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Real-Time Computer-Based Translation in Iraq
[TheBORG] writes "The U.S. military has been testing software on laptops that translate English to Arabic and Arabic to English to have conversations with Iraqis without the need to have a Arabic linguist on hand. 'This year the military's Joint Forces Command has been testing laptops with such software in Iraq. When someone speaks into a microphone attached to the computer, the machine translates it into Arabic and reads that translation aloud over the PC's speakers. The software then translates the Arabic speaker's response and utters it in English.'" (See this related story from last year about this daunting machine-translation task.)
I realize we throw Arabic speakers out of the military because they're gay and all, but maybe we could make an exception because their skills are necessary at present.
Do you really think there are enough a)Arabic-speaking b)openly c)gay soldiers in the military, to make a difference? I bet you could count them all on two hands.
I think the military's policy is pretty stupid. However, I think if soldiers truly cared about "serving their country"(in quotes because I'm tired of "fighting in Iraq" = "defending freedom" in public discourse) above all else, they simply wouldn't tell the military they were gay. I'd also suspect that those that DO care about fighting for their country simply DO clam up and get the job done.
Please help metamoderate.
1. Inflection and emphasis of some words over others
This is very important. Ever have somebody tell you "It's not what you say, it's how you say it"? It's true.
2. Colloquial expressions and figures of speech.
Right now, I'm looking at this book filled with conversational Arabic expressions I picked up in the U.A.E., most of which make absolutely no sense when translated into English. Do you know what "The son of a duck is a floater" means? Neither will U.S. troops or this device.
3. Body language
Many Arabic speakers in particular gesticulate while they speak. It is just part of their cultural identity and often, the body language is just as important as what is being said. U.S. troops in the field won't understand the importance of what they see, let alone what they hear, and this device certainly won't help them with that either.
This is just what I could think of in a minute or so. I'm sure there are many more fundamental problems with using the translation device. Note that with a real live translator, most of these problems are avoided. If the U.S. military kept its Arabic translators in their ranks instead of firing them based on their sexual orientation then maybe they wouldn't have to resort to these ridiculous devices.
Actually we just can't cram soldiers through the Defense Language Institute's Arabic programs fast enough. It takes at minimum a year to achieve a basic conversational proficiency.
I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
The article starts:
"One day, a U.S. soldier entering tense situations without the assistance of an Arabic interpreter might rely on two-way translation software in mobile computers."
The idea of occupation forces in Iraq relying on machine translations is frightening. I don't believe it will work, but that is only the start of my concerns. We're not talking about translating technical conversations, or asking where the bathrooms are. We're talking about frighteed 19 year olds who are afraid of each other. How could Americans expect a machine translation to make up for our near total ignorance of other cultures? It's hubris to imagine that a technical fix can bridge the gap between societies that have developed independently for more than *thousand years*.
On Wednesday, the Wasington Post reported that of 12,000 FBI special agents, only 33 have even limited proficiency in speaking Arabic. The FBI's screening process turns away people who have had a lot of exposure to foreigners!
We're terrible at understanding other cultures. That's the downside of growing up surrounded by oceans. A liberal arts education is supposed to help with that, but even my expensively educated friends and I don't speak other languages or spend much time abroad. How could we think we can "bring democracy" to another culture?
I know, I know, I'm ranting. It's just a dumb idea some desk jockey in the Pentagon came up with when his boss told him to "do something." But why aren't people laughing?
Don't mess with The Phone Company. Piss them off and you'll be using two tin cans and a piece of string.
For those who do not understand the reference, the expression "my hovercraft is full of eels" is part of the hungarian translation book sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus. It happens to be here on youtube.
r ianPhrasebookSketch:
Or in text from http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/python/Scripts/TheHunga
A Hungarian tourist (John Cleese) approaches the clerk (Terry Jones). The
tourist is reading haltingly from a phrase book.
Hungarian: I will not buy this record, it is scratched.
Clerk: Sorry?
Hungarian I will not buy this record, it is scratched.
Clerk: Uh, no, no, no. This is a tobacconist's.
