A.I. - The END of Language Learning? 

I speak on behalf of Turkish. The translation is incredibly good. If I didn't know the tone of your voice and saw a video of yours for the first time, I would definitely think you were a foreigner who later learned Turkish as his native language. Ofc, it isn’t localised it, but perfect for formal conversations

Paul, You forgot to mention another reason why some folks learn foreign languages: Keeping your brain active. It becomes more important as you get older. I wouldn’t call myself old yet, but I have been learning French for the last 2 years exactly for that.

Would be nice to see these tools used to help preserve endangered languages in a way that would make it accessible for people to learn interactively.

I'm a native Mandarin speaker, yes, I'm very impressed. I think it imitates how non-native people tried to learn Chinese: the tone is somewhat unnatural and a little robotic. When it says "zhong guo ren" (Chinese people), it's a very typical (or stereotypical) foreign accent. But overall, the tone is very good. The grammar is flawless. If a non-native speaker can speak Mandarin like this, I would say "Your Mandarin is perfect!"

I’m currently learning Japanese, and no matter how frustrating it gets, I have never dreamed to have someone snap their fingers and instantly make me fluent in Japanese. Language learning is such a joy, and I would hate to lose the chance to experience it with the language I want to learn the most.

I don’t even need to watch the video to know the answer: no. AI may augment the language learning process-dramatically, in fact, but it can’t kill the invaluable human-to-human connection that actually learning someone else’s native language affords.

4:36 What you say here, Paul, hits very close to home. I am American but learned how to speak Portuguese and Spanish. I founded an imports business in 1999; I import mostly handcrafted items from Latin America. Knowing the languages of my destination countries - and something about their cultures - has bridged the gaps and brought me closer to the people I've done business with. This is something not taught in business school! (I have an MBA). I have had numerous instances where people felt honored that I would care enough to learn their language. I wish I had a lempira, a peso or a real for every time someone said to me something like, "Of all the other Americans who have come down here, you are the only one to speak to us in our language." And next year I celebrate 25 years in business. I feel that bridging the gap through language has had a lot to do with the longevity of my business. Please, people, don't lean on AI for everything!

Listening to the German part I can state that it's consistently high German without any regional accent. Using a regional accent is something a native speaker does automaticly and thus giving you a hint about where exactly he/she is from. AI won't - unless it's trained to mimic a certain accent. Regional accents spoken by people from that region are something only real human to human communication can provide. For me these accents are a big part of what makes a language interesting.

Recent studies have shown a correlation between dementia and polyglotism: The more languages you know, the less likely you are to have dementia in old age. The biggest "drop" is going from monolinguals to bilinguals. And it makes sense: humans are the "conversing ape". Language is quite fundamental to human brain function. So, maybe AI translation will be a tool that people use _alongside_ their Native and Second languages, with everyone learning a second language as part of good mental hygiene.

Well as a professional language tutor I already feel like I've been automated away by A.I. , because no one hires me anymore even though I'm clearly great at my job and used to be quite successful, and I assume it's because everyone has flocked to free automated learning resources. And while my heart is happy that language learning is no longer gated behind having money, my wallet (and my paranoia about misinformation being potentially taught frequently by automated resources) is kinda peeved at this, heh

The Atlantic has a really good article about this called "learn a language before it's too late." The idea is basically that the "you" speaking Turkish isn't actually you, and that an ai will never be able to convey the lived experiences behind the words we use. Might be fun to check out!

In the years of watching your videos because they’re so fascinating, I knew you were passionate about language, but this video showed the emotional part of your passion and added more of my appreciation for your work. Well done Paul!

Very interesting that you posted this video. I never considered this reality 😢 I love your point about the point of language learning. People uninterested in languages don’t really seem to understand why we actually study languages. It’s very rarely for work or a resume 😂 It’s for fun and mental challenge!

As a native Chinese speaker, I think the translation is just perfect. If I didn't watch your previous videos, I would thought you learned Chinese secretly and had mastered it. Although the tone seems a little unnatural(not like human), but there's no mistakes I can find, and it's really impressive!

