Fans of the long-running sci-fi show Star Trek will need no introduction to the universal translator. The device instantly interprets almost any language, earthly or alien, into (US) English. Chinese must have been a doddle for the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

Alas, for everyday business purposes we are not yet at the universal translator stage. Millions of pounds have been poured into the development of automatic translation systems but human capabilities are still superior. Anyone who has used internet translations will vouch for that.