– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Culips  English Podcast. How's it going? My name  

is Andrew. I will be your host and your English  study buddy for today. And today we are going to  

study with another news article. We learned with  a news article around a month ago, maybe a little  

bit over a month ago. And I asked you guys if you  would like to do this on a somewhat regular basis  

where we do a deep dive into a news article  together. And the response was very positive,  

and many people said that they would like to do  this again. And so here we are. I've prepared  

another article for you. In fact, I didn't really  do any preparation. The article that we're going  

to read is completely 100% the same that you can  find on the website. It's an article by a writer  

named Kif Leswing. And so, I'm going to put the  link to this article in the description for this  

episode. So, you can go to the website and see it  for yourself. It's a 100% unedited or unchanged  

document. And the plan here for this episode today  is that we are going to read through the article  

together. I will read it to you so you can hear  my lovely voice and my perfect pronunciation. And  

then I will break down and explain some of the  difficult or useful English vocabulary that we  

will encounter in this article together. And so,  for our last article study, we actually read about  

a murder case, and we've got something completely  different for you today. This is a tech and AI  

related article and it's about live translation,  live translation. So, this is a new technology  

that's coming about and it's really starting  to hit the market in a big way now. And so,  

this article is all about that. And I think  it's relevant to us as language learners. You're  

learning English. I learn Korean as a second  language. Maybe this is something that we don't  

need to do in the future. I don't know. It raises  a lot of questions, and we'll talk about some of  

those questions while we go through this article  today. And who do I think this episode is perfect  

for? Well, guys, if you are at the intermediate  level and you want to hit the advanced level or  

even if you're at like a high intermediate  advanced level and you really want to take  

your English to the next level, I recommend this  lesson for you. If you're a beginner, maybe you'll  

find it a little bit difficult. So, this is really  aimed at those intermediate, high intermediate,  

even advanced level learners who want to  study with more advanced vocabulary and more  

advanced expressions. Some of the expressions and  vocabulary that you maybe won't hear people use  

in their everyday casual conversations. This is a  little bit higher level. So, it's perfect for you  

if you're at that intermediate to advanced stage.  And of course, in our bonus episode series, every  

episode comes with a free interactive transcript  and a vocabulary glossary that you can check out  

just by clicking the link in the description for  this episode. Plus, if you are a Culips member,  

then you will also get a comprehension quiz to  test your understanding after you study with this  

episode. If you would like to sign up and become  a Culips member, you can do so for an affordable  

price on our website, Culips.com. You'll be able  to check out all of the benefits and bonuses and  

special features that you can unlock as a Culips  member on our website. So, check that out and sign  

up and become a member today. And of course,  thank you to all of the members out there for  

your support. We really couldn't do Culips without  you. So, thank you, thank you, thank you so much  

for all of your support. And with that being  said, let's get started with today's article  

study. Here we go. OK, so the title of this  article is, "Apple, Google and Meta are trying  

to perfect a science fiction gadget: The universal  translator" And this was written, like I said,  

by Kif Leswing. And the link to this article is  in the description for this episode, guys. So,  

if you want to print it out or follow along on  your end, there is where you can find the article.  

So, I'm just going to read through the article  together. We'll go paragraph by paragraph. And  

after I read it, then we'll go back through it.  And if there's an interesting expression or word,  

or maybe even if it brings up a question that  we should talk about, then we're going to pause,  

and we'll do that. I'll explain the vocabulary, or  we'll talk about that question. So, let's proceed  

with the article that way. The first paragraph  says: "For decades, shows like ‘Star Trek’ and  

novels like ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’  have showcased fictional universal translators,  

capable of seamlessly converting any language into  English and vice versa." OK, so a science fiction  

gadget, the universal translator that we've seen  in science fiction movies and heard about in  

science fiction books for a long time, right? A  universal translator is some kind of device that  

can translate between all languages in the world,  maybe even all languages in the universe. So,  

if you see some kind of device advertised as  “universal,” it means it works with everything.  

