to be translated in near real time as they speak. Impressive?

It is estimated that Skype has around 300 million monthly users according to Microsoft, surely this development if successful will add to the increase if its users.

For the average user this technology is without a doubt a phenomenon allowing you to connect with people you may never have had opportunities to communicate with and to fluently converse without language barriers.

In some ways this technology will also help some businesses e.g. importers and exporters may have clearer communication means through near real time translation allowing them to save time and speed up decisions.

But how will this technology affect professional businesses? Although the Skype Translator will allow people to effectively speak in different languages it is still yet to be confirmed whether this type of translation will be a competing force against human translation. Furthermore it is not clear about the accuracy of the translation or whether this is a stepping stone for business. In cases where businesses are required to communicate from one language to another such as conferencing or meetings it is normally a qualified interpreter who is used to conduct the translation. The point is despite this technological breakthrough it is unlikely that the need for professional translation services will die!

This announcement also brings a debate of whether there will be any need to learn a new language. In the modern world people are always looking for ways to do things quicker with less effort and a development such as this will simply fuel this need. Moreover, it is arguable whether this technology If applied to a multitude of languages will dismiss the need to learn a new language.

Although the concept of simultaneously interpreting ones speech from one language to another via a popular platform like Skype is a truly ground breaking platform, it is still to be argued whether this is 100% accurate. Whether this technology can be used for legal hearings or professional marketing campaigns it is still debatable. In order to achieve 100% accuracy human translation services are more than likely to still be the number one choice for professional translation services.