Hungarian: Ah! I will not buy this *tobacconist's*, it is scratched.
Clerk: No, no, no, no. Tobacco...um...cigarettes (holds up a pack).
Hungarian: Ya! See-gar-ets! Ya! Uh...My hovercraft is full of eels.
Clerk: Sorry?
Hungarian: My hovercraft (pantomimes puffing a cigarette)...is full of eels
(pretends to strike a match).
Clerk: Ahh, matches!
Hungarian: Ya! Ya! Ya! Ya! Do you waaaaant...do you waaaaaant...to come
back to my place, bouncy bouncy?
Clerk: Here, I don't think you're using that thing right.
Hungarian: You great poof.
Clerk: That'll be six and six, please.
Hungarian: If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?
I...I am no longer infected.
Clerk: Uh, may I, uh...(takes phrase book, flips through it)...Costs six and
six...ah, here we are. (speaks weird Hungarian-sounding words)
Hungarian punches the clerk.
Meanwhile, a policeman (Graham Chapman) on a quiet street cups his ear as if
hearing a cry of distress. He sprints for many blocks and finally enters the
tobacconist's.
Cop: What's going on here then?
Hungarian: Ah. You have beautiful thighs.
Cop: (looks down at himself) WHAT?!?
Clerk: He hit me!
Hungarian: Drop your panties, Sir William; I cannot wait 'til lunchtime.
(points at clerk)
Cop: RIGHT!!! (drags Hungarian away by the arm)
Hungarian: (indignantly) My nipples explode with delight!
Another typical "news" story that has anything BUT news in it. The writer obviously has never heard of SpeechGear. http://speechgear.com/
I don't speak your crazy moon language.
The phrase "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." is a Groucho Marx quote. I'm not sure of the original context, but it is an example of how English (or any other natural language) is notoriously difficult to handle. For example, the sentence "Time flies like an arrow." may be justifiably interpreted in a variety of ways:
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
On a more serious sidenote, it is indeed interesting to know that the "Arabic numerals" are actually called "Indian numerals" in Arab countries.
A monkey is doing the real work for me.
The dismissal of this many Arabic-speaking military linguists *has* had an enormous impact on the military's ability to function efficiently in the Middle Eastern theatre. Believe it or not, the Army is now recruiting linguists on Craigslist with the following ad:
I have also seen a classified ad from the Washington Post from the U.S. military, seeking Arabic linguists (among others) for training and employment. Clearly, discharging all those Arabic-speaking members of the military because of their sexual orientation was foolish, to say the least.
As for the argument that these soldiers should just "clam up" and "not tell the military" they are gay, many LGBQ people would love to serve their country this way. However, you should go to the previously mentioned Servicemembers' Legal Defense Network website at http://www.sldn.org/ to read about the everyday harassment, "witch hunts," and physical and emotional violence inflicted upon gay people by the military in violation of its own "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rules. I think you would be extremely surprised to find out how many servicemen have been killed in the past five years by members of their own divisions/units; the Armed Forced do not exactly issue press releases every time something like this happens. The bottom line is that the vast majority of LGBQ soldiers are forced out against their will, as they try to be quiet and inconspicuous and to serve their country.
That's because you make the mistake of assuming that "She's dead!" is a simple sentence. Not only does it imply precedent knowledge on someone's part, which is handled differently in different languages, but it also involves the use of the copula (is), which doesn't always work the same way as it does in English. For example, the French is "Elle est morte!" (subject) (copula) (verb past). On the other hand, Japanese has "kanojo wa shindeiru" (topic) (topic marker) (verb continuative). (As an aside, this is illogical in Japanese; shinu (to die) is a "state action"; it is either on, or off. As odd as it sounds, it is impossible to be "in the process of dying" in Japanese. (You say other things, like "coming towards death", and such.)
The point of going through this in this seemingly pedantic level of detail is to show that when it comes to language, simple is rarely ever simple. We just take the construction of our native language for granted.
Going back to school for entry-level jobs?
For the clueless and impatient
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The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F