Another common example that you'll see is  like “a universal adapter” for power. So,  

if you travel from one country to the next  country, often the electrical plugs have a  

different size hole that you need to plug your  device into, right? So, you need an adapter so  

that you can change between country to country.  And we call that “a universal adapter.” There's  

also “a universal remote control.” Maybe one  remote control that can control several devices  

we would call, “a universal remote.” So, it's  a good adjective to describe things, devices,  

gadgets that can control many things at once or do  many functions at once. In this case, translating  

between all of the languages in the universe.  And it says that it can do this seamlessly. Now  

“seamlessly” means smoothly without any problems  or interruptions. So, it's going to be a very fast  

and smooth experience. Next paragraph is just a  sentence. And it says: "Now, those gadgets once  

limited to works of science fiction are inching  close to reality." Inching closer to reality.  

This is a nice expression to know, guys, “to inch  closer to [something].” And it just means slowly  

becoming real or possible. So, you could imagine  maybe a caterpillar. That's what I think of.  

Actually, we have this bug called an inchworm. And  an inchworm just crawls very slowly, inch by inch  

by inch towards its destination. And so that's  the image that I have. We had this like science  

fiction, technical dream. And it's slowly becoming  a reality. These universal translators are now  

here. OK, so continuing. The next paragraph says:  "During its iPhone unveiling event on Tuesday,  

Apple included a video of many travelers’ dream  scenario. It showed an English-speaking tourist  

buying flowers in an unnamed Spanish-speaking  country. The florist addressed the tourist in  

Spanish, but what the tourist heard was in clear,  coherent English." So, this is just a brand-new  

device that Apple has introduced at its newest  iPhone event. They just announced the iPhone 17.  

And at this event, they showed a demo of their new  live translation product. And yeah, we saw in the  

video. I checked it out afterwards on YouTube  because I didn't attend the presentation. But  

I saw this scene of an English-speaking traveler.  She's, it looked like she was in Spain, but some  

Spanish-speaking country. And she bought flowers  from the florist. And she was able to do the  

interaction using this live translation feature,  even though she doesn't speak Spanish herself. So,  

she just was able to hear the Spanish-speaking  and get it translated into English right into her  

ears. And then she showed the florist her phone.  And that's how her English was translated into  

Spanish. So, Apple is promoting this new feature  that they've developed. Here in this paragraph,  

we heard the word coherent. “Clear, coherent  English.” “Coherent” is a great word to know.  

It just means clear and easy to understand.  So, I think probably for you and for every  

English learner around the world, and for me  too with my Korean, it doesn't mean we have  

to speak perfectly. Maybe a lot of us realize  that it's very difficult to speak perfectly,  

but we do want to speak coherently. And that means  in a way that is clear and easy to understand. OK,  

continuing. This is what the dialogue in this  demo video from Apple said. “‘Today all the red  

carnations are 50% off,’ the tourist heard in  English in her headphones, at essentially the  

same time that the clerk was speaking.” OK, so  it was a real-time translation heard through her  

headphones. “The video was marketing material for  Apple’s latest AirPods Pro 3, but the feature is  

one of many of its kind coming from tech companies  that also include Google parent Alphabet and Meta,  

which owns Facebook and Instagram. Technological  advancements spurred by the arrival of OpenAI’s  

ChatGPT in late 2022 have ushered in an  era of generative artificial intelligence.  

Almost three years later, those advancements are  resulting in real-time language translators.” OK,  

so let's talk about this paragraph in a little  bit more detail because there is some interesting  

expressions here. First of all, this one is  really cool. “Spurred by,” or sometimes we  

see it “spurred on by.” And the “spur,” I think  we've talked about it on the podcast before, this  

expression. So maybe some of you recognize it.  But a spur is one of those devices that horseback  

riders attach to their boots. And this allows them  to kick the horse and to make the horse go faster,  

right? It like encourages or pushes the horse to  go faster. And so here, when we say “spurred by”  

or “spurred on by [something]” it just means,  yeah, encouraged or pushed to go faster. So  

ChatGPT arrived in late 2022. And because of  that, new technological advancements have been  

encouraged and pushed. And in fact, this ushered  in an era of generative artificial intelligence.  

