Hi, as I mention in my title I’m thinking about getting Lingq for learning Italian. I’d use it alongside twice-weekly lessons I’m getting on italki, which I’m really enjoying. I’ve been reading up on Lingq to see if it’ll be good for me, but there’s two things I haven’t been able to bottom out:
It looks like the app uses a fair bit of AI, and that’s likely to increase. Is the quality of translations still very good? I know AI has decreased the quality of other language apps, and I’ve seen mixed views on Lingq. Any views specifically about Italian would be great! (Nb I know AI can be a divisive topic, but I’m really only interested in the quality of the output as I want to be confident I’m language correctly).
A lot of people seem to use the app for learning via YouTube videos etc. Is it still worth it if I mostly want to use it for reading? I’ve no doubt I’ll use videos a bit, but my main goal in learning Italian is to be able to read Italian literature so I’m more interested in reading.
For #2, reading is the primary and therefore perfect use for LingQ. So if this is your main goal I think LingQ is 100% worth it, especially considering you can sync up audiobooks with the text as well.
As for AI translations. Translations for individual words and some phrases are user generated, so for a popular language like Italian I think you will find a lot of user input and therefore be confident that they are correct. There is an option to have an AI context translation that appears at the top of the user generated translations, but this can be ignored if inaccurate or turned off in settings. You also have quick access to dictionaries that you can use to confirm if something is correct.
I am unsure how they deal with features like full sentence translations in sentence mode for instance, but I think as long as you are saving the individual words and comparing with dictionaries you should be confident that you aren’t learning incorrect translations.
In terms of content I would personally rely on your own sources, upload your own books etc. just to be sure it’s of good quality. I have tried some content from LingQ like the mini stories, and found them to be not the best, although I am learning a more niche language so I cant speak for Italian.
Overall I think if your main goal is reading Italian literature you will be very pleased with LingQ. Good luck!
I am currently using Lingq for Italian to improve my reading and vocabulary as well as textbooks. In my experience ai translations are usually much more accurate, especially when you translate sentences in novels.
For 2: The reason for the high amount of YouTube videos is that users are only able to share lessons when there is text and audio. And there should be no copy right restriction on the material. That’s why you won’t find modern books or audiobooks in the shared library. All these materials you have to upload for yourself (with the private setting). In that case you don’t need the audio to create a lesson.
To #1: I always use an official dictionary when I first assign a meaning to a word. I don’t pick any already available meaning until I know what that word means.
The AI and other users’ inputs are not that good if you want precise translation by tense and person, etc. Specially other users usually pick the infinite or singular 3rd person no matter what. If that’s enough for you than OK. To me it is poor and lazy solution so I usually enter new meaning.
