When communicating within a business environment the need to be understood quickly and concisely is important, particularly if the two parties have different native languages. Whether speaking the language yourself or using a translator, errors in understanding or context can have a drastic impact on the result of the conversation, particularly on building a relationship or negotiating a deal.
In a global economy, the ability to communicate with potential employers, employees, suppliers or business partners is driving an increase in language learning and language development tools. One technology that has changed the way people communicate is Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) which allows phone calls to be made over the internet to traditional phone lines for a fraction of the previous cost. A market leader in this area is Skype, who use VOIP to provide free voice and video calls between Skype users, and through which calls to landlines or mobile phones cost only a few pennies or cents per minute. Recently Skype announced that it is working on and has released a beta for an instant translator tool that can be used within its software to allow users to communicate in foreign languages in real time. The Skype tool has been initially released to translate between English and Spanish, and it will eventually support more than 40 languages. This tool has taken two years to develop from idea to release due to the complexities in translation and uses a translation memory of millions of samples to work out how languages interact with each other.
The impact of an accurate real-time translation tool for public use would be revolutionary, tearing down language barriers and changing the way the world communicates. The scope of the Skype release and the initial reviews suggest that this is some way off. Instant translator tools such as the Skype release and Google translate are susceptible to the same issues and risks, meaning that they are often not practical beyond being an informal guide. When relying on a translation to form an opinion or make a decision, it is vital that the translation is accurate. The complexity of language including slang, anachronisms and changes of meaning through tone make it hard to provide an automated translation. It is easy to imagine a scenario during an online meeting where an automated translation is generated that conveys the wrong message, offends or is in the wrong tone, jeopardising the relationship. Therefore it is difficult to foresee businesses risking automated software in its current form. This release is exciting but unlikely to replace the language knowledge that can be developed using immersion as part of the learning experience to fully understand the language and context.