Google Translate: Will this new function kill foreign rights?

L.J. Sellers · 05-26-2011, 11:04 AM

I thought this was a fascinating article. The translation technology is still in development, but at some point it could seriously affect sales of translation rights. Another blow to major publishers?

http://www.futurebook.net/content/go...ublishers-pass

Sil_liS · 05-26-2011, 11:33 AM

It might simplify things. If an author wants to sell a book in a different country where there aren't many people reading in foreign languages, he/she wouldn't be bound by the need to contact a local publisher to get the book translated.

This might be a great thing against georestrictions.

rogue_librarian · 05-26-2011, 11:57 AM

Machine translation is nowhere near ready for prime time yet. I don't see literature, in the broadest sense, being translated by machines for quite some time to come.

susan_cassidy · 05-26-2011, 12:06 PM

Have you ever read anything machine-translated? I used to work for a software translation company, and the most important thing is using different dictionaries for different contexts. Not to bad for machine translations of manuals, and that sort of thing, but literature covers the gamut of topics, and would be virtually impossible to get any sort of close translation for a novel, at least in the near future.

Plus, different languages present different challenges in machine translation.

RainingLemur · 05-26-2011, 12:12 PM

Machine translation has a ways to go before it's really able to fully translate a novel properly.

mr ploppy · 05-26-2011, 12:20 PM

I do not think a machine translated read anything that made sense not a book of anywhere.

khalleron · 05-26-2011, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I do not think a machine translated read anything that made sense not a book of anywhere.

LOL.

Adding useless verbiage for the silly length requirements.

John F · 05-26-2011, 01:14 PM

My prediction: Google will implement it, and the published won't allow it (like TTS and lending).

HarryT · 05-26-2011, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

Machine translation is nowhere near ready for prime time yet. I don't see literature, in the broadest sense, being translated by machines for quite some time to come.

Absolutely. Machine translation is no more a threat to proper translations than TTS is to audiobooks.

ardeegee · 05-26-2011, 01:56 PM

You can get a taste of machine translation by picking one of the BBC alternate language pages:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/languages/index.shtml

and running it through Google's web site translation tool:

http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en

I picked French, which is pretty darn similar to English compared to some of the other language choices, and I end up with phrases like this:

"It was on the pace of the fanfare and under the protection of the honor guard that the president has crossed the lawn of the gardens of the queen."

AnemicOak · 05-26-2011, 02:01 PM

Dreams had a post in our Anna Karenina discussion comparing Google Translate to the Pevear/Volokhonsky and Garnett translations...

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...0&postcount=23

tomsem · 05-26-2011, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardeegee

You can get a taste of machine translation by picking one of the BBC alternate language pages:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/languages/index.shtml

and running it through Google's web site translation tool:

http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en

I picked French, which is pretty darn similar to English compared to some of the other language choices, and I end up with phrases like this:

"It was on the pace of the fanfare and under the protection of the honor guard that the president has crossed the lawn of the gardens of the queen."

Hey, not bad! Better than many native speakers can put together...

BTW, just use Chrome. Translation is just a click away.

OtterBooks · 05-26-2011, 02:16 PM

due to the complexity of idiom, colloquialisms, and other such things, decent translation will require near-sentient AI educated in the culture and language of the respective material. At that point we won't be far off from hiding out in underground bunkers as killer robots roam the earth, anyway.

TGS · 05-26-2011, 03:45 PM

All of the above is true, but it would be a mistake to assess the state of the art of machine translation on the basis of the pig's ear, (albeit, useful pig's ear), that Google Translate makes of it.

ardeegee · 05-26-2011, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGS

All of the above is true, but it would be a mistake to assess the state of the art of machine translation on the basis of the pig's ear, (albeit, useful pig's ear), that Google Translate makes of it.

Google has deep pockets and big, forward-looking ambitions. Don't you think that if there was machine translation that was much better, they would have acquired it by now?

05-26-2011, 11:04 AM	#1
L.J. Sellers Novelist Posts: 287 Karma: 387979 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Eugene, Oregon Device: Kindle	Google Translate: Will this new function kill foreign rights? I thought this was a fascinating article. The translation technology is still in development, but at some point it could seriously affect sales of translation rights. Another blow to major publishers? http://www.futurebook.net/content/go...ublishers-pass

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05-26-2011, 11:33 AM	#2
Sil_liS Wizard Posts: 4,896 Karma: 33602910 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: PocketBook 903 & 360+	It might simplify things. If an author wants to sell a book in a different country where there aren't many people reading in foreign languages, he/she wouldn't be bound by the need to contact a local publisher to get the book translated. This might be a great thing against georestrictions.

05-26-2011, 11:57 AM	#3
rogue_librarian Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 4269175 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Europe Device: Pocketbook Basic 613	Machine translation is nowhere near ready for prime time yet. I don't see literature, in the broadest sense, being translated by machines for quite some time to come.

05-26-2011, 12:06 PM	#4
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	Have you ever read anything machine-translated? I used to work for a software translation company, and the most important thing is using different dictionaries for different contexts. Not to bad for machine translations of manuals, and that sort of thing, but literature covers the gamut of topics, and would be virtually impossible to get any sort of close translation for a novel, at least in the near future. Plus, different languages present different challenges in machine translation.

05-26-2011, 12:12 PM	#5
RainingLemur Spork Connoisseur Posts: 2,355 Karma: 16780603 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Nook Color	Machine translation has a ways to go before it's really able to fully translate a novel properly.

05-26-2011, 12:20 PM	#6
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	I do not think a machine translated read anything that made sense not a book of anywhere.

05-26-2011, 01:14 PM	#8
John F Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,209 Karma: 64074939 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo Glo HD	My prediction: Google will implement it, and the published won't allow it (like TTS and lending).

05-26-2011, 01:56 PM	#10
ardeegee Maratus speciosus butt Posts: 3,292 Karma: 1162698 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-350	You can get a taste of machine translation by picking one of the BBC alternate language pages: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/languages/index.shtml and running it through Google's web site translation tool: http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en I picked French, which is pretty darn similar to English compared to some of the other language choices, and I end up with phrases like this: "It was on the pace of the fanfare and under the protection of the honor guard that the president has crossed the lawn of the gardens of the queen."

05-26-2011, 02:01 PM	#11
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Dreams had a post in our Anna Karenina discussion comparing Google Translate to the Pevear/Volokhonsky and Garnett translations... https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...0&postcount=23

05-26-2011, 02:16 PM	#13
OtterBooks Wizard Posts: 1,262 Karma: 2979086 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kindle 4, iPad Mini/Retina	due to the complexity of idiom, colloquialisms, and other such things, decent translation will require near-sentient AI educated in the culture and language of the respective material. At that point we won't be far off from hiding out in underground bunkers as killer robots roam the earth, anyway.

05-26-2011, 03:45 PM	#14
TGS Country Member Posts: 9,058 Karma: 7676767 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Liseuse: Irex DR800. PRS 505 in the house, and the missus has an iPad.	All of the above is true, but it would be a mistake to assess the state of the art of machine translation on the basis of the pig's ear, (albeit, useful pig's ear), that Google Translate makes of it.

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