The importance and popularity of web-based language translation applications has grown over the past few years due to globalization. People from vastly different geographical zones, educational backgrounds and cultural beliefs are more inclined to use such mobile applications to learn and understand a foreign language.
I strongly agree that its positives of this development outweigh the negatives, and, in this essay, I will discuss this using examples of current apps and The Times newspaper.
On the one hand, there is ample evidence that constant access to mobile phones has been immeasurably beneficial to both our social life and business careers. Nowadays, citizens are migrating to different countries in order to build a new future and dealing with overseas companies for business purposes, so learning a second language has become their necessity. Such mobile applications are facilitating them by providing a handy solution to their language barriers.
For example, Play store and Apple app store advertise multiple paid and free to use apps such as Duolingo, Dictionary, Grammarly and Ginger which instantly translate one language into another allowing crucial communication, be it social or commercial to happen seamlessly. Therefore, it is apparent that many key aspects of people’s lives are is being made easy through these handy and ready to use solutions.
On the other hand, whether language conversion apps benefit the public or cause potential losses to a key section of the education establishment is also a controversial topic for discussion. A recent study published in The Times newspaper has shown that there has been a significant reduction in demand for bilingual teachers or native language tutors as more people have started using such apps instead of spending money on the specialist tuition required to learn a new tongue.
For an instance, free apps simply require basic registration details and email verification to register then begin, compared to the many hours or even years needed to master an additional language to a proficient level of fluency. As a result, despite the indisputable benefits of learning face to face, talented and experienced professors, translators and interpreters are having to fight to justify their relevance in this new world.
To conclude, I believe that if the situation favours the relatively accurate, easily accessible use of online translation applications, which offer instant and quick solutions they can be hugely beneficial for the community at large and in the future their flexibility and sophistication will continue to be improved.