I’m preparing for a lecture on the history of machine translation, and my father is helping me by sharing his memories of the field’s development.
In 1982, there was a huge (and hugely important) international conference on machine translation held in Moscow. I’m sure you all know how tense things were between the two major organizers of the Cold War. So when the North American scholars arrived at the conference, everything they did and said was analyzed under a microscope on both sides.
My father was a young, promising scholar in the field of applied linguistics who was making the best use he could of his perfect English (which was an impossible rarity in the Soviet Union.) Coupled with his Jewish last name that made his origins confusing, my father’s American accent often attracted people who thought he was a fellow American. “Ah, it’s so great to see a fellow Texan here!” he would often be told. “I’m from Dallas. You?”
So my father spent all his time with the North American scholars. After the panel meetings, he went to the university cafeteria with a group of American scientists who were all in their seventies. After the meal, my father decided to take a walk around downtown Moscow. Soon, however, he started feeling really bad. Remaining conscious was an effort, and he was in excruciating pain. He ended up hospitalized and discovered that the North American scholars were all at the same hospital in critical condition.
The BBC immediately released a report, “A terrorist act or KGB’s provocation? Why is the USSR poisoning American scholars?”
Of course, the KGB immediately started investigating because it didn’t want an international scandal to develop. What it discovered was actually worse than any deliberate provocation. It turned out that, on the day when the American scholars ate at the cafeteria, the food was served by a dishwasher who forgot to wear rubber gloves over her fingers that were infected with fungi. So the food got infected. My father, who was the youngest person among the scholars, recovered quickly, while the academics who were both older and less accustomed to Soviet cuisine, barely managed to survive.
I’m sure at this point the KGB wished this had been a result of deliberate provocation than something this shameful.
Clarissa's Blog 
I think such thing could and can happen anywhere, including in today’s US or Israel. Of course, this woman would have immediately lost her job, but it wouldn’t help to the poisoned. Incidents happen today too. What is shameful about it?
– el
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” Incidents happen today too. What is shameful about it?”
– The Cold War was going on. Nobody wanted to look like a loser to the competitor.
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Off-topic…
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/video-planned-parenthood-official-argues-right-post-birth-abortion_712198.html
???????
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Unbelievable that such discussions are possible in the XXIst century. Idiots abound to the degree that is scary.
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What a bunch a freaks…
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Just to think that they get together and waste time on discussing these ridiculous, non-existent scenarios while nothing of value gets done. Unconscionable.
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“ridiculous, non-existent scenarios”
Exactly. I HATE the “post birth abortion” discussion. It’s like discussing a unicorn. Something that doesn’t exist. I feel sorry for the PP representative that she even had to answer such a ridiculous question. I actually think she gave the best possible answer.
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Jut curious, but what is meant by machine translation?
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Just*
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Once upon a time 🙂 there was this software where you could enter your text and the software would translate it. Nowadays, the companies that made this software are all mostly dead because Google Translate (that doesn’t translate anything) has cornered the market.
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How would you rate Google translate anyway, like on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best? I sometimes translate things with it, and sometimes the translation seems pretty clear, other times it is very jilted.
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That really depends what you are using it for. It’s very good if you are translating standard forms, for instance. It doesn’t translate literary writing at all and is quite poor for conversational speech. I used it when I had to translate specifications for 50 similar modems. It was quite useful for that purpose.
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I’m not an expert like Clarissa. But I love using Google Translate for recipes. I have found some really neat and interesting recipes that way. It’s not perfect translation but recipes writing isn’t nuanced. So I have found it works fairly well. 🙂
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What an interesting idea! I will try this, too, because I never know what the equivalents for the ingredients are.
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