machine translation
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Google gives us some insight on the inner workings of Google Translate
Google may have started out as a search engine, but the scope of its services has grown considerably in the 10-plus years since its origin. Of the many products in its grand stable, Google Translate has become a workhorse platform, lending its multi-lingual chops to Chrome, Google +, Android, iOS, Gmail, and even Google eBooks. Few of Google's other services can claim to serve the company's core mission "to organize the world's info and make it accessible" as well as the digital interpreter. Since many take Translate's prodigious powers for granted (guilty), we figured a quick history lesson was in order. So, join us after the break for a video interview with one of Translate's senior software engineers and let him hit you with some knowledge about its origins and operation.
Google adds Esperanto as its 64th machine translatable language
Esperanto isn't just something Microsoft uses to tease Google for abandoning video codecs, it's a legitimate, manufactured language. Created in the late 1800's by Dr. Ludwig L. Zamenhof, Esperanto was designed to be an easy to learn language that would help folks from all over the world understand each other. Seeing as how Google Translate shares similar goals, the Mountain View firm felt Zamenhof's homemade tongue would be the perfect fit for its machine translation service. Despite a rather small sample size of pre-existing translated material to feed the Google language machine, the firm says Google Translate handled Esperanto surprisingly well -- partially crediting the language's learner friendly construction for the service's success. Sure, it may not be the most useful addition Google Translate's ever seen, but hey, it gets us one step closer to watching cult classics like Incubus without the subtitles. What's that, you haven't heard of William Shatner's pre-Star Trek, all Esperanto romp? Crack open your machine translator and head past the break, then.
Google Translate API gets reprieve, servers will accept cash for interpreter duties
Last month, Google said it intended to pull the plug on a variety of APIs, including one rather curious pick -- Google Translate, which had actually been getting so much use that it was allegedly causing an "economic burden" for the company. Well, it seems Google got in touch with its capitalistic roots, because the Translate API won't be depreciated after all. Following a public outcry, Mountain View's announced that it'll create a paid version as soon as possible. Hear it from the horse's Google API Product Manager's mouth at our source link.
Google Translate gets Doug E. Fresh-approved Beatbox button
We still don't believe that machines (or machine translation, for that matter) will ever replace the artistry that beatbox pioneers like Doug E. Fresh, Darren Robinson (RIP), or that guy from the Police Academy movies brought to the table, but it is nice to see Google acknowledging the wonderfully percussive nature of the German language phrase "pv zk pv pv zk pv zk kz zk pv pv pv zk pv zk zk pzk pzk pvzkpkzvpvzk kkkkkk bsch". [Thanks, benhc911]
Word Lens augmented reality app instantly translates whatever you point it at
Augmented reality and optical character recognition have just come into their own, beautifully intertwined into an instant translation app for the iPhone. Download Word Lens, pay $4.99 for a language pack, then point it at a sign and watch as it replaces every word with one in your native tongue. It's a little bit like Pleco, but without the whole language learning stuff. We just gave it a spin, and while it's not quite as accurate as this video claims, it's still breathtaking to behold -- especially as it doesn't require an internet connection to do any lookup. Sadly, it only translates to and from English and Spanish for now. Still, Babelfish, eat your heart out. Update: Looks like it only works on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and the latest iPod touch for now.
Google Translate proves beatboxing is a universal language
Hilarious translations? That's yesterday's news. Google Translate's latest trick is beatboxing, yet another talent once normally reserved for humans but perfected by machines. Don't believe us? Head to site, select German to German translation, paste in the following bit of gibberish, and press the listen button. pv zk pv pv zk pv zk kz zk pv pv pv zk pv zk zk pzk pzk pvzkpkzvpvzk kkkkkk bsch Best of all, you can experiment with different strings of text and various languages to your heart's content. Feel free to post your best results in the comments below.
