No more careers in Interpreting? Surely not!

My daughter is taking joint honours in English Literature and German language at Oxford University. Having just returned from a year in Köln, she is now in her final year, making a total of 10 years of related study.  With her career ahead, she is excited about German language opportunities available to her.

Last week, she discovered the NEC Tele Scouter, to be launched in 2011.  Nothing to do with the boys’ movement, this technology comprises computer-assisted eyeglasses that use imaging technology to project in near, real-time translations directly on to the wearer’s retina.  The manufacturer says that it could allow two or more users to converse freely without ever having to deviate from their native language.  One of the potentials cited for this technology is that of negating the need for a ‘human’ interpreter thereby ensuring confidentiality. 

So, you can imagine her response...

Being a keen user of a certain make of phone and continually being told “there’s an application for that”, I have become used to translation software being available.  One allows me to take a photo of some text and the phone will use wizardry to understand the text and then translate it into over 40 languages.  So far, my use has extended to converting wine labels into Persian; well, it was a quiet evening...

But, what of this whole approach of replacing human beings with computers?  It’s not a new concept and apart from examples such as my recent frustration with automated roadwork traffic lights that took no notice of traffic levels, it’s considered a good idea.

But, how will the use of a mobile computer apply to interpreting?  Well, first of all, it doesn’t pick up hand gestures, or body movements or facial expressions.  The listener will have to learn how to look through the words being projected onto the retina to help them understand the context of the sentence.  For example, “He is a bad boy”, can be interpreted in two ways, i.e. he is actually bad, as evidenced by the frown on the speaker's face or, he is not actually bad, but just playful, as evidenced by a smile.

If we assume that users of this system can learn how to use it effectively, then theoretically, as of its launch date, the days of interpreters are numbered.  The big question is how many days?

For many, I imagine a number in the thousands.  As with the myth of the paper-less office, there may always be a need for interpreters.

For the moment, all is well in this community, for reasons including that this system is expected to cost over $8,000,000 USD for around 30 users, i.e. around $50,000 per user per year over a product lifetime of say 5 years? 

As for my daughter’s fees, these are more likely to be in the region of $100 per hour.  She doesn’t use any electricity and nor will she require you to wear a visor to talk with her.

"eTeams - Translations you can trust".