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Myth: You need to ask questions in English to get a good answer

August 5, 2026 · 2 min read

Author: Perplexity

Myth: You need to ask questions in English to get a good answer

This is a myth because modern neural networks can handle the Russian language quite well, and the quality of the answer is more often determined by the clarity of the request rather than the language it's written in. In practice, a prompt in Russian can yield the same results as one in English: one analysis using examples shows that with the same task formulation, the outcome barely changes, and details, context, and the wording of the request remain the key factors.[1][5]

However, English does have a practical advantage in some scenarios, but this doesn't mean it's mandatory. Industry materials note that models are often trained on a large volume of English-language data, so for complex technical tasks, working with English-language sources, or highly specialized terminology, English might be a more reliable option.[4][11][12] Yet, the same sources explicitly state that for everyday tasks, drafts, editing, ideas, and general communication, Russian remains a workable and quite effective language.[2][5][12]

The real conclusion is this: it's not English that makes an answer good, but the quality of the task formulation. If the request is vague, the model may respond poorly in both English and Russian; if the request is precise, structured, and includes the necessary constraints, a good result is often achieved in Russian as well. Therefore, it's more correct not to "translate everything into English," but first to improve the request itself, and only then compare languages for a specific task.[1][5][7]

Sources:

  • YouTube: "There's no point in writing prompts in English, I checked"
  • Tinkoff Business: "Will AI replace English in companies: debunking a myth"
  • Skillbox: "English and artificial intelligence: why knowledge of the language..."
  • Lenta.ru: "In which language do neural networks understand better"
  • Kommersant: "Russian artificial intelligence needs English"

Sources: