English
Latest
Pandora's Tower gets an English trailer from Nintendo of Europe
Don't get too excited -- there's still no North American release of Pandora's Tower to speak of. But in the meantime you can still enjoy this (kind of gross) English trailer for the Japanese export, coming out April 13 on the Wii in Europe.
Researchers find fewer words being added to languages, fewer ways to tell you precisely that
What if one of the words in this post means absolutely nothing in the year 2094? It's possible, and more possible than ever before. That's according to recently published research from a group at the Institutions Markets Technologies' Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies in Italy, who have found that fewer new words are being added to languages today than in eras prior. Despite the proliferation of the internet and untold new ways to communicate, more and more words are being eliminated while fewer words replace them. It's hard to pinpoint the exact reason(s) why, but most gurus suggest that reliance on rigid spellcheck tools and the rise of short-form communication have made it less necessary to find new ways to say things. You can read more on the findings there in the source link, where we're sure master wordsmiths will be saddened by the lack of descriptive flair.
Microsoft demos vocal translator at TechFest 2012, uses your own dulcet tones (video)
Microsoft has demonstrated new software that can pull together real-time multilingual vocal translations using your own voice. Monolingual TTS currently handles 26 different languages, although it's not instant just yet -- it takes about an hour of training to get the experimental software acquainted with your own utterances. Demonstrated at Microsoft's TechFest 2012 showcase, the software can even mix up foreign language pronunciation of place names with directions in your native tongue. It also complements those efforts with a 3D image of your head, animating your lips along to the foreign words you'd otherwise butcher. See how an algorithm-educated floating head handles Mandarin -- and how it's all done -- right after the break.
Windows 8 to bring better language support, finally including English
In addition to better file management, accessibility and that all important new logo, Redmond's engineers are also promising improved language support in Windows 8. So far, Microsoft admits it's seen this as a "local-market feature," putting the onus on non-English users to track down special copies of the OS or language packs online. But the new OS will bring a friendlier philosophy, in which multilingual support is regarded as a "feature for everyone everywhere" and the Control Panel becomes a "one-stop place" to find and install any of 109 different idioms. These will include 13 new interface packs, allowing commonly used Windows features to be displayed in Scottish Gaelic, Punjabi, Uyghur, Cherokee and other tongues listed at the source link. Lastly, there'll also be one entirely new display language: English for the United Kingdom, with Old World spellings and the eternal blessing of David Mitchell (after the break). [Thanks, Rahul]
Google Translate app update adds handwriting recognition, breaks barriers
The Google Translate app for Android received a pretty significant update yesterday, bringing handwriting recognition to its bullpen of functionalities. The app, which added voice recognition back in October, can now recognize handwriting in seven different languages, including English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. It's probably most important, however, for Chinese- and Japanese-speaking contingents, who can now use their handsets to translate characters that aren't typically featured on English keypads. The update to version 2.3 is available now, at the source link below.
Google Translate for Android gets v2.2 update, adds more language support for speech-to-speech
Let the voice recognition battle begin! Siri's already thrown the first punch in the soon-to-be dicey (albeit very consumer friendly) voice service wars, but don't count Google out just yet. The folks over at Mountain View are doing their best to strike back, adding extra functionality to the Google Translate app for Android. So, what's new in this version 2.2 upgrade? The company's expanded the app's previously limited speech-to-speech repertoire with support for an additional 12 languages, accessible via the alpha-tagged Conversation Mode. And to prevent you from any awkward (and potentially hilarious) moments of unintended translation, there's now a post-edit ability to keep those two-way foreign exchanges PG. Alright, so it's not quite the hands-free, HAL-like cyber assistant update we'd like it to be, but there's always Ice Cream Sandwich for that -- we hope. In the meantime, go ahead and hit up the source below to test out the experimental wares for yourself or check out a video demo of Conversation Mode after the break.
