High-Tech Glasses or Human Translator?

What’s the hot topic in translation today? The Tele Scouter – new high-tech glasses that attempt to interpret languages without a human translator, according to an article in the Telegraph.

How do they work?

1. A microphone attached to the glasses picks up a phrase.
2. The signal is relayed to a computer attached around the user’s waist.
3. The server transcribes the spoken word into text, then translates the text to the user’s desired language.
4. Finally, the text is projected onto the user’s retina.

Sounds great, right? Well, there are a few kinks in the plan.

The manufacturing company aims to target business customers when the glasses are released in 2010.

But businesspeople don’t use computerized translation programs to translate important emails with potential partners and clients for the same reason that they (likely) won’t want to use these glasses: because they cannot be as accurate as a human translator.

Relying on computer translations for personal use can lead to some awkward encounters – in business translation, they can be a much bigger problem! A human translator or interpreter is able to understand the nuances of language the way that a computer just can’t manage.

Computers Translate Famous Quotes

Translation technology, like website translation widgets, can be very useful – but can lead to some serious mix-ups that a human translator would notice immediately!

Can you figure out what famous quotations these used to be before they were translated?

Into Chinese: “A house divided against itself can not be established.”

• Answer: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” – Abraham Lincoln

Into Korean: “What should people in spite of personal consequences – in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures do not – and is the basis of all human morality.”

• Answer: “A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.” – John F. Kennedy

Into Japanese: “Please afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, you are thrust greatness, and some of them.”

• “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” – William Shakespeare

Into Hungarian: “There is social illness. We have to go every night. If I stay home one night I start spreading rumors to my dogs.”

• Answer: “I have Social Disease. I have to go out every night. If I stay home one night I start spreading rumors to my dogs.” – Andy Warhol

When Accuracy and Clarity Count

The fact remains that these sorts of translation and interpreting programs are nowhere near sophisticated enough to use in a professional manner. Quality translation (and interpreting) is an art, not a science, that requires a human translator to convey a fullness of meaning.

Perhaps these new glasses could replace phrase books for the casual traveler who wouldn’t need a human translator – although to facilitate conversation abroad, you’d need a second pair of glasses for the other person speaking.

It’s a fun idea and an interesting and impressive invention, but accurate translations and interpreting using computers are still things of science fiction (not to mention that you’d look like a Star Trek extra wearing those!).