Translation of a content item

A system comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored therein instructions that when executed cause the processor to:
• obtain a user profile for a reader of the content item, the user profile comprising a native language of the reader, a second language of the reader and skill level associated with the second language;
• obtain the content item, wherein the content item is in the second language;
• create a translated content item by:
• determining, for each phrase in the content item, a confidence score that the reader will understand the phrase based at least in part on the user profile;
• and
• replacing each phrase in the content item having the confidence score less than a threshold level with an alternate phrase, wherein at least one of the replaced phrases is a cultural analog of the phrase in the native language, wherein the cultural analog is obtained from a database of cultural analog phrases that is created and updated based on input from advanced speakers of both the native and the second language;
• and
• present the translated content item to the reader, wherein the alternate phrase is presented using a different format from a remaining text of the translated content item and wherein the phrase that was replaced is displayed to the reader based upon the reader clicking on the alternate phrase,
• wherein the skill level associated with the second language is determined by a machine learning system observing the user's attempt to read in the second language.

A computer program product for translating a content item, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to:

• obtain a user profile for a reader of the content item, the user profile comprising a native language of the reader, a second language of the reader and skill level associated with the second language;
• obtain the content item, wherein the content item is in the second language;
• create a translated content item by:
• determining, for each phrase in the content item, a confidence score that the reader will understand the phrase based at least in part on the user profile;
• and
• replacing each phrase in the content item having the confidence score less than a threshold level with an alternate phrase, wherein at least one of the replaced phrases is a cultural analog of the phrase in the native language, wherein the cultural analog is obtained from a database of cultural analog phrases that is created and updated based on input from advanced speakers of both the native and the second language;
• and
• present the translated content item to the reader, wherein the alternate phrase is presented using a different format from a remaining text of the translated content item and wherein the phrase that was replaced is displayed to the reader based upon the reader clicking on the alternate phrase,
• wherein the skill level associated with the second language is determined by a machine learning system observing the user's attempt to read in the second language.