That's the kind of artificial intelligence that  we can see in products like ChatGPT. So, “ushered  

in.” An usher is somebody who works in like a  movie theater or a concert hall and maybe even  

a sporting stadium. And they show the guests where  to sit, right? They help them to their seat. So,  

we use this imagery behind this expression “to  usher in [something].” And it just means to start  

or introduce a new period or change. So, it's  almost like ChatGPT is the usher. And it's saying  

like, "OK, new technology, come in, come this  way." And it's like helping them get set up and  

established. So ChatGPT is ushering in this new  era of technological development and advancements.  

And one of those is these real-time language  translators. “Real-time” means instantly with no  

delay in real-time. OK, so let's continue reading  through the article. The next paragraph says:  

"For Apple, Live Translation is a key selling  point for the AirPods Pro 3, which the company  

unveiled on Tuesday. The new $250 earbuds go on  sale next week, and with Live Translation, users  

will be able to immediately hear French, German,  Portuguese and Spanish translated to English.  

Live Translation will also arrive as an update  to AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 on Monday." OK,  

so interesting. Live translation is a key selling  point. “A selling point” is a very attractive,  

new, enticing feature that will encourage people  to buy the new product. So, one of the new selling  

points is the live translation feature. And  yeah, you'll be able to buy these new AirPods  

Pro 3 if you want for $250. Kind of pricey. And  interestingly enough, there won't be support for  

many languages. French, German, Portuguese, and  Spanish translated to English. And I don't know  

if that goes both ways. It says French, German,  Portuguese, and Spanish translated to English. But  

if you were to speak in English, would it come  out in German to a German user? I'm not sure.  

Interestingly, also, I guess these languages are  pretty similar-ish, right? They're all European  

languages, and they all probably share at least  Portuguese, Spanish, and French are going to share  

a lot of similar vocabulary with English. And  maybe even German and English have quite a few  

similarities as well. So, we don't see, like,  really different language pairs, right? You're  

not being able to translate between Chinese and  English or Chinese and Korean or something like  

that. So that is kind of interesting as well.  Just a handful of languages, really. OK, so let's  

continue in the article. It says: "And when two  people are speaking to each other wearing AirPods,  

the conversation can be translated both ways  simultaneously inside each user’s headphones.  

In Apple’s video demo, it looked like two people  talking to each other in different languages." OK,  

so I answered my own question there. Should have  just read ahead! It can be translated both ways.  

So, you can go between all of the languages  in both ways simultaneously. “Simultaneously”  

means happening at exactly the same time. So,  this translation between languages can happen  

simultaneously. So, for example, if you are  a Spanish speaker and I'm an English speaker,  

I could just pop in these AirPods, you could pop  in the AirPods, and you could speak in Spanish,  

and I could speak in English, and we could  have a conversation back and forth in real  

time. Apparently. OK, continuing with the article.  "Analysts are excited that the feature could mark  

a step forward for Apple’s AI strategy. The  translation feature needs to be paired with  

a new-enough iPhone to run Apple Intelligence,  Apple’s AI software suite." OK, so in order to use  

this new feature, you do need to have a new-ish  iPhone, which can run their new AI, which they  

are calling Apple Intelligence. And the vocabulary  that they used in the article here is nice. So,  

I want to point it out. They said that the  translation feature must be paired with an iPhone.  

So, you can't just use the AirPods on their own,  they must be paired with the iPhone. And this  

means used together, or they need to go together  “to pair with [something].” I hear this expression  

used a lot when talking about wine, wine pairings.  Maybe in the restaurant, you could ask your server  

for a wine recommendation. And the server might  say, "Oh, since you ordered the chicken dish,  

then I would recommend that you pair your chicken  dish with this wine." They go together well,  

they complement each other. So, we hear it a lot  when talking about food and culinary choices,  

wine choices, but also in this situation for  the two devices, the iPhone and the AirPods,  

to work together with each other. OK, continuing  on. “‘If we can actually use the AirPods for  

live translations, that’s a feature that would  actually get people to upgrade,’ DA Davidson  

analyst Gil Luria told CNBC on Wednesday.” OK, so  interesting here, this quote from an analyst that  

works at the company called DA Davidson, I guess  that's the name of the firm, the business firm,  

and the analyst's name there, Gil Luria. I like  his quote because he uses this word, “actually,”  

just as much as I do. He used it twice in the same  sentence. And I have the habit of using this word,  

