October 2, 2009

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Your recent Strategy for American Innovation policy paper recognizes that accurate

translation is vital to our economy, our national security and our relationships with

other nations. At the American Translators Association (ATA), we agree entirely —

but we are also convinced that technology is only part of the answer. As the largest

association of translators and interpreters in the United States, we urge you to take a

long-term approach to language security by investing in human skills and

promoting greater awareness of and expertise in foreign languages.

Are we against technology? Certainly not – in fact, most professional translators

already use computer tools to speed up their work. But computational linguists have

been working for over 50 years to achieve “fully automatic high-quality computer

translation,” and despite all the changes wrought in our lives by technological

advances, no computer can match the language skills of a five-year-old child.

The reason is simple: Computers cannot translate effectively – that is, they cannot

entirely convey meaning from one language to another – because computers are

logical and real human languages are not. Using a language well requires knowledge

of how the world is understood in that language. And while computers can analyze,

compile and compare, they cannot understand.

This is not to say that translation technology is not very useful within certain limits.

Computers can process enormous volumes of text at incredible speeds, and provide

the gist of a foreign-language document quickly and cheaply. Translation software is

therefore the perfect tool for producing a “good enough” translation.

But in many human interactions – most critically in diplomacy, commerce, and

national security, the very areas cited in your report – accuracy, nuance and cultural

sensitivity are paramount, and “good enough” is… not good enough. Errors in

translation and interpreting can waste enormous amounts of time and money, and

they can generate literally incalculable costs in terms of misunderstanding and loss of

prestige.

In short, both translation software and qualified human translators are vital to your

goal of achieving language security. Today all the leading proponents of computer

translation recognize that human beings will always be essential, no matter how

sophisticated translation programs become.

ATA is the largest association of translators and interpreters in the United States, with

almost 11,000 members and a growing reputation as an international leader in our

field. Our members include thousands of individual practitioners working, with

proven skill, in hundreds of language combinations, as well as representatives of large

and small translation companies, government agencies, academic institutions, and the

computer-translation community. We are already actively pursuing initiatives

designed to raise awareness of translation and interpreting among language services

consumers, students and teachers, and the broader public. We strongly support the

focus on language issues in your innovation strategy, and have the resources and

breadth to advance your cause. Please let us know how we can help.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jiri Stejskal

ATA President