When in international chat rooms, often there are people having conversations in a language you don't understand. I propose that new tools (yahoo, cuseeme, msn, icq, etc) should give the capability to the user to tag specific nicks (users) as "translate this user from <Language X> to <Language Y>".
I see the interface dealing with this more or less the same way that you can currently mute/filter specific users so you don't see what they write/say. Further, the untranslated chat would always appear in the main window, but a second window would pop up that has the translated chat.
In the guts of the code, i see this implemented as hooks to the various online translators through a standard API. (Just as, for instance, you can use various CDDB online locations in your CD playing tools) The benefit of using the online tools instead of having it hard coded is obvious - you don't have to upgrade your software as the translators get better and better or add new languages to their repetoire.
Of course, this doesn't address the current situation of the online translators doing a less than perfect job, but hey, you're not writing legal documents - you're trying to follow and informal conversation. For this purpose, many online translators do an adequate job.
I think this should go under the halfbakery category Culture:Online, but there doesn't appear to be such a category. yet.-- cameron, Nov 14 2002 Google Language Tools http://www.google.c...anguage_tools?hl=en [phoenix, Oct 17 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004] Trillian SDK http://www.trillian.cc/dev/index.phpTrillian supports all the major chat services, and has an SDK that would let you add features like this to it. Might be an interesting project for someone. [krelnik, Oct 17 2004] Patent Application http://slashdot.org...html?tid=155&tid=99It's such a good idea, Microsoft is trying to patent it! [AntiQuark, Oct 17 2004] Using i am now that. Not good so much it is.-- tyskland, Nov 14 2002 [tsykland] - you using a Yoda translator?-- sild, Nov 14 2002 //you don't have to upgrade your software as the translators get better and better or add new languages to their repetoire//>br>mmmm, yes you do, in this sense: Simply upgrading to the latest free version of whatever, otherwise newer lexicons won't be at your disposal.-- thumbwax, Nov 14 2002 We are all square. We are all squares.-- lubbit, Nov 14 2002 One entertaining thing I've noted comes out in international chats is how onomatopoeia vary in different languages. For instance what an English speaking person would write as "ha ha" is often "je je" to Europeans. I wonder if the translating software handles that sort of stuff?-- krelnik, Nov 14 2002 thumbwax - sure whole lexicons can be at your disposal without software upgrades if the API is designed correctly. When using the translate facility, the software first polls the relevant online location for the languages it supports. The software knows what languages are supported until you kill the app or switch translation servers.
The translation ability isn't in the local software - it's all contained at the translation server. You don't need an upgrade of the local software to add a new language.-- cameron, Nov 16 2002 antiquark, please remove your link and take it over to the link button to your left and under the idea teaxt.-- po, Jul 05 2003 I need a translator to figure out what people mean when they are speaking MY language. (i guess that'd be an explainalator)-- oxen crossing, Jul 05 2003 random, halfbakery