“actually,” a lot too. If you are a frequent  Culips listener, you will know. OK, so anyways,  

interesting, right? "If we can actually use  the AirPods for live translations," I think  

this is the big question mark here, is if the  technology works well enough, if it's seamless,  

it's real time, then we're likely to use it. And  I think it could be really cool. But if it doesn't  

work so well, then obviously people are not going  to use it, right? So, this analyst agrees. If we  

could actually use the live translation feature  with the AirPods, then people would actually  

upgrade to buy them. “Translation is emerging as a  key battleground in the technology industry as AI  

gets good enough to translate languages as quickly  as people speak. But Apple is not alone.” So,  

there are other competitors in this space. Here,  we heard this expression, “a battleground.” A  

key battleground. And as you could imagine,  a battleground is an area or a sector where  

companies compete very strongly against each  other. And just from reading the headline to  

this article, we know that Meta, Google, and Apple  are all competing, and other companies as well,  

as we'll read about in the next section. OK, so  I'm going to read through the next section of this  

article. And guys, there are three sections here.  So, we're a third of the way done the article.  

Maybe I'll try to speed up a little bit. And yeah,  let's look at the next section now. So, it says,  

"A crowded market." "In the past year, Google  and Meta have also released hardware products  

featuring real-time translation capabilities.  Google’s Pixel 10 phone has a capability that  

can translate what a speaker is saying to  the listener’s language during phone calls.  

That feature, called Voice Translate is designed  to also preserve the speaker’s voice inflections.  

Voice Translate will start showing up on people’s  phones through a software update on Monday.” OK,  

interesting. So, “voice inflections” are like the  way that we change our voice. We can put the tone  

or the pitch up or down to convey emotion and  feeling. This is what we call “inflection.” OK,  

so if you have a Google Pixel phone, then you're  going to have this new feature available very  

soon. Continuing on in the article. “In Google’s  live demo in August, Voice Translate was able to  

translate a sentence from entertainer Jimmy  Fallon into Spanish, and it actually sounded  

like the comedian. Apple’s feature does  not try to imitate the user’s voice.” So,  

I think you're just going to hear like a regular  Siri-style generic computer voice with Apple's  

feature. But with Google, they're actually trying  to copy your voice and make the translated output  

sound like your real voice, which is interesting.  A little bit scary. Interesting. Meanwhile, what's  

happening over at Meta? Well: “Meanwhile, Meta  in May announced that its Ray-Ban Meta glasses  

would be able to translate what a person is saying  in another language using the device’s speakers,  

and the other party in the conversations would be  able to see translated responses transcribed on  

the user’s phone.” OK, so these glasses, have you  seen these glasses that Meta makes? They're like  

sunglasses. They look like a pair of Ray-Bans,  but they have all these AI features and cameras  

involved. And so, if you were to wear these  glasses then, you could translate what a person is  

saying using the speakers in the device. I guess  the speaker is probably located quite close to  

your ear. And then the other party would be able  to see on their phone what the translation is. So,  

you'll get the audio, and they'll just get the  text on their phone. It continues saying: "Meta  

will hold its own product keynote on Wednesday,  where the company is expected to announce the  

next generation of its smart glasses, which will  feature a small display in one of the lenses. It’s  

unclear if Meta will announce more translation  features.” OK, so we'll have to wait for Meta's  

keynote to find out more details about that. And  guys, “a keynote,” if you don't know what this is,  

it is an important business presentation where  new products are announced. And I think especially  

with tech companies, right? We have like an Apple  keynote, a Meta keynote, a Google keynote. That's  

where they announce all of their new products and  services that will be launching. And they usually  

do them once or twice a year. OK, continuing with  the article. Two more paragraphs here. I'll read  

through them. “And OpenAI in June showcased an  intelligent voice assistant mode for ChatGPT  

that has fluid translation built in as one of many  features. ChatGPT is integrated with Apple’s Siri,  

but not in voice mode. OpenAI is planning to  release new hardware products with Apple’s  

former design guru Jony Ive in the coming years.  The rise of live translation could also reshape  

entire industries. Translators and interpreters  are the No. 1 type of job threatened by AI,  

and 98% of translators’ work activities overlap  with what AI can do, a Microsoft Research study  

published in August found.” OK, so lots to unpack  here. So ChatGPT also is a player in this game.  

