Language translation barriers can prevent us from completely communicating with one another. But what if these barriers didn’t exist? What if they could be overcome completely within the next ten years?

Jonathan Lichtman is a senior vice president at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). He believes that technology is the key to overcoming the language translation barrier. His firm recently launched the first translator that integrates both machine translation and automated speech recognition into the same platform.

Jeff Barrett is co-founder of Status Creative.  He spoke to Lichtman about why the possibilities of this technology are exciting and what lies ahead for the sector. This is part two of a two-part post.

Part one was previously posted.

6. Who would you say benefits most from this technology?

Larger corporations with international business operations are now seeing the most benefit because they can more effectively communicate internally and with their customers. But as cloud and SaaS offerings become more prevalent, per-word pricing has given mid-sized and small businesses access to corporate grade translation software leveling the playing field, and driving growth by providing access to new customer markets.

Language translation technology is nearly at the stage where it is starting to impact the daily lives of the general public. In addition to free, general translation engines online, there are more tailored, advanced technologies becoming accessible via mobile devices.

7. Is there a country leading the way?

The United States has led in the development of both Automatic Speech Recognition and Machine Translation products. However the progress made in these technologies is a result of research and development around the world and the future holds even greater international collaboration.

8. So what kind of shift can we expect in this space moving forward?

A very exciting innovation is the integration of machine translation (MT) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology, such as Apple’s SIRI, into one platform, allowing for speech-to-speech and speech-to-text translation in near real time. By housing the two technologies on one platform it also makes it easier to localize into a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device, much like the Star Trek “universal translator.” The only difference is that this technology is here today.

In the future language translation technology will incorporate additional information sources from cameras or GPS technology to help improve the accuracy of translation. For example, if I say “meet me at the bank,” where you go would depend on whether I have a checkbook or fishing pole in my hand.

9. Can you give me some examples of how this technology is currently used to help make a given field better?

In the healthcare industry language translation technology can help alleviate part of the administrative burden of patient intake, enhance healthcare performance, and most importantly, increase patient safety, and improve health outcomes.

Another example is the retail industry, where in not only is the technology being used for external communication with customers, it is also being used internally to streamline the supply chain.

Do you think that in 10 years or so that automated voice recognition and machine translation will be able to replace computer-assisted translation or human translation?

By Alex Dupont
Marketing Communications Specialist
Language Translation Inc.

See Also

• More about language translation
  An accurate professional translation can save a patient's life, win a bid, or persuade a shopper to buy your product.
• More about machine translation
  Raw machine translation may only be sufficient for communicating via social networks, or getting the gist of a foreign language website.
• Why Technology Is Key to Overcoming the Language Barrier
  Language barriers prevent us from completely connecting. But what if the language barrier didn?t exist? What if we could completely overcome it in the next ten years?
• More about SAIC
  Founded by J. Robert Beyster, Ph.D., and a small group of scientists in 1969, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a FORTUNE 500® company, and its subsidiaries now have approximately 40,000 employees worldwide.