There are over 7,100 languages in the world. In Europe more than 230 languages are spoken and more than 2,000 are spoken in Asian countries. In Papua New Guinea, with just 3.9 million inhabitants, more than 840 different languages are spoken! Of these languages, around 40% are threatened with extinction…

 

In all this diversity, how are the languages spoken in the world recorded? What future do they have?

 

Links between the world’s main languages 

In order, the 5 most spoken languages in the world by native speakers are:

1. Chinese
2. Spanish
3. English
4. Hindi
5. Arabic

 

We can ask ourselves how these languages — which sometimes have very little connection, either in pronunciation or in meaning — can be related?

 

One of the main reasons is that some countries are officially multilingual, such as Canada (French and English), South Africa (Afrikaans and English), Israel (Arabic and Hebrew), Belgium (French, Dutch and German), etc. Languages influence each other and over time, they mix to create another language, another variation, another style.

 

All languages are linked to each other. They have, at one time or another in history, been crossed, declined, influenced. Even if this happens to different degrees. Take Spanish and Portuguese, for example. Some words are almost the same and mean the same thing. The link here is direct and the influence of one language on the other is obvious. On the contrary, the link between French and Chinese seems non-existent, yet it exists. But this requires going back in time. To an influence that dates back to the time of colonisation. The mixing and immersion of cultures has had an indirect and progressive effect on our languages.

 

The evolution of the main languages spoken today

The transmission of spoken languages is above all social. Their birth or disappearance is linked to linguistic policies or economic domination. The major trend today is towards the adoption of a language of international communication and a simplification of the major language areas.

However, we are tending towards the disappearance of many languages. An Anglo-Saxon researcher, Mark Pagel, has estimated that, since humans have had the faculty of language, between 31,000 and 600,000 different languages have been spoken on the surface of the globe, his average estimate being about 140,000 languages. Today, it is estimated that there are just over 7,000 languages.

 

As well as seeing changes in the number of languages, we also see changes in their structure. When new words enter our language, they are not yet fully formed or in their final state. The meaning of a word evolves over time, changing our understanding and perception of a term.

 

Therefore, languages move and change in number, but also in meaning and fundamental use.

 

What is the future for languages? 

 

Languages are not immune to globalisation. Some are increasingly spoken, while others are disappearing. Depending on location, needs and policies, people look for those that are most useful or most profitable.

 

We can assume that a sorting out will gradually take place, leaving only a minimal number of languages spoken. This is indeed what current statistics seem to show, with 40% of languages threatened with extinction before the end of the 21st century.

 

Languages will gradually change, merge and become extinct… for hundreds of years to come.

 

In the relatively near future, French, for example, is expected to grow to almost 800 million speakers by 2050, i.e. almost 9% of the population, compared with only 3.5% today, due to population growth in Africa.

 

The number of speakers of each language is constantly changing. Of the 7,111 languages spoken in the world in 2019, only 8% are considered very stable and unlikely to disappear, as they are used by governments, schools, media, etc. English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish and French are the top 5 languages with the most speakers in the world today.

 

But what will really happen in the years to come?

The field of new technologies is particularly profitable, and companies are investing, developing and innovating. In Switzerland, 22.9 billion francs were spent on research and development in 2019, which represents 3.15% of the national GDP and shows the importance that Switzerland attaches to development and innovation. So, after successive feats in terms of translation and communication, Google ensured results, performance and efficiency through innovation and the launch of GOOGLE MEET in 2019, followed by the live captioning feature in 2022.

 

I — What is Google Meet in concrete terms?

In a nutshell, Google Meet is a high quality video conferencing platform, which was previously only available to professionals. Now anyone with a Google account can create an online meeting of up to 60 minutes with up to 100 participants. Businesses, schools and other organisations can take advantage of advanced features, such as hosting meetings with up to 250 participants and live streaming for 100,000 users.

But the novelty of this platform is that it is now possible to benefit from live subtitling during videoconference meetings. However, this service is not free. Google’s live captioning is available for meetings held by people with a premium Workspace subscription, including Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Teaching & Learning Upgrade and Education Plus. The cost is approximately CHF 16 per month.

