[nisa]

It's not personal but I can't help myself to think that's such a sad post here. Reducing learning a different culture through language by plugging in an earbud. Is the battery is gone or your phone is stolen you realize you can't automate anything and that you've learned nothing. It's not about the tech if it works it's amazing it's like babelfish but it's so shallow to assume everything has some direct and simple "value" that can be replaced by some machine or even better some paid service. It's so common here. Is this an US thing?

[caymanjim]

I think it'll greatly increase cultural learning, by increasing the opportunity to interact with people. I've traveled to a lot of countries, and never learned more than a handful of words in each, primarily related to basic service interactions. I enjoyed talking to locals when they spoke English. I couldn't interact in any meaningful way with the vast majority of people, though.

Learning languages is great. If you can become fluent in two that's impressive. Even simple conversational ability in a few languages is impressive. But it's a big world.

[nisa]

Thanks. Wonderful take and optimistic. You are correct I think.

[nottorp]

He's not, because those locals will stop being able to speak English in a few generations. Either you'll have battery and signal or you'll point at things and make monkey noises.

[caymanjim]

What do we care what happens in a few generations? We'll all be dead, and the people alive will probably have universal translators implanted in their brains at birth. We absolutely won't need a "signal" to translate on a device anymore (that'll happen in just a few years, forget about generations), and there won't be anyplace on the entire planet that doesn't have network connectivity (that will also happen in just a few years; it's already reality with Starlink cellular).

[iambateman]

I think you’re reading a sense of cultural reductionism in my comment that I didn’t intend.

There’s more to learning a culture than the language. And having a real-time translator makes it possible to enjoy a huge range of cultures much more directly than before. The fact is, I’m not going to learn Chinese and Swahili and Japanese. So my choices are to go through a human translator or nothing if I want to talk to those people.

How is it sad that a technology is going to allow me to directly talk to a huge number of people that I never could have before?

[CamperBob2]

It's a much older theme, going all the way back to the Biblical legend of the Tower of Babel (hence the name of the fish.) Like most of that material, the Babel myth was probably stolen from the Babylonians or even older cultures.

The powers that be -- whether gods or governors -- tend to feel threatened when people can communicate freely with each other. Don't join their side.

[nisa]

I think you misunderstood my post. It's wonderful technology and a great aid. I just wanted to say there is so much more to learning a foreign language (and culture) than machine translation - even if almost perfect. At least that was my take away from learning Czech as a German. Lot's of subtle details.

[CamperBob2]

No, I was making a larger point: there shouldn't be any such thing as a "foreign language." We're all members of the same species. (Yes, even Americans.) Technology like this is what will realize that ideal.

If cultures around the world had all grown up alongside each other, speaking the same language, and someone came along and said, "That's no good, every nation and every ethnic group should speak a different language," we wouldn't rush to embrace that point of view, would we? Who would benefit from such a policy? Certainly not you and me.

[nisa]

Ah I see. I disagree because it's impossible. Even the next village or town has a different language even if it's subtle. I'm more for embracing the differences.

On the other hand we are probably almost there - it's English and social media is the global teacher.

[boplicity]

Change is hard, but diversity is good, and certainly better than monoculture (of language).

[CamperBob2]

What's the point of diversity if people can't communicate with each other, or if only educated elites within each subculture can do so? Diversity should bring different people together, not divide them artificially.

[boplicity]

The irony here, is that diversity is actually extremely aligned with conservative values: freedom of expression and the ability to do what one wants (without regard to others).

Freedom of diversity allows for the flourishing of unique ideas and perspectives, which in turn, has many benefits, in terms of the creation of new value in unexpected ways. Diversity, in a sense, can be a synonym for independence and freedom.