Rob: I'm Rob.
Sam: And I'm Sam.
Rob, I'm writing a letter to a friend in Spain and I need some help.
Do you know the Spanish for, 'it's raining'?
Rob: Don't worry, I have this new app… I just hold up my phone,
scan the word I want translated,
uh, 'esta lloviendo', is the Spanish for, 'it's raining'.
Sam: Amazing!
In this programme we're discussing language technologies -
computers that can translate between languages.
Modern software like Google Translate has transformed how we learn foreign languages,
bringing us closer to a world where language is no longer a barrier to communication.
But how well do these computers know what we really mean to say?
Rob: Later we'll find out exactly what machines can and can't translate,
and, as usual, we'll be learning some new vocabulary as well.
But first I have a question for you, Sam.
The translation app I used just now is very recent,
but there's a long history of computer mistranslations -
times when computers got it badly wrong.
In 1987, the American airline,