"There is a huge mix of languages in the European Union"

Europe is a continent. The European Union is a union of 27 European countries. Prof. Daniel Stein: “There is a huge mix of languages in the European Union.” This statement kicked off the discussion on “Languages in Europe and Why We Learn Them. Can AI Do It Too?” Done. “Colorful Diversity in Europe” is the current theme of the Siegen Children’s University. Europe is multilingual: multiple languages are spoken within a single geographic area or political entity. People who are fluent in multiple languages are considered multilingual. 

Germany is a very large country at the heart of the EU. There are also other German-speaking countries. That’s why about 19 percent of EU citizens speak German as their native language. Although the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the EU, about 40 percent of EU citizens speak English as a second language. English is thus a “lingua franca,” a common language through which many people in Europe and around the world can communicate.

In total, the EU has 24 official languages. Stein: “Every EU citizen can contact the EU in any of these 24 languages and will receive a response in that language.” The number of official languages results in 552 possible language combinations. For this reason, English, German, and French are considered “relay languages,” into which source texts are first translated. The EU employs 270 civil servant translators and approximately 1,500 external interpreters. In the European Parliament alone, annual costs for translation and interpretation services amount to approximately 128 million euros. 

There are about 7,000 languages worldwide. They reflect, not least, the history, traditions, and culture of human communities. In addition to the official languages, there are 60 regional and minority languages in the EU, as well as a multitude of dialects.

“Will artificial intelligence make the work of translators obsolete?” asked Prof. Stein, an American studies scholar. So will we even need to learn foreign languages in the future? At the conclusion of the Children’s University event, the answer was a resounding “yes.” This is because the capabilities of humans and AI differ significantly. German belongs to the Indo-European language family, which has existed for about 5,000 years. Humans are the only living beings with “language.” Various physical prerequisites are essential for this. As a machine that receives input, AI imitates human abilities. The machine is trained. It learns based on algorithms (defined steps). This means it progressively stores data and contextual relationships and evaluates them step by step when queried. Stein: “AI simply rattles off trained phrases.” However, its answers aren’t always correct. 

When it comes to translations, AI can produce them automatically and in real time. It enables communication without language skills and is cost-effective. However, AI translates literally and has little understanding of wordplay, proverbs, irony, and linguistic and cultural nuances. Less common languages are at a disadvantage with AI, as the data set is generally smaller than for widely used languages. English dominates AI languages. 

AI is static; it does not recognize facial expressions or emotions. Stein: “The human element is missing. People are better at that.” So anyone who wants to immerse themselves in new cultures, gain their own perspective on the world, and engage authentically with people should continue to learn languages. Language learning also trains cognitive abilities (the brain), improves communication skills, broadens one’s horizons, fosters empathy, openness, and tolerance, and boosts self-confidence. Language skills are the key to other cultures, enable rich experiences while traveling, build bridges between people, make it easier to make friends, and are essential for both academic and professional life.