Learn a Foreign Language Before It’s Too Late学外语不宜晚

AI translators may seem wondrous but they also erode a major part of what it is to be human.

AI翻译看起来了不起，却正慢慢消磨掉很大一部分生而为人的意义。

A few weeks ago， my very dear Italian friend Benedetto Scimemi passed away， and I spent hours writing heartfelt emails of condolence to all the members of his family. It happens that I lived in Italy for nearly three years and， on top of that， my two children and I have spoken Italian for 30 years as our family language， so my Italian is very fluent and comfortable—but， even so， it is not the Italian of a native speaker. In writing those difficult and emotional emails， I was constantly adjusting my words and phrases， lovingly remembering Benedetto and all the wonderful things we had done together， and pushing my Italian to its very limits. It took me perhaps two or three times as long as it would have taken me in English， but I did it with all my heart. I was proud of myself and of the manner in which， over decades， I had come to be able to express myself clearly， strongly， and with a deeply felt voice in a tongue that was not my mother tongue.

几周前，我亲爱的意大利朋友贝内代托·希梅米走了，我花了好几个小时写了一封电子邮件，由衷地向他的每个家人表达了哀悼之情。（剩余8069字）