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Will AI put an end to language learning?
Simon Forbes
May 02, 2025
In today’s newsletter:
🔸 Will AI kill language learning?
🔸 A bit of etymology
🔸 language podcasts
Hey Reader. I’ve been keeping busy this week, with another blog article out and another on the way. It was a while ago now, but since the last edition Pope Francis passed away. While you probably knew that, did you also know he spoke 8 languages? A bit of a secret polyglot, he never seemed to make much fuss over that fact.
For any podcast-loving language learners, be sure to check out the web section this week, where I’ve linked to a great repository of hundreds of language podcasts.
Simon
Did you know you can reply to this email? I read every response, and interesting responses can be featured in future editions.
Mondecast Feature 💡: Will AI kill language learning?
Betteridge's Law of Headlines says that the answer is no, and I agree! Over on Mondecast, I recently released an article discussing why we should still learn languages in a world where AI translators will become ubiquitous.
To spoil some of the article: language learning is more popular than ever, and in my view AI language translators will only make it more so. Sound counterintuitive? Read the article here to find out why.
Also, in case you weren’t aware, I also released the Language Library a short while ago, which is a repository of resources similar to what can be found in my guide.
Spotlight 🔦: Sarkey Comics
Sarkey comics has some pretty neat linguistic infographics. Check out an example: the etymology of planet names:
For those with an interest in linguistics, you can also find interesting articles on etymology - How ‘guacamole’ is related to ‘avocado’ and ‘mole’.
From around the web 🌐
One of the themes of Mondecast is people, and part of that includes the different experiences of people from around the world. Steve Burns (from Blue’s Clues) tells about the time he went on a terrible date with a playboy model, a hilarious anecdote that involves him crashing a children’s birthday party.
Languages
Does Inuktitut really have so many words for snow? Turns out it does, and there are lots of languages with unusually high numbers of words for things.
Why do some languages have related words with opposite meanings?
Language Learning
I recently stumbled upon this massive list of podcasts for language learners by Lindsay Does Languages. There is plenty of languages plus some great ones in English for anyone looking for their fix of linguistics.
The world
Did you know tourism to Iraq is a thing again? I think most of us wiped it off the list as a possible tourist destination a while ago, but according to NZZ, since freeing itself from IS, Iraq has been quietly restoring stability. Would you consider it? Let me know!
Geography
How many people do you think are born every hour in India? If you answered “more than 5”, you’d be technically correct but in a way that is somehow worse than just admitting you didn’t know. This visual and article from Visual Capitalist provides an interesting insight into how different countries are growing:
Over 2,600 people are born per hour in India, a number that’s difficult to picture. Imagine them coming out of one hospital. You’d need a fairly big conveyor belt to make that work.
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