translate

Google Translate bug mixes up Heath Ledger, Tom Cruise

UPDATE: Google representatives informed CNET News.com on Thursday that this "internal issue with Google Translate" has been fixed.

Gawker has unearthed a rather odd bug in the Google Translate software: its English-to-Spanish translator converts the name of the actor Heath Ledger, who died tragically on Tuesday, to the name of another actor--Tom Cruise. So if you enter in "I will miss Heath Ledger," Google Translate will come back with "Voy a perder Tom Cruise."

This looks like a simple bug in the system, perhaps the work of a bored Googler somewhere in the … Read more

Facebook moves into international translation efforts

As has been long expected, Facebook has begun to work on making its service available in multiple languages as it expands internationally--and it's doing so by utilizing the power of its millions of users by enlisting them to volunteer a few minutes. The site has spent the past few weeks asking international users to participate in the process by installing a "Translation" application that lets them translate words on Facebook from English to their native languages. It only applies, of course, to Facebook-generated text; anything entered by users, like interests or favorite movies, remain as-is.

The Translation … Read more

One step closer to a universal translator

SpeechGear's Compadre suite of translation software brings us one step closer the sci-fi ideal of a universal translator. The full suite of five programs gives you the ability to instantly translate anything you see, hear, or read into a ton of languages, including Spanish, German, Dutch, Iraqi, Chinese, Japanese, and more.

The most exciting portion of the software is Interact, which lets you have a near-real-time conversation with a speaker of a foreign language. You and your conversant simply speak into a microphone that's connected to your computer; the program uses voice recognition, machine translation, and speech synthesis … Read more

On a new site, letters to China from well-wishers and discontents

DearChina.org is a new site where people can cry out to the great Chinese "other" and ask it to be more sustainable. Its sentiment is admirable. "Not about criticism," according to the introductory blurb, "It's about recognizing the fact that China will play a major role in determining the possibility for a sustainable world."

The submissions, all 19 of which as I write are in English, are translated into Chinese and displayed side-to-side. Many are heart-felt and imbued with some sort of desperate positivity:

Dear China, Don't do it. Don't … Read more

Google Talk gets translation services (via robots)

Any jokes about Google becoming a self-aware, humanity-destroying robot got a little closer to fruition yesterday. Google Talk (download the desktop widget), Google's homemade Jabber-based chat client, is now host to 24 (and counting) new translation bots that will take whatever text you throw at it and convert it to the appropriate language. Each of the bots was built with an open protocol called XMPP that lets anyone build their own bots and share them on the Google Talk network--as long as you've got some place to host them.

The new bots become particularly useful if you invite … Read more

NEC's one-way phone translation software

Be prepared to enter into a monolog with NEC's translation software for mobile phones. Why? Because it's capable of translating only verbal Japanese to English text, and not the other way around. What this basically means is that, if you are a Japanese tourist in an English-speaking country, chances are you won't be able to understand the answer to your question even if a local managed to decipher what you are asking from your phone's screen. Sounds silly to us, but we have to give credit to NEC for solving half the equation.

(Source: Crave Asia) … Read more

Keypad translates texting gibberish

Take heart, hapless Boomers. As unbelievable as it may seem, there's actually some technology beneficial to your aging generation other than keyboards with letters big enough for eye examination charts.

U.K.-based Cre8txt has developed a keypad that supposedly translates the IM slang of your literacy-challenged prodigy into the King's English, according to Shiny Shiny. When communication inevitably breaks down, just have Junior plug the device into his USB port and peck away, a la SMS. What comes out on the other end will, at least in theory, be a language that parents can comprehend.

The downside: … Read more

Facebook to get lost (or found) in translation? Signs point to 'oui'

The Financial Times reported on Sunday that Facebook is working to make its rabidly popular social-networking site available in languages other than English. It's been known for quite some time that translation has been on the company's radar as it expands beyond its U.S. roots--executives have mentioned it amorphously in speeches and panels--so there is very little "real news" here other than the fact that the Financial Times story indicates that there may be evidence that this translation project is a major priority.

Nevertheless, Facebook has been unclear about timing, and has not released any … Read more

Copier translates languages on the fly

OK, so maybe wood engraving isn't exactly the kind of advancement in desktop printers that we've all been waiting for. This one is esoteric as well, but there are probably a few more people who will find it a bit more useful: It translates while making copies.

Fuji Xerox has developed a prototype that can scan Japanese text and print it out in translated English, Chinese or Korean without changing the layout of the original page. "Fuji Xerox's secret lies in networking the unnamed copier to a dedicated translation server and combining this with algorithms that … Read more