24530: Mason Re: 24527: Khelladi dominico-haitian data base and virtual community (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MariLinc@aol.com


Yacine Khelladi wrote:

"We still need to find and integrate automated translation tools for Creole."


Yacine,

I'm sorry to inform you that such tools do not yet exist for Creole.

A few commercial Creole translators use Trados 5.5 up to 6.5 Freelance and
build within it their own Creole translation dictionaries, based upon word
strings they've already translated manually, but this "work-around" -- which still
requires a massive amount of human input -- can scarcely qualify as an
automated Haitian Creole translation solution. And I don't see anything on the
horizon to specifically address the automated translation needs of Haitian Creole,
or any other Creole for that matter.

The person most experienced with serving with this "in-between"
computer-aided translation (CAT) scenario is Féquière Vilsaint of EducaVision in Florida
(educa@aol.com), a fellow Corbetter. He and his team do extraordinary work at
high volume but I believe that Fequiere would be the first to say that he wishes
for a truly dedicated, automated translation tool for Haitian Creole --
beyond the efficacy of Trados, an all-purpose, generic, multilingual translation
solution).


I worked for years trying to bring together the specialists and technologies
to produce such software tools, but -- although many, many folks wanted the
finished product -- few, if any, were willing to spend the money to create such
a product.


For info about this past history, see:

http://hometown.aol.com/mit2usa/Index2.html

http://hometown.aol.com/mit2usa/CorpOff.htm

http://hometown.aol.com/mit2usa/Partners.htm


For the most recent overview article on computer technologies and Creole
languages, see:

MASON, Marilyn & Jeff ALLEN. 2003. "Computing in Creole Languages: The Web
stimulates growth and development of historically oral languages". In
MultiLingual Computing & Technology magazine. Number 53, Vol. 14, Issue 1.
January/February 2003. Pp 24-32: http://www.multilingual.com/masonAllen53.htm


For info on Trados 6.5 Freelance, see:

http://www.trados.com/


Best of luck with the project,

Marilyn

************************************************
Marilyn Mason
P.O. Box 181015
Boston, Massachusetts 02118 USA
Tel: (+1) 617-247-8885
Email: MariLinc@aol.com
Marilyn Mason Bio & Publication List:
http://hometown.aol.com/marilinc/Index3.html
Creole Links Page:
http://hometown.aol.com/mit2haiti/Index4.html
The Creole Clearinghouse:
http://hometown.aol.com/CreoleCH/Index6.html