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TranslinGO! Translation Software
Using the powerful ATLAS translation engine with a 200,000-word dictionary, I have yet to subject it to a page it hasn't been able to unveil in no less than 3 ways. In Page mode, it maintains layout, graphics, and links, translating all text [not including words that are independent graphics], and displays it in five available ways. If you don't want to wait for the full page, you can set it to display in progress. In Outline mode you get a quickly scanable set of headlines, lists and links. Clipboard mode allows you to select only the parts you want to reveal. You can also get TranslinGO Plus [$158 US] and gain the added ability to input English words into Japanese search engines and have them translated so that Japanese web sites can be searched. So does it work? The best results come from news and business sites that stick to standard Japanese words and usage. Pop culture articles use slang which it sometimes doesn't recognize. In such cases, or with katakana it doesn't know, TL gives you a warning and transliteration into Western letters with which you may be able to work on your own. In almost all cases there is enough translated that you can figure things out. In addition, sometimes names end up as their meanings instead of the name itself! The real issue, however, is the grammar. TL generally turns out sentences that make more sense than ones by programs, which don't consider grammar, but it still churns up some that take two or three readings to figure out. This is often because kanji have multiple shades and meanings, especially when compounded, and you may have to try a few synonyms to get the right sense of some words TL gives you. At this point, there is no program that can fully substitute for personal, hands-on knowledge of a language, but TranslinGO does great service for those of us who are still on the way to better proficiency with our Japanese. Version 2.0 benefits over 1.0 with a much smoother program interface, larger dictionary, faster translation, and ability to translate a page without having to reload it before beginning work; not to mention power access to Japanese search engines in the Plus pack. Website: http://software.fujitsu.com/jp/lingo/index-e.html. System Requirements: Pentium, Windows 95/98 or NT 4, 16 MB RAM [24 if using active desktop], 55 MB drive space [62 for Plus], CD-ROM, and Internet Explorer 3+ or Netscape Navigator 4+. Browsers and Multilanguage support come on CD. Reviewed by James Standen Taylor |
There are two schools of thought on how software should translate. One does not rearrange the words out of Japanese grammatical order. The other translates words and reorders them into English grammatical order. This can result in bizarre sentences, though less strange than programs which don't make the attempt. Some claim their non-arranging versions are better, because if you know Japanese grammar you can rearrange it yourself, which may be useful if the suggested grammatical rearrangement doesn't make sense. TranslinGO [$98 US] gives an already arranged version for those who don't know how to do the grammar work.
TranslinGO installs without a problem and comes on as a small floating toolbar. You can set it to automatically translate, but I advise you use the translation button to maintain control over which pages are translated. The translating adds time to your surfing, depending on the complexity of the site, which can be a few seconds, to upwards of half a minute. Considering this takes much longer by hand, it's hardly a negative point!