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http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/15/7393665/skype-translator-featuresquote:Microsoft’s Skype software will start translating voice calls between people today. As part of a preview program, Skype Translator makes it possible for English and Spanish speakers to communicate in their native language, without having to learn a new one. It sounds like magic , but it’s the result of years of work from Microsoft’s research team and Skype to provide an early working copy of software that could help change the way the world communicates in the future. Link to the sign-up, I have no idea if that code actually does anything at all: http://www.skype.com/en/translator-preview/ Demo (English-German): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rek3jjbYRLo This is probably old news for some of you, but I just discovered this, and goddamn I'm pumped. Even if this first offering is subpar and rife with mistranslations and bugs, if this even works mostly as advertised it'll be amazing. While the demo video shows some delay in the translation and a lot of awkward silent stares while the program translates, it's still a big leap forward. Right now it's supporting 2 spoken languages and over 40 written--where's this technology gonna be in 10 years? This is some straight-up sci-fi poo poo and it's awesome. We're already shrinking the world daily in terms of travel and communication; this is gonna be great for people who have, say, foreign family but don't speak the language. If this technology ends up taking off in a big way, I wonder what effects it'll have on translators. I could easily see this technology being polished to the point that 20-30 years from now we'll see a decline in demand for actual human translators. poo poo, make it reliable enough and you could sell a system to the UN to hold their meetings with. I don't think translators are going away anytime soon, but is there anything they offer that a fluent, instant translator app couldn't? Also, I wonder what effects we'd see on language and language education if this catches on. I don't think anyone will stop learning languages, but if everyone can use an app on their computer/phone to do business most places in the world, expectations or requirements might be more relaxed.
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Dec 16, 2014 03:03
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 22:22 |
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Gas este hilo y prohibir el cartel original
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Dec 16, 2014 03:07
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Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring "i'm gay""
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Dec 16, 2014 03:10
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Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
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Dec 16, 2014 03:10
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One of my exes is in grad school now to become a translator so this is excellent news.
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Dec 16, 2014 03:18
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this will bring about some hilarious mistranslations so I'm all for it
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Dec 16, 2014 03:20
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StashAugustine posted:i'm gay
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Dec 16, 2014 03:20
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Son of Thunderbeast posted:If this technology ends up taking off in a big way, I wonder what effects it'll have on translators. I could easily see this technology being polished to the point that 20-30 years from now we'll see a decline in demand for actual human translators. poo poo, make it reliable enough and you could sell a system to the UN to hold their meetings with. I don't think translators are going away anytime soon, but is there anything they offer that a fluent, instant translator app couldn't? We're not gonna have perfect translation until we understand how humans understand language, so I can't see this being used at the UN where are wrong word could set two countries at odds. Even if you know how humans understand language, you then have to replicate it, and that's really hard, because so much of our understanding comes from outside knowledge that we apply. Take a example like someone pointing at a baseball bat and saying "That's a nice bat!" The computer has to not only be able to understand the intricacies of language, but that the image shows a baseball bat as opposed to a flying bat. I can certainly see this is useful for the general public, tho.
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Dec 16, 2014 03:40
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 22:22 |
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Son of Thunderbeast posted:If this technology ends up taking off in a big way, I wonder what effects it'll have on translators. I could easily see this technology being polished to the point that 20-30 years from now we'll see a decline in demand for actual human translators. poo poo, make it reliable enough and you could sell a system to the UN to hold their meetings with. I don't think translators are going away anytime soon, but is there anything they offer that a fluent, instant translator app couldn't? there is more to human language and translation that a 1 to 1 replacement code you empty nutsack
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Dec 16, 2014 03:50
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