- Published on
有了人工智能还需要学外语吗(上)
- Authors
许多人外出度假，却不懂当地的语言。在过去，他们可能会随身携带一本常用语手册，而英语的兴起使这种手册变得不再那么必要。
双语精读
With new technology, learning foreign languages will become less essential.
新技术让学习外语变得不再那么必要（上）
On holiday, many will find themselves in places where they do not speak the language. Once upon a time, they might have carried a phrasebook. The rise of English has made that less necessary.
许多人外出度假，却不懂当地的语言。在过去，他们可能会随身携带一本常用语手册，而英语的兴起使这种手册变得不再那么必要。
But most people-at least seven of the world's eight billion-still do not speak English. That leaves options like pantomime, a willingness to be surprised by what arrives at dinner-or, increasingly, technology.
但大多数人（全世界80亿人中至少就有70亿人）仍然不会说英语。如此一来，人们就只能选择通过肢体语言来表达，心甘情愿地接受端上桌的"盲盒"晚餐--或者愈发频繁地借助技术手段。
More and more people are using simple, free tools, not only to decode text but also to speak. With these apps' conversation mode, you talk into a phone and a spoken translation is heard moments later; the app can also listen for another language and produce a translation in yours.
越来越多的人开始使用简单、免费的（翻译）工具，不仅可以用来翻译文本，还可以用于口语表达。在这些应用程序的对话模式下，你可以对着手机说话，片刻之后就会听到语音翻译，这种应用还可以接收另一种语言，然后转换成你自己的语种。
You may still get a surprise or two. Google Translate may be the best-known name in machine translation, but it often blunders. Take "my wife is gluten-free," the kind of thing you might say at a restaurant abroad. In French or Italian, Google Translate renders this as "my wife is without gluten"-true to the words rather than the meaning.
不过，有时候你可能还是会遇到一两个小错误。谷歌翻译可能是机器翻译领域最广为人知的产品，但它经常出错。举个例子，你在国外餐厅可能会说的一句话--"my wife is gluten-free（我妻子不吃麸质蛋白）"。如果将这句话翻译成法语或意大利语，谷歌翻译的结果是"我的妻子不含麸质蛋白"，虽然这样字面意思是对的，但实际语义却不对。
DeepL, a rival, does better, offering various options, most of them along the correct lines. The best tool may not be a translation app at all. Though not marketed for the purpose, ChatGPT, a generative AI system that churns out prose according to users' prompts, is multilingual.
谷歌翻译的竞品DeepL表现更好，它提供了多种选择，大多数都是正确的。不过，最好的工具可能压根儿就不是翻译软件。尽管ChatGPT的定位并非是一款翻译软件，但这款人工智能生成系统具备多种语言系统，能根据使用者的简单提示给出大篇文字。
Rather than entering an exact text to translate, users can tell ChatGPT to "write a message in Spanish to a waiter that my wife and I would like the tasting menu, but that she is gluten-free, so we would like substitutions for anything that has gluten."
使用者无需将具体内容输入进行翻译，只需要告诉Chatgpt"用西语转告服务生，我和我的妻子需要一份品鉴菜单，但她不能吃谷蛋白，因此我们需要麸质蛋白的替代品"。
And out pops a perfect paragraph, including the way Spanish-speakers actually say "my wife is gluten-free": mi esposa es celíaca. It is a paraphrase rather than a translation, more like having a native-speaking dinner companion than an automated interpreter.
之后下方就会蹦出一段恰当的文字描述，包括西班牙语中对"我的妻子对麸质蛋白忌口"最准确的说法：mi esposa es celíaca。与其说是翻译，不如说是意译，更像是有了一个说母语的晚餐伴侣，而不是自动翻译。
Travel has long been a motivator for study-unless people start to feel AI tools offer a good-enough service. Some are concerned that apps are turning language acquisition into a dwindling pursuit.