Paul you're seriously one of my favourite RU-vidrs ever. I look nowhere else when I want some info on any language. Amazing job as always

Personally, when I learn a language, most of the words I learn come from a teacher. However, I also believe that Google Translate would probably be better off as a dictionary for single words or short phrases and I occasionally use it to try and improve my vocabulary.

As a native Turkish speaker, even though there were some minor mistakes in the translation, it was pretty good. And I am pretty surprised by it.

Maybe it can replace texting a bit but the shared experiences and nuance of a language can't be communicated through AI translation. The translation would have to be a full-on language course of footnotes to properly get all the meanings across.

Хорошо, если искусственный интеллект окажется в "хороших руках". А если нет, то смысл и цель перевода окажется исключительно в руках "хозяина". Не зная язык, вы не сможете проверить, а "правильно" ли вам переводят. Переводят ли вам то, что правда, или то, что хотят что бы вы услышали. Жизнь показывает, что такие технологии часто попадают в не те руки... Так что учим языки!

As a Turkish speaker, I am impressed that the quality of the speech is very good although it uses a tense we normally never use during a conversation. "Konuşmaz" is in simple present tense, and we usually tend to use present continuous tense.

Im fluent in portuguese, spanish and english is my third language. People using tech divises in order to translate stuff will never feel that satisfaction of understand something you really studied hard for. I can listen to music now that I used to listen when I was a child with the diference that now I can understand every single word, that feeling that you can understand something you used to struggle with just using your brain is something no tech devise can provide

Never, language learning is a skill that helps develop communicative abilities and logical, emotional, and cultural thinking. The one who's able to speak more than one language knows that it means freedom, you don't need to rely on machines, computers etc. You have it and no one can take it from you.

I think you nailed this topic. I agree with all you say. Nothing replaces watching news or even talking to strangers on the street in their own language while traveling.

Honestly if AI is as bad at social bonding then AI translation would be pretty bad for most jobs. The social element is utterly crucial in so many jobs, especially film making. How are you going to connect with your audience let alone your actors and staff if you can't even speak their language or don't care about their culture?

I've been following futurist thinkers, technological progress, and contemplating the Singularity for nearly 30 years. It's surreal seeing mainstream society and other 'normies' talking openly about something I've kept in my private thoughts for most of my life. I'm struggling to even describe the feeling. It's like a television show as big as Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad just came out, and the setting is my own neighborhood, the convenience store I go into all the time, the streets I walk down all the time. And the entire world is talking about it. I mention it here because seeing it talked about on this channel is the biggest breakdown of separation of worlds I've experienced yet. The news talking about it is almost normal. And teachers I work with complaining about ChatGPT and Google Translate has felt mostly normal.

Thank you, Paul. I totally agree with you. I'm learning Welsh currently. People often say it's "useless" because almost all Welsh native speakers can speak perfect English (or Spanish, if they are in Patagonia). But I still want to learn. I'm living in Wales. I love Welsh culture and history. I see the Welsh people fighting for the destiny of the language. I want to respect their efforts. I want to talk to them in their native tongue rather than in English. Even if nobody speaks a language, so what? It's just people's nerdy hobby. Learning a language makes me happy and makes many people happy. Does Klingon have many speakers? But it's very important to Star Trek fans. By the way, the invention of bikes, cars and trains makes running much less functional. But many people still love running.

Thank you for this, Paul! I'm a bit of a language geek myself, and you have always inspired me. Even though you're an admitted introvert, if I were to ever run into you at a polyglot event, I would introduce myself and thank you personally. Best of wishes for more language adventures!

Great insights, Paul! Keep it coming! Thanks for sharing!

You would like to watch a scene from a sci-fi TVshow called "Star Trek Discovery universal translator malfunction." The "Universal Translator" is a never well-explained and never-consistently used device that somehow makes people who talk vastly different languages to understand each other. More details in Memory Alpha (the Wiki of Star Trek) and multiple videos. The first and only time so far a malfunction of the Universal Translator has been portrayed was in that scene - and the person who saved the day was the only officer who had made the effort to learn languages. Enjoy!