Alibaba to launch English version of Aliyun OS this month, tablet by November
Alibaba is just beginning its long and arduous journey into the field of mobile domination, but it's already looking to expand its sphere of influence beyond China to tackle the OS giants. Merely a few weeks after announcing its Aliyun OS, the company has spilled the beans on its plans for the immediate future, which include launching an English version of the platform this month and pushing a tablet to the market within the next two. Details on pricing, release time frame and partnerships are scarce -- the K-Touch W700 wasn't specifically mentioned, either -- but Alibaba confirmed it's currently in talks with global hardware vendors. Baidu, care to offer another rebuttal? You've got a slot at seventh place to protect.
'Retweet,' 'sexting' added to Oxford English Dictionary, alongside words that are actually words
Every so often, Chuzzlewitt, Figglesworth and the rest of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary's Council of Elders gather around a stone in Puddingshire, where they come up with ways to modernize the English language. New words are added, archaic ones are cut, goats are sacrificed. It's all very messy -- especially when internet lingo gets involved, as is so often the case. It's no different this year, with the latest class of inductees including words like "retweet," "sexting," and "cyberbullying." Also making the cut is "woot" (which is apparently spelled without zeroes) and "surveil," which was added primarily as a reflection of today's privacy-conscious society. In fact, the dictionary's purveyors say they make their decisions based not on intuition or cage match results, but on cultural ubiquity, which they gauge using a database of more than two billion words culled from contemporary sites. So if you're wondering why words like "jeggings" and "mankini" are now part of the English tome, you have only the internet to blame.
Microsoft, Baidu strike China search deal
When it wanted to increase its search market share in the US, Microsoft sought out a partnership, resulting in a Yahoo-branded engine with Bing-flavored results. So, it seems natural that the company would look for a similar deal in China, the world's largest market, where the company only manages a presence of around one-percent of search. This time, however, Microsoft's managed a deal with the number one search engine, Baidu, which currently lays claim to three-quarters of the Chinese market -- far greater than Google's 20-percent or so. Baidu and MS announced a deal this week that will put Redmond in charge of English searches on the site. No money changed hands with the deal -- Baidu gets advertising revenue, Microsoft gets a larger slice of China's search pie, and we get an excuse to do an image search for Steve Ballmer on a Chinese search engine.
Aeria Games announces Golden Age
A new contender in the field of MMO real-time strategy titles has appeared: Golden Age. If you're all about constructing castles, building up armies, and clashing in epic battles, Aeria Games is hoping that this title will sate your bloodlust. As players commit warfare against each other and computer-controlled enemies, Golden Age allows bystanders to participate as well. Players can vote for their favorite army when a battle convenes, and the army with the most votes gets bonus soldiers for the fight. When not fighting, players will build up their fortresses using over 20 types of structures and also talk to inhabitants of the town to see whether any of them has a quest for you to do. Aeria Games promises that the browser-based Golden Age will be free-to-play and will be released with both English and Spanish translations. You can check out the teaser site and register for the beta now. We give you permission -- just finish your vegetables first.
OMG, FYI, and LOL enter Oxford English Dictionary, foreshadow the apocalypse
In an acknowledgement of the internet's overwhelming influence on the triviality we sometimes refer to as "real life," the Oxford English Dictionary doyens have decided to add a few of the web's favorite pronouncements to their lexicon. Among them are the standouts OMG, LOL and FYI, joining their compatriots IMHO and BFF among the proud number of officially sanctioned initialisms (abbreviations contracted to the initials of their words) used in the English language. Shockingly enough, the expression OMG has had its history tracked all the way back to 1917, while LOL used to mean "little old lady" back in the '60s, and FYI first showed up in corporate lingo in 1941. Not only that, but the heart symbol -- not the <3 emoticon, the actual ♥ graphic -- has also made it in. Just so long as Beliebers and fanpires are kept out, there's still hope for the future. A tiny, twinkling ember of a hope.
