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News about new translation tools.
Wikipedia Busts the Language Barrier
May 17th
If you have ever pored over the Wikipedia entry “Conspiracy theory”, you may think you know what it is like to go through the looking glass. But have you read all there is to know about UFOs in Spanish? Or Hebrew? To unlock such strange information, Brent Hecht of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and colleagues have created Omnipedia, a software system that lets users browse topics from up to 25 Wikipedia language editions at once.
“There is so much information out there that isn’t in your native language, some of which reflects cultural viewpoints,” says team member Patti Bao.
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Duluth’s Phrazer Maker Sees Room For Device And Human Interpreters
May 15th
A Duluth-based company’s multilingual medical device won’t necessarily put human interpreters out of business, its inventor says.
“Our device is all about providing extreme accuracy and very timely service,” said Mat Johnson, founder and CEO of GeaCom Inc., which produces a device called the Phrazer out of the seventh floor of the Dewitt-Seitz building in Canal Park. “I could see the Phrazer and interpreters working together.”
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Understanding the difference between translation and interpreting
May 14th
Effective translation and interpreting are both vital assets to global businesses looking to seek growth in rapidly expanding economies, such as Brazil, China and India.
Effective translation and interpreting are both vital assets to global businesses looking to seek growth in rapidly expanding economies, such as Brazil, China and India. However, there are many distinct differences between these two disciplines and it’s important to establish the right service for your needs when embarking on a multilingual project.
Put most simply, translation deals with the written word, while interpreting deals with the spoken word. Translators and interpreters are not interchangeable, and the two disciplines are very different. Each is a profession in its own right and specialists hold different skills, expertise and specializations.
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How Can Small Businesses Compete Globally?
May 9th
Business is not what it used to be.
While in the past it may have been acceptable practice for a small or medium-sized business to cater only to its native language market, it is no longer the case. From the onset, small businesses are already at a disadvantage. Whether the company relies on boot-strapping or bank loans to cover expenses, resources are extremely limited, and profits may not even be seen for years. Add on top of that a bad economy, an over-crowded marketplace, difficulty in finding local clients, rising interest and tax rates, etc., and it seems like there is no way a small business can succeed.
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Google Translate To Include Kyrgyz
May 4th
The online Google Translate service will begin translating to and from Kyrgyz this fall, Ene Til (Mother Tongue) Project manager Atai Zhunushov said May 2.
“We’ve finished the first phase of the project, in which we sent Google managers 1.2m words,” he said. “But that isn’t enough for Google Translate to translate Kyrgyz. Google managers recommended we build up the Kyrgyz-language content in Wikipedia.”
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Pinterest Is Crowdsourcing The Site’s Translation
May 3rd
Starting off with Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Portuguese
By Josh Wolford
Pinterest wants to translate their site into other languages and they are seeking translators to assist them.
Here’s what they had to say in a blog post:
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Ackuna Translation App Takes Off
May 3rd
Ackuna, the free translation crowdsource application has recently started to pick up momentum amongst the tech community. Ackuna launched just a few weeks ago, and already it is generating buzz with articles featured in Mashable, Solid Gadgets and TPNTech.
Many people who have tried Ackuna have given it rave reviews as a viable alternative to machine translators such as Yahoo Babelfish or Google Translate.
Fun With Google Translate
May 1st
Google is known for its “Easter Eggs“; secret or hidden images that appear if you type a certain phrase in the search bar.
Google Translate is no different. Although some of the ones below may or may not be intended, they can still provide some fun the next time you are bored and tired of Google-ing yourself.
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New Native Language App Starts Small, With Animal Names in Four Tongues
May 1st
A new American Indian language app hit the iTunes store January 20 that features translations of animal names from English to Diné, Lakota, Mvskoke and Ponca. The menu screen offers a choice of four languages. Once a language is chosen, a short list of animals appears from which to choose. Clicking on the animal produces a photo of the animal, the English and Native language word for that animal and a button that allows the user to hear the word pronounced in the Native language.
But some users have responded negatively on iTunes reviews. One commentator, spec24, wrote on February 3: “14 animals and that’s your app? Come on, do these languages some justice.” There are 14 animals represented in the app in the Lakota language; 18 for Mvskoke, 19 for Ponca and 20 for Diné.
Google Translate Boasts of 200 Million Monthly Users
Apr 27th
Google’s popular web-based language translation platform aptly dubbed Google Translate is a very popular online destination from desktop and mobile devices alike.
According to an announcement today from the Internet search giant, Google Translate now sees 200 million users… monthly. Lumped into the mix are numerous users across the globe who turn to the service routinely for no shortage of reasons and with exceptional frequency.
In fact, every day Google helps translate roughly as much text as that which is found in 1 million books.
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