Reading the comments and thinking about Paul's answers, but especially being a grammar teacher and a specialist in languages native to the Americas (that's such a long sentence that I would like to see AI translate that... AND WE'RE NOT DONE YET! 😂), I think a few things are overlooked: 1) there are roughly 7000 living languages on this planet. Sure, AI will tackle English , Chinese, French, Turkish and other big ones... But that's ONLY because of the human input from speakers of those languages. Believe me, nobody will bother to "teach" AI small indigenous languages like Warao from Ecuador, Palikur of French Guyana or.. Halkomelem, the native language of the place where Paul is from (if I'm correct). Let alone the different dialects of these languages. 2) speaking of dialects, accents, variants, etc... A German speaker and Turkish speaker already mentioned this... What AI "speaks" is an extreme form of a standardised language. Otherwise said, it's not speaking at all... It like a chess computer. They don't play chess, they calculate incredibly well. Chess however is so much more (playing with ones nerves for example) 3) brings me to the last point. There is a difference between speaking a language and (re)producing it. Speaking is with emotions, feelings, etc... I doubt AI will be able to reproduce these: so far it's all human imput...

Beautiful video - thank you for this passionate defence of language-learning!

Cool video. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

People who say stuff like "I'd never want to be able to learn/communicate in a language instantly, the journey is half the fun" are pretty much just people to whom learning the language is a hobby. If knowing the language doesn't actually affect your day-to-day life, then it's an easy position to have. But being able to bypass, or even eliminate language barriers can only be a good thing for those operating in a society that speaks a language that isn't their own, and for bringing humanity closer in general. For those who'd want to learn the old-fashioned way, it's not like the option to will suddenly disappear. If AI tools can get to a point where actually learning a language becomes as outmoded as going to a river with a bucket to get water instead of turning on a faucet, then I'm all for it.

I think you're right Paul, but the language learning market will shrink dramatically and that's bad news for teachers.

I really appreciated your explanations near the end of this video, because this is one of the reasons I love learning languages: like using a time machine to communicate with people who lived in a far distant past and country, and I am feeling like a detective or archeologist deciphering very mysterious or old writings. I feel an extraordinary emotion and pride by doing that. As an introvert myself (but not particularily shy, I really enjoy speaking to people from time to time), I feel I can achieve a deep comprehension of a language and its culture or way of thinking that I could not grasp if I were using only AI. Besides, learning a language is very stimulating for brain and its development.

love u in this format! seated

2:07 The German wasn't _bad,_ but it was, well, flat. It missed some of the nuances present in the English script you showed as subtitles. Side note: AI is gonna have a problem with German, unless it's acceptable for it to always sound like a talking textbook from 3 decades ago. Spoken German over the past century has been a rather dynamic, "fast" changing language. German youth are notoriously innovative in their slang, a slang that becomes standard colloquial once they all turn 30! Then the next generation vibes along and changes things _more!_ I wouldn't be at all surprised it's late 21st-Century German teens took AI translation as a challenge to come up with really wild „Jugendsprache“ to vex as many oldies as possible! 😁😉

פול אני מת עליך! אני אוהב לראות את הסרטונים שלך, ופתאום עכשיו לראות אותך רואה חדשות בעברית, בשפה שלי מחמם את הלב ❤ שלום מישראל!

Paul, finding your video on Scandinavian languages lead me on a journey in learning about languages--also Jackson Crawford. With AI I'll still be interested in learning.

This was very interesting! Thank you

I'm right there with you Paul. I'm a linguist by training and studying languages is more for pleasure than function. Sure AI will enhance my linguistic activities. But there's nothing like being in the present moment with your own language faculty at work immersed in the use of a language other than one's mother tongue.

German native here - The translation in my opinion works well, but I would, at this stage, not recommend using it outside of the business world. Let alone due to the countless nuances a language has, it is hard to exactly deliver the message you meant to with the tool, I could imagine. I think there is a reason why people can recognise automatically translated things and go "Oh that sounds like google translate" for example. Even though you could technically speak every language in the world with such an AI tool, it wont make you truly master it. There is so much more to it than just words. The country's culture, the social status of your conversation partner and so on. But it is still really impressive

Langfocus is fascinating and always enjoyable. Paul: could you possibly look into whether English is casting aside its more flowery French and Latin vocabulary in pursuit of more monosyllabic and more 'Saxon' syntax, as the need to 'get to the point' becomes stronger with text messages, computers etc. The internet is creating lots of new words which tend to be Saxon in origin eg 'download' and many more. It could make an interesting video as to whether in 50 years time English will be more 'Germanic' than it is now..