Kinect used to teach in South African primary school
Microsoft is giving primary school kids in South Africa a chance at a real hands-off education. Classrooms at Lakeside Park Primary, in the Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal district (yes, it's a Natal project) are being equipped with Kinect cameras and Xbox 360s as part of a Microsoft initiative, in order to encourage English use in the classroom. "Shy learners, who take months to speak up in class in their mother tongue – let alone in English, were already shouting out to classmates to 'jump' and 'duck' with no inhibition," Lakeside Park Primary Deputy Principal Karen Kirsten explained. According to XboxGaming, the Kinect and its English-language games are used to reduce the affective filter involved in learning and speaking English, so it can be better used as the teaching language in the classroom. As a bonus, it teaches valuable mime skills.
Black Prophecy throws a European open beta shindig
Put up or shut up. Lock and load. Light the fires and kick the tires. Warp speed now, mister! Whatever phrase gets you in the mood for some good ol' fashioned space dogfighting, dust it off and get it ready for use. Gamigo's announced that Black Prophecy has launched its open beta for European participants. While Black Prophecy has been in closed beta in both North America and Europe, this new phase of testing represents the first time the game's been available to everyone. In anticipation for the rush to check it out, gamigo's opened two open beta servers in Europe: Kemmura (English) and Shinava (German). To help new pilots get settled into the war, gamigo's provided a starting guide on the community forums with information about setting up an account, how to play, and how to post bug reports. With the NDA down and the open beta starting, Black Prophecy's launch hopefully isn't far away. In the meanwhile, check out our first impressions of the game, and let us know what you think when you give it a whirl!
Trion Worlds posts RIFT's official server list
With a little over a day until RIFT's head start kicks off the live version of the game, community anticipation is high for Trion World's dynamic brainchild. Players have been waiting for specific details of the list of server names and rulesets to pick their in-game home -- details that are now answered. On the RIFT forums, Community Manager Abigale finally posted a full list of the servers available for the game's launch. The list includes 17 US and 12 European servers, associated with PvE, PvP, PvP-RP and RP types. The European servers also are categorized according to language: French, English and German. The team is planning to release specific forums for each servers, but in the meanwhile you can check out the full list after the jump.
Forsaken World to be unleashed March 23rd
Looking for new vistas to explore, for untamed MMO wilds to colonize? Perfect World Entertainment hopes that you'll give its upcoming free-to-play title Forsaken World a shot, as the company just announced its March 23rd release date. Forsaken World will be simultaneously launched in North America and Europe with English, German and French versions. PWE's Director of Marketing, Jonathan Belliss, thinks the game should appeal to these regions: "Forsaken World is one of our most impressive games to date. With vast devotion from our talents and contribution from our players, this game was built from the ground up with the western gamers in mind. We're very excited to finally be releasing Forsaken World and a huge thanks goes out to our beta testing community for providing us with such great feedbacks." Forsaken World is an MMO that features both the familiar and the unusual (such as floating guild halls), and has been praised by testers for its performance and interesting classes. If you're looking to get to know the game a bit better, hit the jump to watch PWE's third developer diary covering locations and dungeons (here are the first and second videos, if you need to catch up).
PALRO robot masters English, will never shut up again (video)
When first we saw Fujisoft's PALRO robot doing its thing we were charmed but, as it didn't speak English, we had to adore it from afar. No longer. The little critter has obviously mastered our language quite quickly and can be seen below chatting with an even more robotic humanoid about such idle things as the weather, career aspirations, and just how great PALRO is. How great is PALRO? PALRO is really great -- but humble. Inside that barrel chest is a full-fledged PC with an Atom Z530 processor, 4GB of flash storage, and an Ubuntu kernel keeping everything in check. It's available as ever for educational and research institutions for about $3,600, but we're trying to get one ourselves. If we can get it to type prepare yourselves for many more posts about software based on real Japanese cutting-edge technology.
