Bloque A - Text 2 · Inglés PAU Andalucía Ordinaria Suplente 2023

TEXT 2: SANAS CAN CHANGE YOUR ACCENT

1 English is the world's most widely used language. An estimated 1.5 billion people speak it, and most of them aren't native

2 speakers. In the United States alone, millions of people speak English as a second language. A new company called Sanas is

3 testing out artificial intelligence-powered software that aims to eliminate miscommunication by changing people's accents in real

4 time. A call center worker in the Philippines, for example, could speak normally into the microphone and end up sounding more

5 like someone from Kansas to a customer on the other end. The American accent sounds somewhat artificial, Siri-like, but they are

6 working on improving the technology. The idea is that, rather than learning to pronounce words differently, you could have

7 technology do it for you. And understanding would be nearly instantaneous.

8 The three founders of Sanas met at Stanford University, but they're all from different countries originally. All three say they've

9 experienced over the years how accents can get in the way. "We all come from international backgrounds. We've seen firsthand

10 how people treat you differently just because of the way you speak," Maxim Serebryakov, one of the founders, says. He also

11 remarks that people's accents and identities can be closely linked, and he stresses that the company isn't trying to erase accents

12 or imply that one way of speaking is better than another.

13 Eventually, they hope the app they're developing will be used by a variety of industries and individuals. It could help doctors

14 better understand patients. Someday, they say, it could also assist language learners and improve dubbing in movies. It could

15 even help smart speakers in homes and voice assistants in cars understand different accents.

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

9. According to the text, the majority of English speakers...

10. According to the text, Sanas...

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT, OR USE YOUR OWN WORDS. (0.5 points each)

11. Sanas technology has succeeded in replicating the sound of a real human accent.

TRUE

FALSE

12. According to the text, Sanas considers some accents superior to others.

TRUE

FALSE

13. The film industry is likely to benefit from software like Sanas.

TRUE

FALSE

14. Sanas might be used as an aid to improve the performance of home devices.

TRUE

FALSE

15. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)

15.1.

15.2.

16. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)

16.1.

16.2.