Will Skype Translator kill languages?
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.