It's not just Google and Meta and Apple. Also,  ChatGPT and OpenAI are involved. And so, they have  

these new voice talk features, voice assistant  features, where translation is involved. And yeah,  

interestingly enough, they're planning to release  a new hardware product with Jony Ive. Jony Ive  

is one of the famous Apple designers, maybe one  of the most famous tech product designers ever.  

I think he was involved in all of Apple's  successful products from the iPhone to the  

MacBook to the AirPods and many more as well.  So OpenAI has snatched or hired Jony Ive,  

and he'll be designing a hardware device to work  with ChatGPT, which will be very interesting to  

see what that's all about when that is announced.  OK, and then the final paragraph there talked  

about how translators, “translators” are people  who convert the written language of one language  

into the written language of another. And then  “interpreters.” And interpreters are people who  

convert spoken language. So, they essentially  are the same job, but one deals with text,  

and one deals with spoken languages.  According to a Microsoft research study,  

they are very much endangered by the rise of AI.  It's a threatened job. Hmm. OK, so let's read  

the final section of this article here. And this  section is called "Purpose-built translators." And  

it's a few paragraphs long, so let me read it to  you. It says: "In the past several years, a number  

of purpose-built translation gadgets have entered  the market, taking advantage of global high-speed  

cellular service and improving online translation  services to produce puck-like devices or  

headphones with translation built-in for a couple  hundred dollars." So, “a purpose-built device.”  

Something that is purpose-built, it means that  it was built with just one core function in mind.  

It's designed specifically for one particular  job or use. Purpose-built. So, there are some  

companies who are making devices that are only  for this live translation. Of course, Apple, Meta,  

OpenAI, Google, they're saying, "OK, you can do  this as one feature with our devices that can do  

many different things." But then a purpose-built  device is like, "No, this is one device only for  

this translation feature." And so, yeah, these  devices, really, it's interesting. They're made  

possible because of global high-speed cellular  service. If we didn't have these high-speed ways  

to access the internet, we probably couldn't  have these devices. So, it's very dependent on  

that high-speed data transfer. And also improving  online translation services. So other companies  

like maybe Google Translate who have been  operating in this space for many, many years.  

So, some companies are making “puck-like devices,”  which is like probably a little circle that  

looks like a hockey puck. Or headphones with the  translation built right into the headphones. OK,  

so let's go to the next paragraph. It's a quote,  it says: ‘“What I love about what Apple is doing  

is it really just illuminates the fact that how  pressing of an issue this is,’ said Joe Miller,  

U.S. general manager of Japan-based Pocketalk,  which makes a $249 translation device that goes  

between two people conversing in different  languages and translates their conversation  

in audio and text.” “Given that Apple shipped  about 18 million sets of wireless headphones in  

the first quarter alone, according to Canalys,  the company’s entry into the market will expose  

a wider subset of customers to improvements  translation tech has made in recent years.” OK,  

so yeah, more and more customers of Apple will be  able to try out this technology according to this,  

I guess, analyst company called Canalys. OK,  let's continue. Not super important in that part.  

“Despite Apple’s entry into the market, makers of  purpose-built devices say their focus on accuracy  

and knowledge of linguistics will provide better  translations than what’s available for free with  

a new phone.” OK, so yeah, I guess there's a lot  of competition, right? This is a battleground. You  

have these big tech players and then you have  these smaller companies making purpose-built  

devices like Pocket Talk, that Japanese company.  And then we're gonna hear about another company  

here now called Vasco Electronics from Poland. And  they're saying that, Hey, we're specializing in  

this. We are like a translation company. We're  experts. We're using linguistic knowledge and  

accuracy. And we know about the languages. We're  not just using AI. We have experts involved. So  

that's their fighting point, I guess. That's like  the weapon they're bringing to the battleground,  

right? To try and win the customer's confidence  and ultimately the customer's support. So,  

let's read the next paragraph here. It's a  quote from the Vasco Electronics company.  

It says: “‘We actually hired linguists,’ said  Aleksander Alski, head of U.S. and Canada for  

Poland-based Vasco Electronics, which released  translation headphones called E1 in January,  

and is planning a forthcoming model that can  imitate the user’s voice, like Google’s feature.  