 

II — The limitations of Google’s automatic subtitling

This groundbreaking new feature from Google is limited for the time being as it only takes English as its starting language and subtitling is only available in 4 languages: Spanish, Portuguese, German and French. At the moment, Google has not yet announced a feature that allows meetings to be automatically translated from another language, which strongly limits the use of subtitling.

In addition to not being useful for everyone, Google’s automatic translation is not available to everyone, as this feature is only available with a particularly expensive subscription. To take advantage of it, administrators will also have to sign up for the beta version and activate the feature.

Finally, concerning the subtitling service itself, we have noticed that it has some flaws. Indeed, it is necessary to be able to read the subtitles quickly.           They appear and disappear very quickly and in limited quantity. The words are initially proposed in a grammatical manner and then contextualised with the rest of the speech. They therefore change during reading and are sometimes inaccurate. Accessibility and accuracy are the main flaws of this tool. So far, this feature is mainly useful for people with hearing impairments or to follow a meeting without headphones or speakers.

 

III — Is Google Meet really a threat to translators and interpreters?

The improvement of machine translation with the subtitles offered by Google Meet is a threat to «human» translators and interpreters.

On the one hand, machine translation is a threat because it increases productivity, reduces costs and increases the volume of translation. Indeed, this tool translates quickly and more and more accurately. Google Meet is therefore a major competitor compared to other videoconferencing platforms where a human interpreter is required. However, at a professional level, the presence of a human is still required and preferable. For example, when a text to be translated deals with a specific field, technology alone will not be able to master and contextualise all the terms. A translator, however, will be able to understand and adapt his or her translation according to a context, preferences, customs, etc.

On the other hand, technology can be a support, a tool for the translator. It will not be a threat, but a bonus. The translator will be able to rely on machine translation in order to go faster or to carry out checks.

 

To sum up, the new Google Meet subtitles are an important innovation as this year is already marked by a significant increase in video conferencing. They are shaking up the translation market and challenging translators and interpreters. Their advantages in terms of time, cost and convenience are not to be overlooked. However, their weaknesses exclude some people and may mislead others with incorrect translations.

In the future, more languages will need to be supported, both as source and target languages, to increase translation possibilities. Today it is still necessary to use translators and interpreters for those that are not available.

As you can see, the quality is still far from reaching the capabilities of the human interpreter who has the context, the specialisation and the ability to choose the most appropriate terms and to put emotion into the text.

Around 30,000 people are gathering in Glasgow at this very moment for the 26th United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP26).

From 31 October to 12 November, 120 heads of state are expected to attend and some of them have already taken the floor in the first few days to raise awareness of the urgency of the climate situation and find solutions.

Politicians, activists and citizens from all over the world are listening carefully to what is happening in Glasgow.

What commitments will be made?

More than 80 countries are committing to reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030. Although absent from the conference, India wants to be carbon neutral by 2070, announced the Indian Prime Minister.

More than 100 leaders, representing 85% of the world’s forests, are pledging to halt deforestation by 2030.

These commitments are only the beginning of a list that will continue to grow in the face of the climate emergency.

But how can these ambitions and commitments be translated?

Climate is a global concern, most countries are involved, which implies a large number of language combinations. There are as many countries participating in COP26 as there are languages to be translated. Every speech must be understood by everyone. While many speak English, translating speeches from Indian or Nigerian into Chinese or Swedish, for example, is less common.

This is where the need for professional interpreters and translators comes in.

Global warming, carbon neutrality and deforestation are sensitive and complex issues. The physical presence of interpreters who can master the vocabulary of climate and environmental issues, as well as diplomatic and geopolitical jargon, is indispensable. Translators and interpreters are the ones who will be responsible for passing messages between countries and for negotiating, and they play a vital role.

Who are these interpreters and how are they organised?

At international meetings, there are always professional and specialised interpreters. They are members of the United Nations and are responsible for the official interpreting at COP26. They participate in technical negotiations, conferences, etc.

