Last two years, I was chatting with a friend in South Africa, and she was using real Nigerian Pidgin to reply to my chats. Although I initially suspected it was the work of AI, I still fell for the trick and believed she could actually speak Pidgin English, which is not commonly used in their country. She remained firm, insisting that she knew how to speak it and that she was not using a translator. I could not doubt her much because the replies were coming very fast and smoothly in Pidgin English. It was later this year that I got to know that it was all the work of AI she used to stage the conversation with me back then.
With the easy use of AI in language translation today, is it still necessary to learn new languages again?
Well, for mere chatting on social media with a foreigner, I do not think there is a need to go through the stress of learning a difficult language. As long as AI can translate typed words with ease, there is really no need for that stress.
On the other hand, if it has to do with oral communication with people, be it face to face or through other means, there is a need for one to learn new languages. This is because one would not always have AI fixed and ready to translate spoken words, wait to understand the result, and then respond back. No matter how smart technology becomes, interacting vocally with someone who speaks a different language can never be completely smooth.
From these two perspectives, I think the use of technology is not going to block the need for learning new languages for now, yeah at least for now. This is because people still travel, and there is still the need to communicate physically and orally. Everything cannot be centered on chats alone, where language translation is much easier.
However, I am not sure how it is going to be in 20 years to come. With the speedy control technology has over our world today, we cannot guarantee how long we are going to last with this tradition of learning new languages and embracing it as something fun. It might not even take the next 10 years before the need is completely trashed into the bin. When this happens, job sectors that employ people who studied special languages in school will become obsolete.
It will really be fun, with a touch of regret, to say to my children that I was forced to learn the French language while I was in secondary school and was flogged mercilessly whenever I failed an assignment or homework.
While a lot of people will applaud technology for taking that part of education away, life will become totally strange compared to what it used to be, just as life today is very different from the days of people who lived in the 80s and 90s.
But then, maybe I am not normal. I do not fancy learning new languages either. I like originality in humans, especially now that everyone wants to adapt to trendy global languages. The uniqueness of languages is what makes the world and living interesting. Yes, I hated the fact that I was forced to learn French in school.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to Week 205, Edition 02 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community
