Say Good Bye to Language barriers ( ili device ), is it the end of our learning languages?

Hi everybody

I was astonished by the making of new device that is called ili, and will start to be distributing by the company in June 2017, there is a video which I saw that show how the device works, where you just say the sentence you wanted, and then it will be translated into the targeted language, it is made for travelers only so far.

Your opinions, should we stop learning :slight_smile:
http://iamili.com/

I am just kidding from my point of view!

Should we stop learning?

I am glad you are only kidding when you ask that.

Learning languages gives you so much - a whole new social life - and some people are astonishingly good! Young or old, I’ve met quite a few skilled speakers recently. We learn languages to reach our personal goals whatever they may be.

It’s true that technology is developing at a rate that is faster than we realise. You mentioned this app, there are others and soon there will be many others.

A couple of years ago Google translate didn’t even have Bahasa Melayu, now it offers 103 different languages and caters to 99% of the online population. Imagine that in 2006 it only offered two languages.

Things are developing at a colossal speed.

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In fact, the Google app offers, for the most popular languages only: type, write, speak, snap, point and look, and offline.

Type : You type in some text in your browser or on your phone.
Write : You scribble a word or phrase on your touchscreen with your finger.
Speak: You talk into your phone’s microphone and it translates what you say in real-time.
Snap : You take a photo of a text and it is translated for you
Look : You point your phone’s camera at some text and it translates it in real-time.
Offline : You are able to use the above features without an internet connection.

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Hello
thanks Maria2 for sharing your knowledge.
best regards
stevesmith123
Content Writer at http://prodissertation.co.uk

Hi Maria, nice to see you here again.
Yes, I actually asked myself this question 3.5 years ago, I was like what the hell, what if this app became a reality then I would have wasted a lot of time learning what can no longer need to be learned!, I actually now find a nother new way of living life, and this is what you exactly meant!

By the way I would like to ask, how can I use the offline feature translating from English to Arabic? ( I would like to use this feature in my computer, not phone! )

Thank you!

I personally haven’t tried to use it offline but I guess it can’t be too difficult to find out.

It seems English to Arabic is being offered for your phone in any case, so that’s positive!

So what have you written so far?

ā€œā€¦I was astonished by the making of new device that is called ili, and will start to be distributing by the company in June 2017, there is a video which I saw that show how the device works, where you just say the sentence you wanted, and then it will be translated into the targeted language, it is made for travelers only so farā€¦ā€

These devices will be useful to tourists and to some business people - those folks whose interest in any given language is narrowly limited to practical communication.

Any suggestion that they would replace language learning for people who have a deeper interest in a language, its culture, literature, etc, would be a complete non sequitur, IMO.

It’s a bit like suggesting people who are passionate about off-road mountain biking may stop doing so because it’s quicker to travel to work by car!

Of course, even people who are only interested in the practical communicative aspect (ā€˜the guy who cycles to work’, if you will) may very well choose to continue doing so - just because they like it.

True! Though mountain biking is unlikely to be used as a regular means to get to work.

Not particularly recommended unless you can have a shower at the other end, of course :slight_smile:

I have never learned languages for small talk so this is not gonna affect me really. As a whole, I think devices should as these are only going to support language learners rather than replacing them. In the future that may change, however.

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I hate to see people who try to stop learning. The purpose of life is to discover who you are. You need to have sufficient understanding of who you are. At least for me. Learning language is a way to find the answer.

Could this device translate the book of Tolstoy or Garcia MƔrquez?

I don’t think that I will make money with Spanish. I learn it because I LOVED it. I LOVED the culture, the people, movies…

Language learning is about myself. I won’t stop! BTW the device is not good enough for this.

Don’t forget ileanlang, that everyone is different.

While you may not make any money from learning Spanish, others might :slight_smile:

We all have our personal goals - and just as much as people come in all shapes and sizes - so do our reasons for learning languages.

By the way, all the app are still at the teething stage

Here’s a fun video from 2011.

But things are changing fast :slight_smile:

Faster I think, than most of the LingQ community realises.

You delivered an interesting point Maria! I thought hard enough about this so fast change happening around us that I feel our bodies cannot keep up with, can they?

Can you share with me even if briefly how one should realise the world around him, and keep up with it? How do you do it?

ā€œā€¦Though mountain biking is unlikely to be used as a regular means to get to workā€¦ā€

That’s my whole point - there is a kind of ā€œkinkā€ in the logic if people assume that these computer translation devices will make learning redundant for people who are passionate about languages.

(Another analogy: Is someone going to stop painting pictures, just because it’s easier/quicker to take a photo!? :-o)

Hey, so knowing multiple languages will be even more impressive

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Don’t ask how to keep up with it. Ask why to keep up with it.

I will ask: Why do you say that :slight_smile: ?

Yea, I don’t think having an earpiece translate for me can compare to actually speaking to someone in a new language. It certainly doesn’t affect my goals, but it might discourage the casual traveller from feeling there is any benefit to it.

What I’m more worried about is in 100 years when we figure out how to upload skills into our brains like they did in the matrix.

To MatDeris

When asking the why to keep up with a faster and faster changing world. You will probably limite yourself to the more important areas for you to keep up with.

With the how question you will probably build a plan for keeping up with everything if you didn’t ask the why first.

When you keep yourself too much in the how, there is a chance to miss opportunities that appear outside of your plan.

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