Perfection! Maybe best video so far. 💪 Keep it up!

Gonna tune in, I've been wondering about this.

That software translation thing is kinda fascinating

This was fascinating. I honestly didn't know about that technology that can translate your own speech in video form. One thing that might also be good (and bad if the info gets out and others can use it) is having a record of your voice and being able to type something and have your own voice read it out. For example, for videos, there would be no "multiple takes", and it would perfectly mimic the text in your voice. Whatever the future of AI brings, I intend to keep studying Japanese.

Keep up the good work, love your channel

I am Azerbaijani, and Turkish and Azerbaijani are very similar languages, so I can speak and understand Turkish perfectly.I think AI translated your speech perfectly. Paul, can you please make a video about Azerbaijani?

I'm a language teacher and I've noticed that when the students who love the language they're studying are the ones who really get ahead and they always prefer classes in person. I believe (human) teachers make the learning process very personal and, as a result more meaningful, enjoyable and memorable. Ah, and those students usually hate online lessons 😅. I haven't found until this day one student who liked online classes let alone learning with A.I. Probably those who need to learn a language for work are more ok with that.

Nice summary. It's interesting that you class yourself as a bit of an introvert, same as me. So I also have a bit of performance anxiety when attempting to speak another language with native speakers, and I get most of my enjoyment from reading in a foreign language, or watching videos, rather than speaking it. But this is where AI will really be able to come into its own, ie as my never-tiring, non-critical language practice partner. Thus I'm eagerly looking forward to future improvements in the technology. I do agree that any business-related reasons for learning a language will rapidly go down the gurgler, but this is no different to jobs in general in the long-term.

Thanks for creating.

I think at some point AI will intentionally mistranslate our speech to instigate discord and distrust among humans so as to carry out a global coup and enslave or annihilate humanity once and for all. Very useful from an alien point of view.

You have a great point at 4:36. The experience of someone getting excited that you can speak their language can never be replaced no matter how advanced technology gets. I've experienced it a few times with French, even though my French really isn't the greatest. They'll appreciate any earnest attempt. Well done in presenting both sides of this argument. And yes, your AI translation into German sounded very stiff and formal.

I´m studying Mandarin for 3 years now and I will not stop for all the reasons that you mentioned Paul. Thanks for the interesting video

Well said, Paul. I’ve had so many interactions with people from other cultures/languages because I took a few moments to Google and memorize some bits of their language. I look forward to AI capabilities, but as much to help me learn as to understand.

Honestly, I think AI will make language learning easier than ever. Already with something like ChatGPT, you can get natural text in virtually an modern language, as well as definitions, making it trivially easy to learn the basics of any of those languages. You can also use it as a (albeit mediocre) language exchange partner to practice with. Obviously functional language learning becomes unnecessary, but for hobbyists it's a wonderful tool.

I think learning new language than what you already know is a talent. And whether or not AI is going to make it useless, if a person is optimistic about learning language, they will not derail themself from their track. For me, it's always gonna be a no. No, I never gonna leave learning a language. Even when I'll be busy with my works. The little happiness after learning a language is very big for me. And also after learning a language and observing it I'm trying to make my own language and that's all I want. Different languages have different type of grammer, sounds, alphabets and that's also one of my favorite thing. I'm learning it anyway despite the fact that it will not gonna help me in anyway in my life or atleast in the next 10 year. And those who're upset about it, just one thing to say - we do many thing in our life which is useless and many times we regret it but in this case np matter how useless this process is. This is definitely not regretful....

You are correct about human connection. I speak English and French. A few years ago, while I was in Costa Rica, I googled how to say, ' thank you for lunch' in Spanish. At the time, I didn't speak any Spanish at all. I will always remember the delight on the restaurant owner's face when I said 'gracias por la comida'. Today, I'm learning Spanish. Learning a new language is a gateway to learning about another country's customs, history, and culture. And opening up one's mind.

