Mahi Saher
3 min readJun 23, 2024

The Effects that Artificial Intelligence has on Language Translation and Interpretation:



Integrating artificial intelligence in translation and interpretation has revolutionized the traditional method in numerous ways. Modern machine translation approaches, powered by neural networks and deep learning algorithms, have made it possible to generate high-quality translations for most language combinations with minimal human intervention. While machine translation still struggles with literary texts and nuanced meanings, it provides highly accurate translations for business, legal, medical, and technical texts, significantly enhancing efficiency and productivity.

Automated translation solutions like Google Translate Direct provide easy translation of information at high speeds. Signs, menus, and even conversations can be translated on the spot for accessible communication and understanding for travelers. Machine translation, for instance, is employed by firms as a means of internal communication where employees have different native languages and for translation of documents, websites, advertisements, etc. Mechanical translations are often commoditized and repetitive, so professional human translators are saved for the more significant tasks.

In the interpreting field, smart devices with speech recognition and synthesis are sometimes used to provide Consecutive Interpretation or other simple forms of interpreting. The quality could be better than that of human interpreters, especially in a conversation involving multiple topics or elaborate speaking. However, it helps people overcome language barriers. Translation apps that enable the conversion of speech in one language and output in another are proving helpful in connecting the communication barrier for those who travel or conduct business.

AI also enables human interpreters and translators to work effectively and improve on their results. Features such as Translation memory databases that contain previous translations can be helpful for translators as they allow them to reuse the language translations and ensure the consistency of the terminology used in different documents. AI techniques also provide suitable word options semantically related to the source text within the translation context.

Despite its flaws, AI has not developed nuanced reasoning and cultural sensitivity like human translators, but it has made the process available to the broad public. This makes the sharing of information more democratic across the world since language barriers would have otherwise hindered that process. AI technologies have become valuable tools in assisting with productivity instead of posing threats to talented human translators and interpreters. Further advancements of these AI tools will open up possibilities for multiculturally rich interactions and international business.

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