I don't know whether machine translation will eventually get good enough to allow us to browse people's websites in different languages so you can see how they live in different countries.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country. The translator is my most important ally. He introduces me to the world.
I'm interested in the way language is used to navigate the world around us.
The biggest markets for my books outside the UK are France and Italy, and those are the two countries where I also have the closest personal relationships with my translators - I don't know whether that's a coincidence, or if there's something to be learned from it.
Each language has its own take on the world. That's why a translation can never be absolutely exact, and therefore, when you enter another language and speak with its speakers, you become a slightly different person; you learn a different sort of world.
Every language is a world. Without translation, we would inhabit parishes bordering on silence.
The difficulty that many foreign authors face in having their works translated into English has effects far beyond the United States.
As far as modern writing is concerned, it is rarely rewarding to translate it, although it might be easy. Translation is very much like copying paintings.
It has since been agreed that speeches given in English will be translated into French and vice versa, and even into German and Italian when necessary. No doubt translations into Esperanto will also soon be in demand.
The next Google is more likely going to come from outside the U.S. Whether it's in Europe, I am not sure. A lot of things have to change.
Of course we may have any number of translations of a given text - the more the better, really.