For the conferences to run smoothly, they are meticulously prepared in advance with an order of appearance for the speakers: for example, on 2 November, the presidents spoke in a precise order so that the interpreters from each country could prepare themselves. Speakers were given a time limit of 3 minutes to speak. Statements and speeches were sent to the interpreters about 30 minutes before each speech.

Some of the conferences and meetings are held online. This was the case for the Queen of England, who was unable to attend this COP26, and who made her statement live via video conference. However, these online conferences can become an obstacle to understanding each other in international negotiations of this magnitude.

Once ended, COP26 will allow countries to negotiate and agree on key issues to fight global warming and save our planet. The main challenge for countries is to limit global warming to 1.5° by the end of the century. The language challenge for interpreters will also be over.

What is the role of translators?

Agreements will be drafted and it is the translators who will have to translate these agreements and official documents into the languages of the signatory countries.

Just as for interpreters, this COP26 is also a linguistic challenge for translators

In the face of this urgency, let’s hope that interpreters and translators will pass on the right messages to the leaders so that they too can take up their climate challenge!

Translation problems can appear in many forms: lexical-semantic, grammatical, syntactic, rhetorical, pragmatic or cultural. Among the many issues, we have selected a few to help you understand the degree of difficulty our translators face.

1. Doing preliminary research

Before starting a translation, translators begin by getting to grips with the broad outlines of the document through initial reading and preliminary research on the subject.

2. Have specialist knowledge

For a quality translation, translators are specialised in specific fields and are used to playing with terminology. Translation requires rigour, and above all, a perfect command of one’s mother tongue and field of activity.

3. Working in collaboration with the client

We are aware that our translators need help and precise instructions from our clients. This is why we ask for reference documents whenever possible, so that the final translation is satisfactory.

4. Be available and responsive

Being available is also part of the challenge for a translator. Translation projects cannot be anticipated. The same applies to translators who cannot prepare in advance without having the document. Reactive, linguists are ready to start a translation or proofreading job.

5. Meeting deadlines

Meeting deadlines and time pressure cannot be overlooked as major challenges for our translators. Indeed, they must be fast, because some requests must be processed in a short period of time. In other words, they have to be able to deliver a first-class translation within a few days.

6. Proving yourself every day on every project

Every project is a new translation, but also a new story. We give our translators the chance to prove themselves with each translation. Translations are graded on the basis of client feedback and this encourages our translators to constantly improve their quality.

7. Challenging your work

One of the other challenges facing our translators is to question their work. It is important to be able to re-examine your work and to listen to your client. Translation is not a solitary mission and an exact science, but a collaboration.

 

It is a constant challenge to try to convey the meaning of the source language in the target language as naturally and accurately as possible. Whether it is a question of understanding the culture, speaking the language, or knowing the expressions specific to a country, this union between peoples accompanies our evolution, and this, beyond the borders.

There is an expansion of languages in the face of internationalisation. The translation of documents is becoming an essential practice for communicating and transmitting information; in this article, we will give you more details on the pricing of this service.

At SwissTranslate, we seek to respect your communication style, while following your usual terminology.

Our translation agency defines the budget for your documents according to the following criteria: language, technicality of the subject matter, desired delivery time, size of the file and type of translation.

The cost of your translation will initially depend on the source language and the language into which you wish to translate your document. In Switzerland, European languages are the most commonly requested, followed by Asian, Nordic and Oriental languages.

The technical nature of the translation will also have an impact on the cost. Each type of text and each field has its own specificities and precise terminology to be respected. Our translators are specialised in specific fields and work only into their native language.

As far as delivery times are concerned, our translators are capable of translating an average of 2,500 words per day. Given the number of words, you can estimate when you will receive your translation. However, if you would like your text to be translated within 24 or even 48 to 72 hours, this is entirely possible.

The volume must also be taken into account in the cost of the translation and different units of measurement are considered: the number of words, the number of lines and the number of pages.

In addition, our ISO 17100 and ISO 9001 certifications allow us to distinguish ourselves in terms of the quality of our translations, the skills of our professionals, and the efficiency of our processes.

The entire SwissTranslate team is looking forward to assisting you with your translation needs!