Exactly, automatically translating everything is as dumb as dubbing movies and series instead of just putting subtitles. This is a reason why a lot of people in Latin America do not speak English, which sets them back on the international job market and makes them unable to progress. While in countries who do not dub English movies or series, people just learn English without any effort from a young age.
Discussion
Also automatic translations can be a little screwy. They typically translate some languages better than others. It’s nice to have the original and the automatic translation visible so you know you’re not just reading something wonkily written in your native language. The original text can sometimes provide context clues if you have any familiarity with the language. And I do like using the ability to follow others in different languages as a way to improve my reading in another language.
Side note: I cherished my copy of Beverly Hillbillies dubbed in Spanish as a kid.
If original text is preserved and shown first, the automatic translation underneath can be a good idea.
And yeah, dubbed movies to learn spanish can be useful, but not for the spanish speaking who do not know English 😅
1899 a show on Netflix uses as a major plot point the characters ability to understand each other. They all start out speaking different languages. Unfortunately someone at Netflix also decided to release it in the US defaulted to being completely dubbed in English. Which adds confusion in later episodes to an already complex plot line. I was so glad I got a heads up about it and was able to change the settings. But I think the dubbing decision might have directly lead to an amazing show being canceled after the first season.
I’m just not a fan of dubbing in general. I prefer subtitles.