CVmListMDF0001 { Header { 0 English Portuguese M2 DOCUMENT_OPTIONS { Ž ߩ Ÿ ž߸ Ų ž Ŷ ų߲ ű Ūߨ߲ ű } } Data { H H H H H H H H H H H $ # $The Babel Fish # $Machine Translation and The Universal Translator # $ # $In the comic science fiction novel by Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the main character, Arthur Dent, finds an unusual device inside a spaceship. # $ He discovers a dispenser for a Babel fish, which can be inserted in the ear. # $ It allows the instantaneous comprehension of foreign languages. # $ The Babel Fish is the biological version of the universal translator. # $ This translator is found in many science fiction films and television programs. # $ The universal translators in science fiction are usually an aid to the plot. # $ The author avoids problems with many alien languages in every program. # $ Nevertheless, these universal translators represent a real hope. # $ In the future, machine translation may liberate the human race from a great number of dangerous barriers to knowledge and to communication. # $ # $There are several conflicting opinions concerning the possible success of machine translation. # $ Many people believe that machine translation will not be able to achieve the goal of automatic translation of every language. # $ Machine translation is a branch of artificial intelligence. # $ Those people believe that computers will not be able to think as human beings and they do not believe in machine translation. # $ Others believe that artificial intelligence is possible in the same way that artificial flight is possible: # $ an airplane does not fly like a bird, but an airplane does fly. # $ In the same way, a computer does not need to think like a human; # $ it can achieve the same results. # $ Still others believe that computers will eventually be able to perform all the mental tasks that we now consider exclusively human. # $ # $In the present, machine translation is making slow progress toward the day when everyone will be able to understand each other. # $ This goal is extremely important in the modern world. # $ Global communications and world-wide commerce require communication in many different languages for governments, businesses and scientific institutions. # $ They need speed and accuracy in the translation of a great number of important documents. # $ Some historians believe that wars start because leaders have not communicated. # $ In the Bible, God punishes human beings. # $ He destroys the tower of Babel and He multiplies the number of languages. # $ Some ancient philosophers discovered that the inability of nations to understand each other was a cause of grave problems. # $ Since the biblical era, these problems have troubled humanity. # $ If machine translation would solve these problems, everyone would have a better life. # $ Perhaps machine translation will become the Babel fish for the modern world. # $ # $Dr. David E. #Dr. David E. *3 $ Clements, Globalink, Inc., 1997 # Clements, Globalink, Inc., 1997 *3 } }