Human speaking abilities vs. translation technology: English rocks my world
Having a good proficiency in the English language is considered a “must” in the modern world. Both personal and professional life, require some degree of use and understanding of this language if you are not a native speaker. The reason is simple, English is the third most spoken tongue on the planet (by 2024) and has become common ground, communicatively speaking, for interactions in all contexts (tourism, educational, personal, business, romance…)
Since English is such a vital skill, it is only reasonable the search to develop it to the extent of fluency. However, nowadays a lot of people studying or wanting to study English are having second thoughts about it. The cause for this hesitation stems from the very thing that makes our lives easier: Technology.
Amidst the rise and outspread of accessible technology, it didn’t take long for programmers and developers to release tools for live translation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is even capable of taking a video of an English speaker, and this person’s image, voice, and sound, to make it seem like they are speaking in another language.
With all these advances, the question inevitably comes to light: Why should I bother to learn English when technology can translate for me? The answer comes in several contexts.
Independence
Mankind has always reached out to creations to make life easier, not to substitute what makes us humans. Communication is as part of our humanity as it is our superior thinking, they are intertwined and one is the vivid expression of the other. The independency that speaking English without the aid of a machine gives is priceless, and the possible scenarios for technology malfunction are countless. The myriad of situations in which your communicational independence can make a difference range from life/dead situations to the most hilarious circumstances: Imagine going on a romantic date with a foreign person and having a machine in the middle of the conversation to be able to communicate… talk about a romance killer…
Status
In the international business world, the common tongue is English. Your status and opportunities to develop your career are rocketed by being fluent. Many assessments are utterly lost by not having English proficiency and some CVs are not even considered because of this. Among your colleagues, is it important to project an independent, updated and confident image in all meetings, and English has a big part on that.
The bilingual brain
The word “bilingualism” is often linked to being able to communicate in two languages, but in truth, it conveys the ability to communicate in more than one language, in more than one culture, and in more than one way of thinking.
Science has broadly proven the benefits that speaking more than one language brings to cognitive abilities. The first benefit is the enhancement of memory. The brain works as muscles, the more you exercise it, the better it works; the more you exercise memory, the better and the more you remember.
Another perk of being bilingual is the problem-solving ability increase. By understanding other languages and cultures, automatically your mind has the capability of thinking outside the box, it just comes naturally, giving you an undeniable advantage. Recruiters are aware of this fact, this is why they prefer to hire an English speaking person, even if they are not going to particularly need it in their job tasks.
Multitasking is among the most appreciated potentials boosted by bilingualism. Your mind is able to understand and process a set of intricate rules and operations simultaneously when it is in multilingual contexts. This ability translates to the power of applying this flexibility to other situations without lagging in confusion.
In the realm of the psychological aspects of communication, a machine can correct probably better than you the rules of a language, but can never get accurately the depth of your emotions, intentions, and all that compilation of experiences and feelings you put into the choice of every word and expression you utter. Lastly, by speaking English, you open yourself to a wider world overflowing with experiences, points of view, diversity, knowledge, etc. Accordingly, what are you waiting for to grant yourself the gift of English?
