From: Greg Jordan (jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu)
Date: Mon Mar 10 2003 - 10:47:54 MST
An even better machine translation would be able to understand allusions,
metaphors, nonstandard language, etc. the same way humans do and translate
them the same way human translators do. It would need to participate in
human speech behaviors on a grand scale, so it would be familiar with
typical errors and freshly-minted neologisms. Maybe it could even decide
to correct bad style or to translate it into equivalent bad style.
gej
resourcesoftheworld.org
jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu
On Fri, 7 Mar 2003, spike66 wrote:
> Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 20:05:31 -0800
> From: spike66 <spike66@attbi.com>
> Reply-To: extropians@extropy.org
> To: extropians@extropy.org
> Subject: language abuse and machine translation
>
> In this forum I have decried the practice of
> nonstandard language use for the reason that
> soon now machines will be advanced enough to
> do realtime translations using speech recognition
> and a simple sort of table-lookup style
> substitution. The overuse of obscure allusions
> and verbing, among other language bad habits,
> will delay practical machine translation, as
> well as interfere with machines' ability to
> understand humans.
>
> A good speech recognition program would be
> able to identify parts of speech and make
> educated guesses as to what the human meant
> in those cases where phrases sound alike.
> Example: "recognize speech" sounds a lot like
> "wreck a nice beach."
>
> A good translator program would need to have
> an extensive slang library, but of course some
> words come into use that would confuse any
> software, such as the word synergy.
>
> Today I heard a manager say "I am trying to
> create synergism." Since the program under-
> stands slang, it would translate into another
> language as "I am trying to create the
> seminal fluid of a person who commits moral
> or ethical transgressions."
>
> We need newspeak. Before it's too late.
>
> spike
>
>
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