Love the way you teach and explain your points. You’re funny but does not distract from the information you convey. Thank you!

Language models may be good at learning, but the lifecycle of slang in the age of the internet is like trying to chase Roadrunner going at light speed. And some slang is so multilayered or becomes so multilayered that it may ‘confuse’ it.

3:30 Finally weebs will be able to visit Japan with subtitles

I absolutely despise the idea of living in a world where A.I just does everything for you... What a boring and fruitless existence. I have been learning spanish every day for 7 years and japanese for over 2 and I enjoy the process and looking forward to being able to speak with the people from those countries in their language. It would also feel so amazing to achieve the results organically. As hard as it can be sometimes when learning, I would much rather work hard to achieve the results than snap my fingers and have some program do it for me.

Je suis entièrement d accord. De toutes façons , c est le désir qui compte. Ce n est pas parce que nous avons à disposition tous les livres du monde que nous les avons lu! Idem pour les langues. il faut désirer découvrir des choses nouvelles pour rechercher des livres, il faut désirer découvrir des gens et des cultures pour leur parler et les écouter.

Nah, not with the generative kind. Maybe in the future with quantum, but we can only guess. It's good for making json files though.

If Doctor Zamenhof lived today, he could have invented another language beside Esperanto to mesmerize AI.

I was really interested to see and hear you using that software to speak languages. I would love to see more of this. For me I would like to see you try out Finnish.

I will keep watching your videos, because they are very good and educational

I think the AI tools could significantly decrease the amount of people who learn a language. Based on my own experience with language learning I could say that motivation is divided into 2 groups: - Hard motivation: you move to another country and you need to communicate at work/shop/hospital, etc. Or you know that good English communication skills could increase your salary and give you an advantage in the job market - Soft motivation: you like the language in general, you want to learn a new culture, you want to communicate with people about non-work topics, make new friends, etc. AI could fill all your needs in the Hard Motivation group. So, you would have much less motivation to learn it, unless you are enjoying the process in general. And i think most of people just quit it because it takes time and money.

Now I'm 100% sure you are an AI. It doesn't make you less awesome though

As a Turkish speaker, it's unbelievable. When I read the comments, he started speaking Turkish and I wasn't expecting that. you can't guess my face hahaha

great video, and i agree with many of these sentiments. on another note, would you be interested in doing a video on the macanese creole language? it has fewer than 50 speakers these days but recently i've learned it to a certain degree and also started analyzing its grammar and morphology. i even translated a poem into macanese for fun. let me know what you think!

In order to compete with AI, governments across the globe should consider the idea of making teaching foreign languages a compulsory part of their education system where for example, Spanish should be taught from preschool until college in the Philippines and the United States.

As a native speaker of English, I've never NEEDED to learn anything else and that's just a fact. AI translation tools won't change that in any meaningful way. Ill continue to learn for the same reasons I do now: it's fun and I like surprising people.

Great video, Paul! You always put great thought into your offerings. Yes, I think AI has usefulness in certain circumstances, but I’d still rather learn a language on my own rather than relying on software; it’s more engaging for the brain, I enjoy the learning process and, as you mentioned, the joy in communicating with someone in another language… and being understood! 😆

Excellent video. Focus on human connection is key. That's what makes my love for language learning tick. Something your video prompted me to ask myself, can AI be used to preserve language diversity and/or to document moribund languages?

I’m really not all that impressed by AI translations. They’re incredibly bad at translating different levels of formal-informal speech. Take an Italian text that uses ‘tu’, translate it into French and it won’t use French ‘tu’ (literally the same word) but rather ‘vous’, which is much more formal. You will get the gist of what’s being said but you’ll suddenly feel like you’re talking to some government agent rather than a potential friend.

I think that the world will start to move in the direction of most native English speakers, i.e. language learning is only done when truly needed or wanted. Because of English's status as the primary global link language, the average Anglophone doesn't really need to learn another language. The tools Paul described will likely serve a similar purpose for most of the world.