‘We combined the AI with with human input, and  thanks to that, we were able to secure much higher  

accuracy throughout all the languages we offer.’”  That’s a quote from Aleksander Alski. Continuing:  

“There’s also home-field advantage. Vasco  Electronics’ largest market is Europe,  

and Apple’s Live Translation isn’t available for  EU users, Apple said on its website.” OK, very  

interesting. Here's a good expression to know,  guys. I recommend adding it to your vocabulary,  

“Home-field advantage.” This is actually a  metaphor that comes from sports. So, I think  

of baseball because baseball is played on like a  baseball field, but it could be a soccer field or  

track and field, any kind of sporting event. You  know, if you are playing in your home stadium,  

then you have a big advantage. You have your fans  there cheering for you. Maybe you could sleep the  

night before the game in your own bed and you have  like a comfortable, just short trip to the field,  

and you can play rested. Whereas the other  team, the opposing team, they are traveling  

to your field. So maybe they had to sleep in a  hotel. They had to travel a long way to get to  

your field. Their fans aren't there. So instead  of having fans in the stands cheering for them,  

maybe they're actively booing them. And so, it's  a big disadvantage, right? So, when we say, “home  

field advantage,” we mean having an advantage  because you know your local area better and  

you have the support of your home base. So yeah,  interestingly enough, for all of the Europeans  

out there, you guys aren't going to have this  live translation feature in Europe, which isn't  

it kind of weird? All of those languages were  European languages, English, Spanish, Portuguese,  

German, and French, but it's not going to work in  Europe. So, I guess this could be good in Canada  

for like Quebec and English-speaking Canada and  maybe in South America and Central America for,  

for yeah, Spanish and Portuguese. But if  you can't use it between English and German,  

then where are you going to go? For Germans  visiting America, English speaking countries,  

maybe. But it seems like, yeah, it's not going  to be so great if you can't use this in Europe.  

I think this is because of privacy concerns. So  maybe Apple is going to work to try and figure out  

an agreement with the EU. But for now, this seems  like a pretty big miss, like a swing and a miss,  

if you can't use this live translation feature  in the EU. Anyways, we're almost at the end of  

the article. So, let's read to the end. I'm  going to read all the way to the end. Here we  

go. “Some of the products being introduced by tech  companies are less than universal, and are limited  

to a small number of languages for now. Apple’s  feature is only available in five languages,  

versus Pocketalk’s 95.” “Pocketalk’s Miller  believes that the potential of the technology  

goes far beyond a tourist ordering a glass of  wine in France. He says that it’s most powerful  

when its used in workplaces like schools and  hospitals, which require privacy and security  

features that reduce friction.” And here in  this context, “friction” just means problems or  

difficulties that make something harder to do.  Miller also went on to say: “This isn’t about  

luxury tourism and travel,” Miller said. “This is  about the intersection of language and friction,  

when a discussion needs to be had.” And finally,  the article ends with saying that: “Apple didn’t  

respond to a request for comment.” So, the writer  of the article wanted to talk with Apple and get  

their side of the story, what they had to say,  and they didn't message back or respond. So,  

there's no comment from Apple. OK, so  yeah, it seems like pretty soon here,  

guys, we're going to be having a lot of options  for live translation in earphones or headphones  

or other kind of devices. And I'm really curious  about what you think about this. Will this change  

the way that you study English? If suddenly you  could just use your Apple AirPod and communicate  

in your native language and have it translated  into English, would this be something that you  

would be interested in using? I’m trying to think,  it's an interesting question. I think for travel,  

it's probably really good for those kinds of  situations where maybe you don't have time to  

invest in learning the local language. It could be  pretty good, but I don't know. I'd have to try it  

out and see how good the technology is. I'm going  to say that I'm skeptical for now. I'm skeptical,  

but open-minded, and I would have to try it  just to see how well it works. But we'll see,  

time will tell. Guys, I prepared some discussion  questions here for us. And what I would like to  

do with these discussion questions, obviously we  can't have a face-to-face discussion and go back  

and forth in real time, unfortunately. However,  we can communicate, not in real time. And you can  

do that with your comments. So, you could leave  your comments on our YouTube page, Instagram page,  

or Discord community. I really highly recommend  our Discord community. It's probably where most  

of our listeners are the most active, but also  on YouTube is a great place as well. And so,  

let's go through these questions together. There  are three of them. I'll share my thoughts briefly,  

and then I'm excited to hear your thoughts as  well. So, question number one is: Would you use  

live translation earbuds when traveling? Why or  why not? OK. Well, like I said, just a second ago,  

