The Serbian Language in the Digital Age pp 41-42 | Cite as
Executive Summary
Abstract
During the last 60 years, Europe has become a distinct political and economic structure, yet culturally and linguistically it is still very diverse. From Portuguese to Polish and Italian to Icelandic, everyday communication between Europe’s citizens as well as communication in the spheres of business and politics is inevitably confronted by language barriers. The EU’s institutions spend about a billion euros a year on maintaining their policy of multilingualism, i. e., translating texts and interpreting spoken communication. Yet does this have to be such a burden? Modern language technology and linguistic research can make a significant contribution to pulling down these linguistic borders. When combined with intelligent devices and applications, language technology will in the future be able to help Europeans talk easily to each other and do business with each other even if they do not speak a common language.