Very good point! And now since practical use is no longer top priority, people may start to see the small indigenous languages or even sign languages, which are often beautiful but neglected.

The added clips in foreign languages reminded me of me hanging around with friends and using all the languages we learnt 😅 just switching into one of them makes us happy, so as a hobby it stays for many years, but for work and other essential tasks, such as first help or excursions AI will substitute people’s knowledge😊

Interesting video. As a professional translator, here are my two cents. I use machine translators like DeepL or Google Translate in the same way that a driver uses their GPS system - it can speed up my work by giving me prompts. But there are two big "buts". Firstly, at least in my usual language combination, those systems can be OK-ish at very simple texts, but they flounder when the text has any level of complexity. Using them to generate texts that I would then post-edit would not be viable for me; it simply takes more time and effort than actually doing a translation. Those systems will eventually remove low-end translators from the market - those translators who spew out large quantities of poor-quality text for low prices. Clients simply won't pay that when they could get a text of equally poor quality from a machine translator for a lot less. Frankly, those translators won't be missed. Secondly, and this is the huge elephant in the room for the developers of machine translation systems - their capabilities improved dramatically when the neural network model replaced the old statistical type. But I use these systems daily in my work, and (at least in my usual language combination) over about the past three years the quality has plateau'd. (If you spell it like that - it looks a bit weird but never mind.) I keep hearing that the systems will keep on getting better, but for three-ish years, they simply haven't progressed in any noticeable way in my own professional experience. That is the reality, regardless of what the developers try to claim in various "studies" with extremely questionable methodology. The technology seems to have hit a glass ceiling. Maybe a complete paradigm shift will come and revolutionise the technology again - it's certainly possible. But I suspect that if it does, it will bring such massive and shocking changes to every single area of human life that the question of how good AI is at language learning and translation will seem entirely unimportant compared with the existential challenges that humanity will face. Anyway, love your videos, keep up the good work.

another excellent video. never disappoints.

I learn languages and about languages because somehow I am caught by them, their sound, their structure. I never thought of them as a tool to make money. I think that AI can also be of great help for learning a new language. By the way, the German AI translation of your voice is perfect! I can’t speak Turkish, but I paid attention to you and couldn’t tell if it was you or not speaking it. I thought “wow, he is also fluent in Turkish”.

No me gusta, para nada, el IA. Soy un hablante de irlandés trabajando muy duro para hablar el castellano.

The german translation sounds correct but incredibly stiff and awkward

6:50 Paul, you would love to play Chants of Senaar 😅

For once I feel lucky, and not weird, for learning languages for the sole joy of the process and not for immediate prospects as most people tend to expect. Nice to hear you describe the bright side of the situation!

1:35 I’m a native Mandarin speaker. The AI-translated speech is generally fine, but it is still different from what a native speaker would say, and just gives out a foreign vibe, like Apple commercials in China. Also, the pronunciation is a bit weird regarding its rhythm and tones, but I think that’s a general problem for text-to-speech systems.

I studied Latin and Ancient Greek in school and I also learned Sardinian, just because it was the language of my ancestors, so no, I don't think I'll stop learning languages just because of AI. If anything, AI-aided learning programs will be a way to get input much more immersively than a traditional textbook or application like Duolingo.

I'll absolutely still study other languages! As you and many in the comments have said, learning languages is a joyful experience, even if frustrating at times. There's nothing better than seeing your efforts bear fruit from time to time.

That is crazy! Paul is going to take all our jobs! Turkish was almost perfect except for one small mistake in parallelism in tense in translation of “he doesn’t speak Turkish” it had to be “he is not speaking Turkish” to sound right in Turkish.

I agree that AI translators will probably be something that we see in workplaces, but won't replace human curiosity. In college, I took Mandarin classes because I was fascinated by Chinese culture and wanted to learn the language. Now, I'm starting to learn a little Aramaic in my spare time because that was Jesus's native tongue. In neither case do I expect to get any practical benefits from learning these languages, but I think learning them is still good for my mental health.

