Wondering what the resident techies think of the breakthrough reported here.
There goes my daughter's job. I wonder if it will translate the obscenities she had to learn for her job....
Does not compute.
Error, Will Robinson... Error!
I read that when they first tested this thing they arranged a demonstration, and asked for someone to give the an English phrase to translate into Russian. Someone suggested "Out of sight, out of mind.". They fed it in and it spit out the Russian translation. Then someone suggested reversing the process, so they fed the answer, in Russian back into the machine and it translated it into "Blind idiot."
So, when do we get our Universal Translator? According to Trek lore, I thing it will be around 2150.
The test for such a machine is to translate back from the target language into the original language.
Rumor has it that when the 701 started with the English phrase 'out of sight, out of mind' was translated into Russian, then back into English it responded, in typical Russian mind set, with 'invisible insanity"....
The (oversimplified) problem with machine translation is that a simple Dictionary 2 Ditctionary solution is not sufficient.
Words put into phrases, changes in 'tense', and thus varrying forms of conjugation across languages all come into play. (and as mentioned dialects, slang, and general 'misspellings')
An XML 'language' object database for each known lauguage will eventually be the key I feel.
Even then it would take an immense amount of logic to breakdown one language and build it up into another in realtime.. that is if such xml databases existed. It could be done on YOUR PC, but would be expensive to run a website that offered such a service to any large number of people.
Bable fish anyone?
i could use the french version.
Just think. If this technology had been available a few decades ago, Teresa wouldn't be cruising around in The Flying Squirrel.