From: norbert@apple.com (Norbert Lindenberg)
Newsgroups: ba.seminars,comp.sys.mac.programmer,comp.std.internat,sci.lang.japan
Subject: IMUG meeting 11/19/92 - Computer-Assisted Translation
Date: 13 Nov 92 02:22:16 GMT
Followup-To: ba.seminars
Distribution: ba
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA

Group:      International Macintosh Users Group (IMUG)
            (A Forum for Multilingual / Multiscript Computing)
Date:       November 19, 1992, 7-9 p.m.
Speaker:    Merle Tenney (Claris Corp.)
Topic:      Computer-Assisted Translation and Its Implications
            for International Software Engineering
Location:   Apple Computer, Inc., 10500 N. De Anza Blvd. ("De Anza 3"),
            Cupertino
            Take Saratoga-Sunnyvale exit off 280 (that's 85 South -
            NOT North), turn onto 85 South into Cupertino. Turn left
            into Mariani Avenue, then right onto parking lot. Be there
            before 7 p.m. - visitors need to be escorted into the
            building by Apple employees.
Admission:  $2, free for IMUG members (membership $15/year)
Contact:    Roger Sherman, (415) 859-5146

Machine Translation (MT) is a term that refers to the automatic
translation of human languages.  It has a long, if not distinguished,
history among the branches of computer science, going back over
forty years.  Over time, the goal of fully automatic, high-quality
MT began giving way to the nearer-term goal of Computer-Assisted
Translation (CAT), where humans and computers cooperate-to varying
degrees and at various places-to achieve the desired translations.
MT and CAT are not disjoint concepts: MT is merely the most fully
automated of the approaches comprised by CAT.
 
The CAT field can be divided into distinct approaches using criteria
such as whether the source text is available online, whether the
translation is affected at the term level or the sentence level,
whether a human translator interacts with the translation tool during
the translation process, etc.  Mr. Tenney will discuss the inherent
differences between the different approaches, the state of the art in
each area, and the major players in the field today. He will also
discuss the implications of CAT for international software-both in
adding functionality to text-based or educational applications and in
localizing software and documentation for applications in general.
 
Mr. Tenney has been involved in CAT since the early seventies.  He
worked on the Interactive Translation System developed at Brigham
Young University.  He also worked for two commercial developers of
CAT-Weidner and Automated Language Processing Systems.  More recently,
he has worked on various proofing and reference tools at Lexpertise
and Microlytics.  He is currently serving as the Manager of
International Engineering at Claris, with responsibilities for
localization support and implementing linguistic technologies into
Claris products.

                        ***

The International Macintosh Users Group (IMUG) is a forum organized to
promote greater use of languages other than English on the major computer
platforms - Macintosh, IBM-compatibles, etc.

Topics of interest discussed at IMUG meetings (every third Thursday of the
month) include:
    fonts, character sets, and encoding schemes
    development, localization, and marketing / distribution issues
    specific products available for various languages, including
        programs for learning foreign languages.
Xref: sparky ba.seminars:689 comp.ai:4218 talk.environment:4545