一直以来，旅行都是学习的动力，直至人们开始发觉AI辅助工具已经足够好用。有的人则担心，应用程序正在将习得语言变成一种日益衰微的追求。
词汇预习
increasingly [高考]
美[ɪnˈkriːsɪŋli] | 英[ɪnˈkriːsɪŋli]
adv. 逐渐地；越来越多地
essential [高考]
美[ɪˈsenʃl] | 英[ɪˈsenʃl]
adj. 本质的；必要的；重要的 n. 要素；必需品
willingness [高考]
美[ˈwɪlɪŋnɪs] | 英['wɪlɪŋnəs]
n. 乐意；愿意
pursuit [高考]
美[pərˈsuːt] | 英[pəˈsjuːt]
n. 追求；追赶；工作
translation [高考]
美[trænzˈleɪʃn] | 英[trænzˈleɪʃn]
n. 翻译；译文；译本；转化
companion [高考]
美[kəmˈpæniən] | 英[kəmˈpæniən]
n. 同伴；志趣相投的人；成对物品之一；参考书 v. 陪伴
acquisition [高考]
美[ˌækwɪˈzɪʃn] | 英[ˌækwɪˈzɪʃn]
n. 获得；所获之物；采集
interpreter [高考]
美[ɪnˈtɜːrprətər] | 英[ɪnˈtɜːprətə(r)]
n. 口译员；演绎的人；[计算机]解释程序
listen for [高考]
美[ˈlɪsən fɔr] | 英[ˈlisn fɔ:]
注意倾听(期待的声音等)
mode [高考]
美[moʊd] | 英[məʊd]
n. 方式，样式，模式，风格，时兴
rival [高考]
美[ˈraɪvl] | 英[ˈraɪvl]
n. 竞争者；对手；同伴 adj. 竞争的 v. 竞争；与 ... 相匹敌
turning [高考]
美[ˈtɜːrnɪŋ] | 英[ˈtɜːnɪŋ]
n. 旋转；回转；转向
where [高考]
美[wer] | 英[weə(r)]
adv. 在哪里；在那个地方 conj. 在 ... 地方
would [高考]
美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]
aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式
motivator [四级]
美['moʊtɪveɪtə(r)] | 英['məʊtɪveɪtə(r)]
n. 激发因素；动因
true to [四级]
美 | 英
忠实于；信赖
concerned [四级]
美[kənˈsɜːrnd] | 英[kənˈsɜːnd]
adj. 担忧的；关心的；关切的；有关的
offering [四级]
美[ˈɔːfərɪŋ] | 英[ˈɒfərɪŋ]
n. 供品；作品；出售物
multilingual [六级]
美[ˌmʌltiˈlɪŋɡwəl] | 英[ˌmʌltiˈlɪŋɡwəl]
adj. 使用多种语言的；用多种文字书写或印刷的 n. 使用多种语言的人
prose [六级]
美[proʊz] | 英[prəʊz]
adj. 散文的 n. 散文
kind of [六级]
美[kaɪnd ʌv] | 英[kaind ɔv]
adv. 有点儿
paraphrase [专四]
美[ˈpærəfreɪz] | 英[ˈpærəfreɪz]
n. 释义；解述；改写 v. 改写；解述
according [专四]
美[ə'kɔrdɪŋ] | 英[ə'kɔːdɪŋ]
adj. 相符的；相应的；一致的 v. 给予；符合，一致；正式协议（accord的现在分词）
decode [专四]
美[ˌdiˈkoʊd] | 英[ˌdi:ˈkəʊd]
v. 解码；译解；译码
learning [专八]
美[ˈlɜːrnɪŋ] | 英[ˈlɜːnɪŋ]
n. 学问；学识；学习
Spanish [专八]
美[ˈspænɪʃ] | 英[ˈspænɪʃ]
adj. 西班牙的；西班牙人的；西班牙语的 n. 西班牙语；西班牙人
best-known [考研]
美['bestn'oʊn] | 英['bestn'əʊn]
流传久远的
pantomime [托福]
美[ˈpæntəˌmaɪm] | 英[ˈpæntəmaɪm]
n. 哑剧；童话剧；哑剧演员；手势 v. 打手势；演哑剧
generative [雅思]
美[ˈdʒenərətɪv] | 英[ˈdʒenərətɪv]
adj. 生殖的；生产的；有生殖力的
重点讲解
With**** new technology****,**** learning**** foreign languages will**** become**** less**** essential.****
新技术让学习外语变得不再那么必要（上）
On**** holiday,**** many**** will**** find**** themselves**** in**** places**** where they**** do**** not speak the language****.**** Once**** upon**** a time****,**** they**** might have**** carried a phrasebook****.**** The rise**** of**** English has made**** that**** less**** necessary.****
许多人外出度假，却不懂当地的语言。在过去，他们可能会随身携带一本常用语手册，而英语的兴起使这种手册变得不再那么必要。
But most people-at least seven of the world's eight billion-still do not speak English. That leaves options like pantomime, a willingness to be surprised by what arrives at dinner-or, increasingly, technology.
