| One of the major issues for both the | | | | they can be programmed by a local |
| American intelligence community and the | | | | interpreter to fit different missions. |
| military has been the paucity of | | | | That is, if a competent interpreter can |
| professionals in their ranks who are | | | | be located. The Defense Advanced |
| fluent in Arabic. Like any other major | | | | Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has |
| language, there are dialectic variations | | | | spent $15 to $20 million a year in |
| within the language that make fluent | | | | government funds over the past five |
| translation and understanding that much | | | | years developing the mobile translator |
| more difficult. One need only consider | | | | technology, due to the shortage of |
| the vast dialectical differences in | | | | humans with similar skills. |
| American English to begin to understand | | | | There are many translation devices on |
| the kind of "nuance" that rigidly | | | | the commercial market that work through |
| thinking machines will have to content | | | | Palm Pilots and other handheld devices. |
| with. | | | | The type of usage the military is |
| Technologists among us are developing | | | | seeking, however, is a little more |
| equipment that can assist even the most | | | | proactive. A platoon leader facing a |
| hopelessly monolingual in uniform | | | | village official doesn't have time to go |
| communicate with the citizens of the | | | | through a search process in order to |
| nation he or she is occupying. The | | | | find the correct phrase. On the other |
| United States Army is field testing a | | | | hand, these devices can't really be |
| hand-held voice translator device | | | | programmed with the nuances required to |
| developed by Integrated Wave | | | | get through a get-together designed to |
| Technologies. | | | | win the hearts and minds of the village |
| This device is already in use in other | | | | elders. |
| parts of the world and is being used by | | | | Often the few Arabic-speaking soldiers |
| soldiers in the field in Iraq. The | | | | who did land in Iraq found that |
| device converts simple English commands | | | | differences in dialect rendered their |
| into Iraqi Arabic or 15 other languages. | | | | knowledge unusable. Think of the working |
| When the soldier says a simple phrase -- | | | | class inhabitants of the American Deep |
| for example, "keep kids back" - the | | | | South and British east London attempting |
| 'voice response translator' (VRT) | | | | to communicate successfully. Both are |
| matches that command to a more complex | | | | speaking "English," but it's highly |
| phrase in Arabic. In this case: "Keep | | | | unlikely either would understand the |
| your children back from us or we will | | | | other in anything but the broadest of |
| take action against you." Not exactly a | | | | terms. In January, President Bush |
| friendly warning and completely devoid | | | | announced that the Pentagon will devote |
| of emotional content, nonetheless it's | | | | hundreds of millions of dollars over the |
| better than a warning shot. | | | | next five years to language training |
| A firm called Voxtech makes a similar | | | | and, perhaps as important, training in |
| device called the Phraselator. Voxtech' | | | | cultural awareness. In the meantime, |
| CEO says that one advantage of these | | | | technology will have to fill in. |
| portable translation devices is that | | | | |