worldwide lexicon - ReadWriteWeb http://www.readwriteweb.com/feeds/tag/worldwide lexicon en Copyright 2012 Richard MacManus readwriteweb@gmail.com Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:40:00 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.35-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Firefox Translation Plug-In to Increase Global Dialogue worldwidelexicon_aug09a.jpgYahoo announced its acquisition of Maktoob today in a deal meant to improve programming in areas like the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Wrote VP of Emerging Markets Keith Nillson, "We're committed to responsible global engagement. This means being sensitive to local laws, customs, and norms." As critical thinkers, are we going to sit back in our English-only culture bubbles or do we also want a taste of that global engagement? If you're a Firefox user and you're interested in accessing foreign language sites, you may want to try the Worldwide Lexicon's new Universal Translator Toolbar.

]]> The Worldwide Lexicon is an open-source project that exists to eliminate language barriers using a combination of human and machine translation techniques. ReadWriteWeb reviewed the company in an article on open translation projects. In its latest Universal Translator effort, the group helps translate entire web pages automatically within the browsing experience. The Firefox tool enables project members to create, curate and share translations.

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In June, ReadWriteWeb covered the Google toolbar's translation feature in Internet Explorer. Worldwide Lexicon's browser-based toolbar seems to improve where the Google toolbar leaves off. One of the great features of the Worldwide Lexicon project is that you can correct translations or suggest that a translator improve upon a particular page.

A Russian friend once mentioned that he had a hard time getting entries accepted into Wikipedia because he had a hard time depoliticizing his words. Rather than removing cultural nuances from an article, the Universal Translator gives us a window into an authentic perspective often unlike our own. While no human or machine translation is perfect, this effort is a great step towards bridging truly global dialogue.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/firefox_translation_plug-in_to_increase_global_dia.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/firefox_translation_plug-in_to_increase_global_dia.php Browsers Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:00:00 -0800 Dana Oshiro Changing the World With Open Translation translation_wikipedia_jul09.jpgWhile there are some pretty nifty machine-based language tools out there, no machine will ever trump human translation. Machine-based tools are fine for simple greetings and pleasantries. However, only human translators can help us understand the political and cultural nuances inherent in foreign texts. This is important on two accounts. Firstly, rather than bouncing ideas off a culturally insular echo-chamber, we have a chance to learn from others with distinctly different view points. And secondly, for the first time ever, world history moves from being a confined regional fact to an evolving and diverse discussion.

]]> Human translation lets us address collective global issues while also seeing the negative and positive impact of our choices. For this reason a number of groups have come forward to produce open translation (or crowd sourced translation) projects. Here are just a few of those efforts:

1. Project Lingua: This service aims to reduce language barriers on the web. With Project Lingua, volunteers translate alternative media sources from citizen journalists on the Global Voices network.

2. Worldwide Lexicon: This project first parses information with machine translators and real humans review the translations to ensure they are accurate. From here, the group republishes the sites in a number of languages in order to encourage cross-cultural dialogue. The group also built Der Mundo - what WWL describes as a "general purpose translation community for blog and RSS feeds."

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3. WikiProject Echo: WikiProject Echo is a program where volunteer translators contribute their efforts to expanding the scope of Wikipedia. Volunteers will certainly have their hands full translating this amount of data as the site advertises 2.9 million English articles alone.


4. TED Open Translation Project: For polyglots, the TED Open Translation Project is a great way to practice superior language skills while contributing to a cause-worthy project. We're big fans of this educational series. All translators and reviewers are credited on the web page for a talk they've translated as with the above Arabic translation.

5. Cucumis: Cucumis also employs volunteer translators and all translation is thoroughly peer-reviewed. Once a translator's work is accepted, they receive points. The points are redeemable for translations from others within the community.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/changing_the_world_with_open_translation.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/changing_the_world_with_open_translation.php Crowdsourcing Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:00:00 -0800 Dana Oshiro