但大多数人（全世界80亿人中至少就有70亿人）仍然不会说英语。如此一来，人们就只能选择通过肢体语言来表达，心甘情愿地接受端上桌的"盲盒"晚餐--或者愈发频繁地借助技术手段。
pantomime
1. （英国多在圣诞节期间上演的）童话剧
（英文释义：(in Britain) a funny musical play based on traditional children's stories, performed especially at Christmas）
2. 哑剧，默剧；荒唐可笑的夸张行为
（英文释义：the use of movement and the expression of your face to communicate sth or to tell a story; a ridiculous situation, usually with a lot of confusion）
【例】He made a pantomime of checking his watch.
他很夸张地看了一下表。
More and more people are using simple, free tools, not only to decode text but also to speak. With these apps' conversation mode, you talk into a phone and a spoken translation is heard moments later; the app can also listen for another language and produce a translation in yours.
越来越多的人开始使用简单、免费的（翻译）工具，不仅可以用来翻译文本，还可以用于口语表达。在这些应用程序的对话模式下，你可以对着手机说话，片刻之后就会听到语音翻译，这种应用还可以接收另一种语言，然后转换成你自己的语种。
pantomime
1. （英国多在圣诞节期间上演的）童话剧
（英文释义：(in Britain) a funny musical play based on traditional children's stories, performed especially at Christmas）
2. 哑剧，默剧；荒唐可笑的夸张行为
（英文释义：the use of movement and the expression of your face to communicate sth or to tell a story; a ridiculous situation, usually with a lot of confusion）
【例】He made a pantomime of checking his watch.
他很夸张地看了一下表。
You may still get a surprise or two. Google Translate may be the best-known name in machine translation, but it often blunders. Take "my wife is gluten-free," the kind of thing you might say at a restaurant abroad. In French or Italian, Google Translate renders this as "my wife is without gluten"-true to the words rather than the meaning.
不过，有时候你可能还是会遇到一两个小错误。谷歌翻译可能是机器翻译领域最广为人知的产品，但它经常出错。举个例子，你在国外餐厅可能会说的一句话--"my wife is gluten-free（我妻子不吃麸质蛋白）"。如果将这句话翻译成法语或意大利语，谷歌翻译的结果是"我的妻子不含麸质蛋白"，虽然这样字面意思是对的，但实际语义却不对。
blunder n. & v.
1. 作名词，愚蠢错误
（英文释义：a stupid or careless mistake）
【例】I made a blunder by getting his name wrong.
我把他的名字搞错了。
2. 作动词
（1）犯愚蠢的（或粗心的）错误
【例】The government had blundered in its handling of the affair.
政府在这件事的处理上犯了大错。
（2）跌跌撞撞地走
【例】We were blundering around in the darkness.
我们在黑暗中跌跌撞撞地摸索。
render v.
1. 使成为；使变得；使处于某状态
【例】Hundreds of people were rendered homeless by the earthquake.
成百上千的人因为地震而无家可归。
2. 给予；提供；回报
【搭配】render sth to sb/ sth 给某人提供回报/服务
【例】They rendered assistance to the disaster victims.
他们给灾民提供了援助。
3. （用不同的语言）表达；翻译；把…译成
【例】It's a concept that is difficult to render into English.
这个概念难以用英语来表达。
DeepL, a rival, does better, offering various options, most of them along the correct lines. The best tool may not be a translation app at all. Though not marketed for the purpose, ChatGPT, a generative AI system that churns out prose according to users' prompts, is multilingual.
