Today (I wrote this text on the 30th of June, 2024), I will explain how Estonia inspired me.
My beloved Kamilka and I were in Estonia between the 9th and 18th of June, 2024. I’ve already written a text I performed in Estonia, an unobvious experiment regarding eating. Still, the Baltic country inspired me in another way. While hearing the Estonian language and reading their words, I realized that I am waiting for glasses/lenses to be available that translate everything one sees into the language of one’s choice. What’s more, I’m waiting for headphones that will translate the language we hear into another language of our choice. Who will make such devices? I’m betting on Google or Apple. It seems to me that such a thing will be created in a matter of time.
Much more difficult will be the creation of a speech synthesizer that will translate a person’s thoughts into a language through which I would like to communicate with another person, knowing what language the interlocutor speaks.
Such thoughts will be in Estonia. While reading and hearing the Estonian language, I had no idea what these people wanted to communicate. Of course, it was not the first time I had such an experience. For example, while in Hungary, I had similar thoughts a few times. While writing all these things, I realized that the experience of struggling to understand a foreign, unknown language in real time is not unique to me. Native English speakers have the same feelings as me while hearing or reading the Polish language.
Only single words could probably be understandable because we Poles also have some words taken from Western languages, including German, French, and English. Still, tools to bridge this shared experience could be helpful for millions of people, and I have no doubts that the first who establishes such tools will gain a mighty fortune. The potential for financial success in developing such technology is immense, and it gives me hope for the future. That’s how one of the Baltic states inspired me.
