After many years of trying to crack the translation problem using sophisticated syntax analysis we are close to a real solution - and it's all down to statistics. The huge numbers of examples of natural language available on the web means that just but looking at the frequencies of words and phrases translations you can translate from one language to another.
Google Translate uses statistical machine translation to convert web pages from any language to any other language. The web site http://translate.google.com/ has just had a makeover in an effort to make it easier to use. Even so it still has the reduced and utilitarian look of a typical Google site - keep it that way Google!
If you would like to see how it works then Google has a short video for you, explaining statistical machine translation.
Google translate is a free service (using the principles of statistical machine translation) that can be added to any website in about five minutes - to prove the point we have added a translate button to I Programmer. You'll find it at the top of the column on the right-hand side. So now you can read all our interesting news, reviews and articles in the language of your choice.
MTA App Quest is a global online contest to provide solutions that will help improve the daily commute of those using New York State's Metropolitan Transit Authority.