I think I would try them out. I have to see how  well they work. If they are truly seamless and  

it's not awkward, then I think, yeah, why not?  Why not use them? Especially if you're going to a  

country where you just don't have time to invest  in learning the local language. I think it's a  

little bit weird that you have to wear the AirPod  in your ears, because to me, if I see somebody  

wearing AirPods, that's like a signal to not talk  to them. Like they're listening to music, or a  

podcast and they don't want to be disturbed, but  then we're using them as translation devices. So,  

I don't know. I think maybe we'll need to adjust  our mindset to seeing somebody wear the AirPod and  

thinking, "Oh, they actually want to talk with  me." I could also see it being quite awkward  

if it's not exactly seamless and exactly fast and  very fluent translation. And I could see me using  

it for, you know, going to a cafe or a restaurant  and ordering food or something to drink. But for  

a deeper, longer conversation, I don't know if  it would be great. I mean, I don't think I would  

stop and give up learning and studying Korean if  suddenly I had a perfect translator in my ears  

with these AirPods. No, I just couldn't see it  being good enough yet. Maybe I'm biased because  

I love language learning and I'd probably  keep going, even if it worked perfectly,  

because it's just so interesting and fascinating  to me to study another language and the benefits  

we get cognitively. And just the insights into the  culture and the way different people from around  

the world think. You know, we can learn about this  through language. So, I wouldn't stop, but I don't  

know how much I would use it. I'd have to try.  Very vague answer. I will say that the last time  

I was in Japan, I saw, I was waiting in line at a  restaurant and the people in front of me in line,  

they were from China and they were trying to  communicate with the restaurant staff. And the  

restaurant staff were using a kind of like,  I guess it was a purpose-built translator,  

some kind of device, maybe made by a Japanese  company. And then the Chinese customers,  

the tourists, they were using their smartphones  and they had a Chinese app and they were trying  

to go back and forth communicating and they were  throwing in a little English as well and it was  

just a mess. I witnessed it firsthand, trying  to translate between Japanese and Chinese using  

two different devices. And it was slow, it was  awkward, and I don't think anybody was satisfied  

in the end. I have no idea what they were talking  about, but I imagine it's not something super  

complicated. It's probably a question about the  menu or, you know, how long it will take to get  

a table. And it was just really awkward and  didn't work very well at all. So, I am very  

skeptical about how well these devices could work,  especially in between languages that are very,  

very different and more complicated than say  French and English. OK, next discussion question.  

Number two: How might real-time translation change  jobs and communication? Well, in a big way, right?  

We read about in the article how translators and  interpreters, their line of work is in danger.  

Maybe English teachers and language teachers,  maybe our line of work is in danger as well. It's  

something that I haven't ignored. I am concerned  about, to be honest with you. We'll have to see,  

and I could think of many other jobs, any kind of  international business, right? If you only need  

to use English for communicating with one client  or for making a quick presentation or something,  

maybe this would be good enough for just like  checking the box and making sure that you can  

finish a short presentation with a client  or a short business meeting. If you don't  

really have to go into a deep philosophical  conversation that goes for a long, long time,  

it's just like a standard, simple, straightforward  business meeting to close a deal. Hey, maybe it  

could work. I don't know. So, I think definitely  it could be a disruptor, meaning that it could  

change a lot of things. OK, and question three: Do  you think technology can ever translate perfectly?  

