Some Popular Misconceptions about MT

False:
MT is a waste of time because you will never make a machine that can translate Shakespeare.
False:
There was/is an MT system which translated The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak into the Russian equivalent of The vodka is good, but the steak is lousy, and hydraulic ram into the French equivalent of water goat. MT is useless.
False:
Generally, the quality  of translation you can get from an MT system is very low. This makes them useless in practice.
False:
MT threatens the jobs of translators.
False:
The Japanese have developed a system that you can talk to on the phone. It translates what you say into Japanese, and translates the other speaker's replies into English.
False:
There is an amazing South American Indian language with a structure of such logical perfection that it solves the problem of designing MT systems.
False:
MT systems are machines, and buying an MT system should be very much like buying a car.






Andy Way CA
1998-10-08