With the advancement of technology, many people postulate that since computers are so good at translating languages, people should not learn foreign languages anymore. However, I strongly disagree with this statement due to various reasons.
The first reason is that computers cannot help people entirely, especially when they are communicating verbally. In a fast-paced conversation involving multiple technical jargon, computers can have difficulties translating that in time for speakers. That is why in international conferences, such as the United Nations summit, there are interpreters for every single representative. These interpreters are there instead of computers because they have background knowledge of the topics discussed and generally have a higher accuracy when the conversation is fast-paced and delivered in a heavy accent.
The second reason is that, even with future advances in technology, computers will never be able to deliver emotions and humor to users. For example, puns are unique to the language that they are spoken and cannot be translated without having to explain extensively. Another point to consider is words with connotations. For example, the slight difference between “thrifty” and “stingy” can sometimes be ignored by machines as they often go for the nearest synonyms.
In conclusion, although technology has aided in translation by much, it can never replace multilingual speakers. I strongly disagree that learning foreign languages is a waste of time because certain things cannot be translated.