Talk into your phone in any of the big European languages and a Google app can now turn your words into a foreign language, either in text form or as an electronic voice. Skype, an internet-telephony service, said recently that it would offer much the same (in English and Spanish only). But claims that such technological marvels will spell the end of old-fashioned translation businesses are premature. Software can give the gist of a foreign tongue, but for business use (if executives are sensible), rough is not enough. And polyglot programs are a pinprick in a vast industry. The business of translation, interpreting and software localisation (revising websites, apps and the like for use in a foreign language) generates revenues of $37 billion a year, reckons Common Sense Advisory (csa), a consulting firm.
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机译:使用任何一种主要的欧洲语言与您的手机通话,Google应用程序现在可以将您的单词转换为外语,无论是文本形式还是电子语音形式。互联网电话服务Skype最近表示,它将提供相同的服务(仅英语和西班牙语)。但是,声称这样的技术奇迹将意味着老式翻译业务的终结还为时过早。软件可以说出外来的要旨,但对于商业用途(如果高管人员明智的话),仅凭粗糙感是不够的。多种语言计划在广阔的行业中是一个花招。咨询公司Common Sense Advisory(csa)估计,翻译,口译和软件本地化业务(修订用于外语的网站,应用等)的年收入为370亿美元。
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