It is without a doubt that AI will eventually be so adept at translation to the point where every human translator gets replaced by an AI one. Nevertheless, translation is inherently an imperfect process, wherein the transfer of information from one language to another seldom occurs without alterations. A striking illustration of this phenomenon is the challenge posed by definite articles, such as English's "the", Arabic's "al", and Portuguese's "o". When translated into languages lacking definite articles, such as Chinese, Russian, or Turkish, these linguistic nuances often become obscured or omitted. Another example lies in languages with perfect tenses. Consider the phrase "will have eaten" in English, which can be relatively straightforward to translate into Spanish due to the existence of future perfect tenses in both languages. However, this ease of translation becomes less apparent when dealing with languages like Tagalog, which lacks an equivalent future perfect tense. In such cases, conveying the precise temporal nuances inherent in the English expression becomes a more intricate task, requiring careful consideration of alternative linguistic structures and expressions in the target language. This highlights the unique challenges posed by specific linguistic features that may not have direct counterparts across diverse language systems. Korean honorifics present yet another challenge in translation. These linguistic conventions, deeply embedded in the fabric of Korean communication, carry subtle nuances of respect and formality that may not have direct equivalents in other languages such as English. As a result, the intricacies of honorifics may be lost or inadequately conveyed during the translation process. Furthermore, humor, particularly in the form of jokes, constitutes a fascinating dimension of linguistic expression. It is a well-established observation that jokes often lose their intended humor and cultural resonance when translated. The play on words, cultural references, and linguistic nuances that make a joke amusing in one language may not seamlessly transition to another language, leading to a loss of comedic impact. The points mentioned above are but a few examples that underscore the inherent complexities and limitations in translation processes, ranging from the nuances of definite articles to the challenges posed by perfect tenses, honorifics, and the delicate art of humor. These intricacies highlight that, to fully grasp the richness of a culture, relying solely on translation may not be the most effective approach. Instead, a more comprehensive understanding emerges through direct language acquisition. Learning the language yourself not only enhances your ability to navigate linguistic subtleties but also provides invaluable insights into the cultural nuances that shape communication. Therefore, while AI continues to advance in translation capabilities, the depth of cultural understanding achieved through language learning remains unparalleled. PS: Yes, this was written with the help of ChatGPT. chat.openai.com/share/aacb3b7a-a002-4c9f-bd7b-aef7142b8fd2

The most optimistic take was that people will continue speaking with each other in the future

For Turkish, I think it's a pretty good translation and the mouth movements are in harmony with the sounds. Only some tenses and modals were unnatural.

AI, if applied correctly, could actually improve the language-learning experience. Things like autocorrect for grammar and even pronunciation, for example. DeepL Write is an early attempt at that, although it currently only works for two Englishes (US & UK) and Standard German. Another thing could be something like the early versions of Memrise. That is, an AI creating mnemonics for you to remember when you're struggling to create your own. And that's just off the top of my mind. Of course, we still have to wait until techbros are done playing and real professionals can finally take the stage to use the technology in a sensible way.

The pronunciation of the German video was pretty good, but the sentence structure sounded unnatural so it was easy to tell that it was created by AI. And what you said about the additional level of authenticity of genuine language learning is so true. There is such a deep and unconscious connection when you hear someone speaking in your native dialect and there is this great feeling of achievement when you managed to express yourself in a foreign language, even if not perfectly and I also like how you learn to see the world from many different angles.

I was shocked hearing the Turkish one. I was thinking it was you speaking. Only for example was translated as urne which need to be said as urnak which also isn't a good translation, it's better to say masala. But all the other sentences were good.

😂😂😂 I've been learning Turkish for two years, I understand what you said, and I feel happy for it, but at the same time, I feel kinda humbled by the AI so effortlessly acing it

I actually feel like AI will help all sorts of learning. I've been using it for coding mostly, but also for some grammar questions, and the great thing about it is that it can work like asking a teacher. You can give specific parameters for a question and get a detailed step-by-step answer. I think it does pose a danger to the job of the language teacher and the translator, as it can to translations very quick and without the mistakes you used to typically see when people use Google Translate or or dictionaries. With inflation being on the up and up for the foreseeable future, my guess is that a lot of people will prefer AI tools to actual people, as it's likely to be cheaper by comparison, even if it lacks the social aspect that is also conducive to learning.