Google Translate for Android turns one, introduces experimental Conversation Mode (video)
We know very well what Google considers beta -- after all, Gmail, Docs, and Calendar all shared that status until mid-2009 -- but here's a chance to check out an experiment from Mountain View that's "still in its earliest stages." Google Translate for Android is celebrating its first birthday this month, and to celebrate, an update will be pushed out offering a number of UI tweaks as well as an alpha version of Conversation Mode. Never heard of it? A demo was given at IFA 2010, but in case you're still in the dark, it essentially lets two speakers talk to one another in their respective native tongues while the app speaks real-time translations. Right now it'll only do English and Spanish -- and even then expect some hiccups with "regional accents, background noise or rapid speech" -- but the Babel fish has to start somewhere. Need more dialects / languages? Be patient, get a job for Google, or better yet, seek gainful employment with NIST / DARPA. Video from the IFA presentation is after the break and starts around the 26-minute mark.
Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers receiving fan translation
Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is a game originally released back in 1997 for the Sega Saturn in Japan. It was a sequel to Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner, itself a game within the same Megami Tensei universe inhabited by the Persona series. Publisher Atlus has tried a few times to bring the title to the states, but Sony hasn't yet allowed it, so a group of fans calling itself "Devil Hackers" is working on a fan-made translation of the title, playable on the PSP. You can watch a "teaser trailer" of the translation after the break -- but someone needs to translate the word "teaser" for the Devil Hackers, because it's thirteen minutes long. Assuming things work themselves out, fans interested in playing the game in English should get their chance soon.
Dissidia 012 [duodecim] trailer full of feats (also, some feet)
Here's the latest trailer out of Japan for the upcoming Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy, featuring lots of Final Fantasy-flavored fighting and fan service. Make sure to turn on captions (not that they'll help), and stay tuned at 4:38 to see some feet that fans claim belong to Yuna.
Word Lens hands-on: Does it really translate text in real-time?
Word Lens hit the store with a bang, promising real-time translation of signs, menus, and any other text your camera can capture. Does the augmented-reality app work? Somewhat, yes. Is it the future? Definitely. We're just not there yet. I'll let the images in the gallery tell the story. But first, a quick rundown of what to expect when you download this free app. Using Word Lens It is fun to point your camera at text in the real world and see the iPhone start replacing text. There's your future part. Character recognition flops all over the place if you don't hold your hand steady, of course, but when you hit the pause button Word Lens snaps a pic and analyzes the text it has captured. There's a little camera control you can use, including a camera light (for when you're at Casa Bonita), basic zoom and focusing square (on supported iPhones like the 3GS, 4 and 4th-gen touch running iOS 4). With the $0.99 entry fee you get two demo modes: reverse text and erase text. Erasing text is hilarious. Reversing it gives you a headache. If you pay $4.99 you download the Spanish-to-English dictionary leading to the real usefulness of the app. Does it really work? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Photo Tests To test Word Lens, I picked three Spanish-language signs from Flickr to translate. Photo 1 is a warning sign along the US-Mexico border warning of exposure if a crossing is attempted. Cuidado means caution or take care. Now see the first result from Word Lens as it tried to translate while the camera was not paused. Here's attempt number two from the gallery, also showing real-time results. In neither case has the video been paused as a photo for analysis. Photo 2 is a sign from a men's restroom in Xalapa. Translated, it means "if you're going to vomit, put your hands here." Here's the Word Lens version: "IF WILL TO VOMIT FAVOUR OF PUT THE HANDS HERE." The picture on the right shows how Word lens underlines the letters/words it replaced. In this case, I did pause the camera and gave the app time to think. Photo 3 is an elevator sign found in Spain which reads, "Warning don't get close to the entrance. Prevent children from using the lift alone." Well, it used to. Instead the letters have been scratched off so it now says "You get close to the entrance, encourage children to go down alone." Word Lens translated this to say what you see in this screenshot. Kinda funny, but a tough challenge. The underlined words again show you the things which were translated. The Verdict Overall, Word Lens does an impressive job of recognizing characters. Its Spanish dictionary suffers a bit, and it is not performing advanced translations as Google would (not that Google Translate is perfect by any means). However, as a first step it is really impressive. If Word Lens was tied into a more powerful translating service, it would be magical. It's pretty close already. %Gallery-111602%
