Lost in Automatic Translation
Navigating Life in English in the Age of Language Technologies

Will Google Translate and ChatGPT help us master foreign languages and better understand one another, or make language learning obsolete?

Vered Shwartz (Author)

9781009552363, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 August 2025

206 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.3 cm, 0.45 kg

'Shwarz's book should be required reading for engineers and linguists, whether academic or professional, seeking to improve automatic translation. She demonstrates the necessity of these disciplines working together, and reminds developers that however technically sophisticated the system, the human user, defined by psychology and culture as well as intellect, decides how meaningful a translation is. In particular, Shwarz's emphasis on grounding offers developers a clear direction for improving automatic translation, and, by extension, the usability of AI platforms in general. The author's experience learning new languages, combined with her studies in computer science, reinforces the logic of her argument with the authority of both developer and user, and that she does so with humor and wit makes her book more appealing and helpful.' Donald R. Riccomini, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

The last decade has seen an exponential increase in the development and adoption of language technologies, from personal assistants such as Siri and Alexa, through automatic translation, to chatbots like ChatGPT. Yet questions remain about what we stand to lose or gain when we rely on them in our everyday lives. As a non-native English speaker living in an English-speaking country, Vered Shwartz has experienced both amusing and frustrating moments using language technologies: from relying on inaccurate automatic translation, to failing to activate personal assistants with her foreign accent. English is the world's foremost go-to language for communication, and mastering it past the point of literal translation requires acquiring not only vocabulary and grammar rules, but also figurative language, cultural references, and nonverbal communication. Will language technologies aid us in the quest to master foreign languages and better understand one another, or will they make language learning obsolete?

Introduction
Part I. Communicating in English: 1. Can we have a word?
2. Call the grammar police
Part II. Understanding Cultural Norms and References: 3. Reading between the lines
4. A figure of speech
5. To put it delicately
6. Grounded in reality
7. Internet speak is the best, don't @ me
Part III. Cultural Integration through Language
8. Can you repeat this, please?
9. The unspeakable
10. The secret code of body language
11. Language and identity
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Linguistics [CF]