Alice McAnespie's review of Google Translate

Date last edited: 05-31-2024 at 12:09AM

   
Rating: Everyone

Review:
Title: Google Translate
Developer: Google
Genre: Translation Service
My Rating: 4/5
Primary Audience: Children, Adult
Platform: Android, iOS, and website UI
Cost: Free

Google Translate, developed by Google, is a free translation service, made to “break language barriers and to make the world more accessible” (Turovsky, The Keyword).

The First Media Key: Balance

A key component to proper use of the first media key, balance, is practice of the virtue of temperance. As stated in Dr. Gan’s book, “According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ‘Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion’ (CCC 1809)” (Gan, pg. 51).

The key of balance (ultimately the virtue of temperance) is absolutely necessary when participating in the use of Google Translate. Google Translate is a very helpful tool; however, if used too much, it will do more harm than good. Google Translate makes translation very easy, and can be a good source when, for example, a neighbor moves in next door and can’t speak fluent English. Google Translate would allow you to have easy communication with someone that you might otherwise not be able to. Or, students can use Google Translate to aid them while learning a new language. But, oftentimes, students will use Google Translate as a crutch, using Google Translate as a means to complete an assignment, instead of using their own brain as a means to complete an assignment. As I said before, Google Translate can be a very helpful tool; but, if it is not used with proper balance and if it is not used in a temperate manner, it can be harmful.

The Second Media Key: Attitude Awareness

A key component to proper use of the second media key, attitude awareness, is practice of the virtue of prudence. As stated in Dr. Gan’s book, “According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ‘Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it…it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid’ (CCC 1806)” (Gan, pg. 69).

Building off of what was said about practicing balance, one must practice balance/temperance when using Google Translate, but a person must have an awareness (prudence) in order to maintain balanced use of the app. As I said, Google Translate can be used for both good and bad. In order to use Google Translate for good and not use Google Translate for bad, a person must have an awareness that allows them to know when using it is appropriate or not. For example: A teacher hands out an assignment in a Spanish class, and asks that you translate a paragraph written in Spanish into English. One feature of the Google Translate app allows the user to take a picture of words on a piece of paper, and get a translation of all of those words instantly on that picture. In this case, the translated paragraph is handed right to you, requiring no work of your own. This is not prudent. However, if you are using your own knowledge to translate the paragraph, but get stuck on a single word, it would be very beneficial to type that singular word into Google Translate to see what the word means. This is prudent, as it will help to expand your knowledge, instead of taking away the need for you to use your knowledge at all.

The Third Media Key: The Dignity of the Human Person

A key component to proper use of the third media key, the dignity of the human person, is practice of the virtue of justice. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good” (CCC 1807).

The app Google Translate can promote the dignity of the human person. Google Translate Product Lead Barak Turovsky explains that, “ten years ago, we launched Google Translate. Our goal was to break language barriers and to make the world more accessible” (Turovsky, The Keyword). He also stated, “But what we’re most inspired by is how Google Translate connects people in communities around the world, in ways we never could have imagined–like two farmers with a shared passion for tomato farming, a couple discovering they’re pregnant in a foreign country, and a young immigrant on his way to soccer stardom” (Turovsky, The Keyword). This demonstrates the ways in which Google Translate can be used to recognize and uphold the dignity of the human person.

The Fourth Media Key: Truth-Filled

The fourth media key, truth-filled, “tells us that the media we watch, listen to, read, and play should be filled with truth” (Gan, pg. 93). The fourth media key holds that “no lie can ever set you free”, for “only the truth can do that” (Gan, pg. 93). Not only does Google Translate operate on truthfully interpreting and truthfully translating the language of the world, but it also provides an avenue for that which is truthful to be more easily spread, as language barriers do not provide as big an obstacle to the spreading of truthful messages with the help of Google Translate.

The Fifth Media Key: Inspiring

The fifth media key, inspiring, “gives us a guidepost for our own use of the media” (Gan, pg. 124-125), and “reminds us that there is more to media than simply being entertained or killing time”, and “it challenges us to use media to inspire and be inspired, to draw closer to God and draw others closer to Him as well” (Gan, pg. 125).

Google Translate can be used to inspire (or help inspire). One way that Google Translate has been used to inspire others is seen, as Turovsky said, when “we visited a community in Canada that is using Translate to break down barriers and make a refugee family feel more welcome” (Turovsky, The Keyword). In this circumstance, Google Translate was used to bring good to a family in need, which is truly inspiring.

The Sixth Media Key: Skillfully Developed

The sixth media key, skillfully developed, explains that, “if Catholics want to reach people through the media, we have to recognize what skillfully developed media is, learn from it, and produce it” (Gan, pg. 143). Not only this, but if media creators “want to attract users, sell games, and basically keep their jobs, the media they create and market must be skillfully developed” (Gan, pg. 130).

I believe that Google Translate is skillfully developed. Not only does the platform “translate more than 100 billion words a day”, demonstrating its proper development, but the platform is also continually made better by the efforts of others, as “3.5 million people have made 90 million contributions through Translate Community, helping us improve and add new languages to Google Translate”, and “by reviewing, validating and recommending translations, we’re able to improve the Google Translate on a daily basis” (Turovsky, The Keyword).

The Seventh Media Key: Motivated by and Relevant to Experience

A key component to proper use of the seventh media key, motivated by and relevant to experience, is practice of the virtue of charity, “which can promote sympathy for and understanding of others” (Gan, pg. 165). Foundational to the human condition is communication. Humanity relies on communication in so many ways, and this need to communicate and this tendency to communicate unites us all. Google Translate exists for the purpose of increased and easier communication, and builds on that common human experience of communication.

Google Translate can be used for good, as long as those who engage with it employ what is taught by the seven media keys. I believe that a review of the app Google Translate is beneficial, and would be appreciated by others, because of the app’s potential to be used well and its equal potential to be used poorly. I think a review that brings this to light (as this review has) will encourage others to be aware of their use of the app Google Translate, and will give users a better insight on how they can use the app well.

Resource (aside from Dr. Gan’s book):
Ten years of Google Translate (blog.google)

Seven Keys:
Balanced:
Attitude:
Personal:
Truth-filled:
Inspired:
Skillfully Made:
Experienced:

Overall Rating: 31/35

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