Monday, September 13, 2010

Can computer translate?

Electronic engineers dream of translating languages on a computer. Why not? It would certainly save a lot of time and effort at international congresses.
A small gadget already exists. It looks like a pocket calculator. At the touch of a button it tells you how to say simple words in four different languages.
But it is very limited.
The problem is that a computer cannot think for itself. You can teach it words, you cab teach it grammatical structures. But how, for example, do you teach it to interpret a figurative use of language?
Imagine a spokesman at the United Nations: 'My President is hungry for news'.
The computer translation might be: 'My President wants to eat the newspaper'.

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