[Human] Lanaguage translation

[François Pinard]

"Jason Cunliffe" <jasonic at nomadicsltd.com> writes:

> Does anyone have any ideas for language translation using Python?

A lot, but none is simple!

> I welcome any comments from others about this topic and ways to acheive
> dynamic translation with Python.

Keep me posted about your progress, at least.  Make your sources available.
>From my viewpoint, automatic translation looks like an extremely difficult
task, but I would be extremely happy being proven wrong... :-)


P.S. - It reminds me Donald Knuth's `Art of Computer Programming', vol I.
The last sentence of the `Notes on the exercises', page xix, reads:

   3. [M50] Prove that when n is an integer, n > 2, the equation
   x^n + y^n = z^n has no solution in positive integers x, y, z.

With an earlier explanation for "50":

   A research problem which (to the author's knowledge at the tie of writing)
   has not been solved satisfactorily.  If the reader has found an answer to
   this problem, he is urged to write it up for publication; furthermore, the
   author of this book would appreciate hearing about the solution as soon as
   possible (provided it is correct)!

I found that pretty humorous at the time, as at the time Knuth wrote this,
there was an open contest, with a substantial money prize, to anyone who
would bring a solution to this problem.  The prize was later withdrawn,
a few years before a proof was found.  (So far that I heard about this.)


The parallel is that anyone solving the natural language translation
problem satisfactorily might, with some entrepreneurship, become rich now
and forever known!  So yes, please publish the Python code! :-) :-)

-- 
François Pinard   http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~pinard