What might it miss? Who's to say what the future  will hold? You never know what will happen in  

the future, but I don't think it could do it  perfectly. I think language is always changing,  

always updating. There are always new things to  talk about, new developments, new pop culture  

references, new celebrities, new songs, new things  that people chat about. And unless the technology  

is really updated daily, then it's probably going  to miss some things. But I think we can get enough  

coverage, probably like 95% coverage where it  could make sense. And yeah, there's always going  

to be something lost in translation, right?  I don't think that's going to go away anytime  

soon. I think we'll always have something that's  lost in translation a little bit, but that's what  

makes life and languages interesting. So, I  think I'm OK with that. All right, guys. So  

those are my quick and dirty answers here to these  questions. And wow, I've gone on for a long time.  

This could be a brand-new world record for the  longest bonus episode ever. But like I said,  

I wanted to jump into this article, get into the  nitty gritty with you. I really like this kind of  

deep study, and I hope you enjoyed it as well. If  you needed to spend a little bit of time and go  

through it part by part by part, that is OK. And  if you need to go back and listen to it again,  

hey, that is OK too. We can't always one-and-done  it, right? Just listen once and then perfectly  

understand everything. So, if you want to  go back and study with this episode again,  

feel free to do that. But for now, I'm going to  take off. So, thank you so much for studying with  

me today. Please take care, and I'll catch you  in the next Culips episode. Until then, bye-bye.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
seamlessly /ˈsiːmləsli/ B2	adverb - in a smooth and continuous way, without problems or interruptions
universal /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːrsəl/ B1	adjective - relating to all things; applicable to all cases
translator /trænsˈleɪtər/ A2	noun - a person who converts information from one language into another
regular /ˈregjʊlər/ A2	adjective - happening at fixed times or intervals
response /rɪˈspɒns/ A2	noun - a reply or answer
positive /ˈpɒzɪtɪv/ A2	adjective - showing or expressing approval or agreement
preparation /ˌprepəˈreɪʃən/ B1	noun - the action of making something ready for use or action
completely /kəmˈpliːtli/ A2	adverb - in a full or whole manner
unedited /ʌnˈedɪtɪd/ B2	adjective - not having been revised or corrected
unchanged /ʌnˈtʃeɪndʒd/ B1	adjective - not altered or modified
relevant /ˈrelɪvənt/ B1	adjective - closely connected or appropriate to the matter at hand
intermediate /ˌɪntəˈmiːdiət/ B1	adjective - between two extremes; of middle rank or degree
advanced /ədˈvɑːnst/ C1	adjective - highly developed or sophisticated
expressions /ɪkˈspreʃənz/ B1	noun - the way someone expresses their feelings or thoughts
vocabulary /vəˈkæbjʊləri/ B1	noun - the range of words known and used by a particular person
relevant /ˈrelɪvənt/ B1	adjective - closely connected or appropriate to the matter at hand

Key Grammar Structures

• And so here we are. I've prepared another article for you.

  ➔ Present Perfect (I've prepared) - indicates an action completed at an unspecified time in the past, with relevance to the present.

  ➔ The phrase "I've prepared" uses the present perfect tense to show that the action of preparing the article happened before now and is relevant because he's about to present it. The word **'prepared'** indicates a completed action.

• In fact, I didn't really do any preparation. The article that we're going to read is completely 100% the same that you can find on the website.

  ➔ Use of 'really' as an intensifier - emphasizes the lack of preparation.

  ➔ The word **'really'** strengthens the negation, making it clear he didn't prepare at all. It's a common way to add emphasis to a statement. The sentence also uses a future construction ('we're going to read') to indicate a planned action.

• And who do I think this episode is perfect for? Well, guys, if you are at the intermediate level and you want to hit the advanced level...

  ➔ Embedded Question - 'who do I think this episode is perfect for?' - a question within a statement.

  ➔ The phrase **'who do I think this episode is perfect for?'** is an embedded question. It's structured like a question, but it functions as part of a larger statement. The word order is question order (auxiliary verb 'do' before the subject 'I'), but it's not a standalone question.

• If you're a beginner, maybe you'll find it a little bit difficult.

  ➔ First Conditional - 'If you're a beginner, you'll find it difficult' - expresses a possible condition and its probable result.

  ➔ This sentence uses the first conditional (**'If'** clause + **'will'** clause). The **'If'** clause ('If you're a beginner') presents a possible situation, and the main clause ('you'll find it a little bit difficult') states the likely result. The word **'a little bit'** softens the statement, making it less direct.