In an effort to save its national language, the German government is planning an ambitious eight-year research project to develop a pocket-sized device which will comprehend speech, translate it and give a spoken output almost at once. The project could cost upwards of £28 million. Two feasibility studies commissioned by the German ministry for research and technology, the BMFT, from researchers in Germany and the US, are due to be completed later this month.
The chief motivation seems to be a worry that German is suffering from the spread of English and that without a simple means of translation Germans will increasingly speak English. Preserving the mother tongue is a national goal says Klaus Isensee of the BMFT. A cheap, quick and effortless method of translating will also encourage trade, cultural exchange and tourism.
But there is debate among the researchers drawing up plans for the project, known as Verbmobil, ...
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