Today, I tried to download Debabbler, the Machine Translator, through the page in Delicious. I followed the instruction, went to the destination, and got access to the link by touching the object. But the link was proved invalid and there was no other means to download Debabbler. So I searched Google and found another SL translator called “Ferd’s free translator”.
The translator, which was based on Google translation, worked well when translating English texts into Chinese. It could meet the basic need of inter-language communication as long as the typing of texts was in complete and strict form (shown in tips below). Some slangs and colloquial words in common use such as “awesome”, “cool” could be perfectly translated into Chinese.
Yet there were still several disturbing errors. For instance, it translated the sentence “I am a kiwi.” into “I am a kiwifruit.” in Chinese, for the probable reason that it had not included into its database the idiomatic word “kiwi” to indicate “New Zealand native”. Besides, unnecessary attention was paid to trifles. Some abbreviation like “IBM” remained its English form while being translated (which conformed to Chinese convention on foreign expressions), but was attached label to elaborate the detailed information of the company. The software seemed to lack of recognition of daily abbreviations such as “C U tmr.” or “R U alright?” which reduced the translating efficiency and hindered the popularization of this MT software.
I mean, the label to IBM seems redundant as over 99% of Chinese people who log on Internet know what it represents while the lack of recognition of daily abbreviations is indeed a barrier for communication. My suggestion is that more efforts should be made to better off the recognition of daily abbreviations and buzzwords so that language barriers can be lessened.
Here are the tips for using Ferd’s free translator:
Machine translation has stricter rules than the general language. Machine translation requires you to write texts that are easily comprehensible. It is an undeniable fact: Texts that are easily comprehensible are also easily translatable. Machine translation systems produce much better results if you write carefully. This is a list of ten rules to get the best results from your translator. Write sentences that are short and direct. The translator asks Google to detect the language of the text. The translator displays the quality score of the translation. The translator sends the text to the Google Translate engine. The translator displays the translated text. Do not write: The translator will ask Google to detect the language, then it will graph it, translate it, and print the result. Write sentences that express only one idea. Writing a sentence for easy comprehension simplifies the translation process. This enables machine translation systems to produce better results. Do not write: Better result are made by writing in a easy to comprehend style, that enables machine translation to produce better results. Write the same sentence if you want to express the same content. Type /1 to translator a private IM to you. Type /2 to translate a private IM to others. Do not write: Type /1 and /2 to translate text to and from other people. Write sentences that are grammatically complete Do you wish to continue into the main grid of Second Life? Do not write: Want to go now? Write sentences that have a simple grammatical structure. Show that you can organize your thoughts by using a simple sentence structure in your texts. Do not write: You, in your texts, to show that you can organize your thoughts, should use a simple sentence structure. Write sentences in the active form I will send a list of questions to the staff. Do not write: A list of questions will be sent to the staff. Write sentences that repeat the noun instead of using a pronoun. Avoid 'it'. You must check the spelling of your text before you press the enter key. Do not write: You must check the spelling of your text before sending it. Write sentences that use articles to identify nouns. We need to test the translator. Do not write: Test translation. Write sentences that use words from a general dictionary. Avoid ambiguity. Do not write: Eschew obfuscation. Write sentences that use only words with correct spelling. Texts that contain spelling mistakes complicate the translation process. Do not write: Texts that contein speling misstakes complicate the translation procces.
I also tried the voice interpreter Ferd’s chat to speech but failed to work it out. I could hear the instruction through my headset yet could not get my voice translated. I was wondering whether it was the glitch of microphone or that of software setting. I am to try the software again on Tuesday afternoon! Wish there will be some luck for me!
Can that machine translate rome English to Thai?
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