- 28 Sept 2020
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- 1 Min Read
Can you rely on Google Translate?
In the age of Google Translate, translating foreign languages has become very easy. The days of leafing through a thick dictionary are over. Today, you can translate a text in a foreign language using a mobile phone in a few seconds.
This is, of course, a great relief. Not only professionals who need translations for their work, but also tourists or immigrants find Google Translate a genuine help for communication in difficult cases. Of course, this relief also has disadvantages. The major disadvantage is that learning foreign languages is losing appeal.
On the other hand, the frequent use of Google Translate leads to us losing our existing skills. Anyone who [wants to improve] their language skills in a foreign language wants to retain it, but must use it actively. Otherwise, active knowledge becomes passive knowledge and passive knowledge is completely forgotten.
Therefore, it is too early to claim that Google Translate can replace a translator and interpreter and render a language course in Basel unnecessary. This translation programme not only hinders our personal development, but it is not yet even capable of translating without errors.
Google Translate can lead to significant misunderstandings
Although the translations by this programme can make our lives significantly easier, the opposite can also be possible. The biggest problem with Google Translate is that ambiguity and synonymous words in sentences are not displayed. The translation programme chooses one meaning and that can be wrong.
Therefore, you cannot rely 100 per cent on the translation software. It can even lead to serious misunderstandings. Especially with metaphors, idioms or general colloquial language, you should not expect a correct translation.
On the other hand, Google Translate is not able to bring us as close to our goal as we would like. For example, anyone interested in a foreign culture cannot quench their thirst for knowledge through translation apps. It is essential to learn the language, and for that you need a high-quality Language course in Basel.
You can through the competent language teachers of the language courses at SLA Basel Italian, French, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, English and German study in Basel.