谷歌翻译的竞品DeepL表现更好，它提供了多种选择，大多数都是正确的。不过，最好的工具可能压根儿就不是翻译软件。尽管ChatGPT的定位并非是一款翻译软件，但这款人工智能生成系统具备多种语言系统，能根据使用者的简单提示给出大篇文字。
churn out 快速大量生产，大量炮制
（英文释义：produce something routinely or mechanically and in large quantities.）【例】He began to churn out literary compositions in English.
他开始用英文很快地创作出大量的文学作品。
prompt adj. & v. & n.
1. 作形容词，及时的，迅速的
【例】Prompt action was required as the fire spread.
由于火势蔓延，须要立即采取行动。
2. 作动词
（1）（事件，事实）引起，激起
（英文释义：(of an event or fact) cause or bring about (an action or feeling)）
【例】His speech prompted an angry outburst from a man in the crowd.
他的讲话激起了人群中一男子的愤怒。
（2）鼓励，提示，提醒（某人说话）
（英文释义：to encourage sb to speak by asking them questions or suggesting words that they could say）
【例】The program will prompt you to enter data where required.
这个程序在必要时将提醒你输入数据。
3. 作名词，（给演员的）提词，提示
Rather**** than**** entering**** an**** exact text**** to**** translate,**** users can tell**** ChatGPT to**** "write**** a message in**** Spanish to**** a waiter**** that**** my**** wife**** and I would like**** the tasting menu****,**** but that**** she is**** gluten****-free****,**** so**** we**** would like**** substitutions for anything**** that**** has gluten****."
使用者无需将具体内容输入进行翻译，只需要告诉Chatgpt"用西语转告服务生，我和我的妻子需要一份品鉴菜单，但她不能吃谷蛋白，因此我们需要麸质蛋白的替代品"。
And out pops**** a perfect paragraph,**** including the way Spanish-speakers**** actually**** say "my wife**** is**** gluten****-free****": mi**** esposa**** es**** celíaca.**** It**** is**** a paraphrase**** rather**** than**** a translation,**** more**** like**** having**** a native****-speaking**** dinner**** companion than**** an**** automated interpreter.****
之后下方就会蹦出一段恰当的文字描述，包括西班牙语中对"我的妻子对麸质蛋白忌口"最准确的说法：mi esposa es celíaca。与其说是翻译，不如说是意译，更像是有了一个说母语的晚餐伴侣，而不是自动翻译。
Travel has long been a motivator for study-unless people start to feel AI tools offer a good-enough service. Some are concerned that apps are turning language acquisition into a dwindling pursuit.
一直以来，旅行都是学习的动力，直至人们开始发觉AI辅助工具已经足够好用。有的人则担心，应用程序正在将习得语言变成一种日益衰微的追求。
acquisition n.
1. （多指贵重的）购得物
（英文释义：something that sb buys to add to what they already own, usually sth valuable）
【例】His latest acquisition is a racehorse.
他最近购得一匹赛马。
2. （知识、技能等的）获得，得到
（英文释义：the act of getting sth, especially knowledge, a skill, etc.）
【例】theories of child language acquisition 幼儿语言习得的理论
dwindle v. （逐渐）减少，变小，缩小
（英文释义：to become gradually less or smaller）
【例】dwindling audiences/ resources 越来越少的观众/ 资源
The factory's workforce has dwindled from over 4,000 to a few hundred.
该厂的工人总数已从4000多减少到了几百人。
课后练习
What can tourists do if they don't speak the local language?
A. Carry a dictionary and learn the local language.
B. Use their body language to communicate.
C. Look for people who can speak English for help.
D. Avoid communication unless absolutely necessary.
Based on the text, what is a potential issue with using translation apps?
A. These apps are not free to use.
B. They can only translate text, not spoken language.
C. They may translate phrases literally and make mistakes.
D. They cannot understand the local culture.
What advantage does ChatGPT have over other translation tools?
A. It can translate multiple languages.
B. It can anticipate the user’s intention.
C. It can provide accurate translations.
D. It can express the user’s intention.
What concern is expressed in the text regarding the use of AI tools for language translation?
A. They may discourage people from learning new languages.
B. They may cause misunderstanding and misinformation.
C. They may replace the need for human translators.
D. They may result in an ignorance of foreign cultures.