A War Of Words

[SWJED]

19 October Newport News Daily Press - A War Of Words by Stephanie Heinatz.

The military is using a science fiction-like gadget in Iraq to help troops with few linguistic skills communicate with civilians and Iraqis training in the country's emerging police and military forces.

Called the Two-Way Speech-to-Speech Program, it's a translator that uses a computer to convert spoken English to Iraqi Arabic and visa versa.

While the program is technically still in the research and development stage, the Norfolk-based U.S. Joint Forces Command has sent 70 prototypes to Iraq, where troops are using it on the job to evaluate how well it works.

So far, so good, said Wayne Richards, chief of the command's implementation branch.

An inability to communicate with the population has been a problem for U.S. troops trying to win support. Human translators are scarce in Iraq.

The command received an urgent request in 2004 from commanders in Iraq who wanted someone to find a way to bridge the language divide, Richards said.

The device is being used today mostly for what some are calling the most important job in Iraq: training Iraq's police officer and military troops...

In its current configuration, the translator is a rugged laptop with plugs for two microphones or two headsets, Richards said, pointing to a prototype and turning it on.

It's as easy to use as talking on the phone, as was evident after a brief demonstration in Norfolk on Tuesday.

Say into the microphone, "We are here to provide food and water for your family." Hold down the E for English key on the keyboard. The written text of your words pops up on the screen.

Scan the words to make sure it picked up the exact wording. If not, change it.

Hit the T key for translate, and the sentence pops up on the screen again, this time in Iraqi Arabic. The computer then broadcasts the words aloud through the computer's speakers.

The process is almost the same going from Arabic to English...

[Jedburgh]

The thing is no better than a 0+ speaker reciting memorized rote phrases. It does not - and can not - substitute for a the effective interaction of a language qualified individual with his indig counterparts. Despite the time that has passed since we launched, we are doing a very poor job at training key people in the necessary language skills for the COE. In some very important areas, we're moving backwards.

[selil]

Language and enculturation requires a command level influence and disposition of resources that reflect a respect for the culture of an indigenous population and an inherent respect for the force multiplier being able to walk and talk with native’s means.

Machine language translation and the tie in of ontological semantics expose several conceptual issues with any translation device. The technologies to accomplish machine translation from one language to another are usually based on discrete rule sets that will not include idiomatic or slangisms that the culture may have invented since the last update.

Ontological semantical or conceptual analysis definitely helps but the “burr under the saddle” for voice translation will be the “to, too, 2, there, their, they’re, etc…” of the English language. Capturing context, translating context, and displaying context is nearing on impossible between cultures.

When the Pioneer 11 space craft included the depiction of man and woman with information to find earth the discussion was whether the context was a greeting card or as a menu.

[Tom Odom]

Remember fellow older folks the "Chatty Kathy" dolls? You would (not you but your sister or female cousin. I never touched a doll when I was a manly youngster) pull a ring and the doll would spit out a series of sentences? This is a modern variant and about as useful.

I agree obviously with Ted and Sel. I have argued this point without success. the problem is that too many folks have never even tried to learn much less use a froeign language--they are the ones who buy in to this stuff. And it gets chalked up as a success.

Best

Tom

[Steve Blair]

I agree, Tom, but I also think that the American cultural affinity for both the "quick fix" and "technology trumps all" comes into play here. Most people who buy into this have seen one episode of Star Trek too many with the universal translator, forgetting that in any meaningful discussion context is vital to understanding. Each culture (and region/subgroup/whatever) has different contexts for words. Not understanding that, or even being aware that it exists, can be dangerous.

[Merv Benson]

When you look at the significant increase in actionable intelligence and calls to the tip line after the Iraqi forces were put in action you get a real picture of the communication problem US forces have had in Iraq. Add that to the problems we have had with the media and it explains many of the frustrations of this war. The device will probably never help in terms of gathering information about the enemy, but it is probably better than staring at each other or yelling something neither understands.

[SWJED]

A FIVE day course

I am on Blackwater's e-newsletter list, got this last night:

Learn the language -and the culture- then deploy.

Operators, analysts, military and civilian support personnel working with or deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan have two classes to choose from:

IRAQI ARABIC from 13 November to 17 November

PASHTO/DARI from 27 November to 01 December

INTENSITY— Live and breathe Arabic or Pashto/Dari

Blackwater Language School provides an intensive language learning environment in which participants challenge themselves and learn at a rate beyond normal limits. This intensive experience has proven to be very successful. Because you and your team-mates have limited time to study the language and culture of Iraq or Afghanistan, we substitute time with intensity. Every student is encouraged to communicate as much as possible in Iraqi dialect Arabic or Pashto/Dari during the entire week-long course. This is no ordinary course of study— it is an endeavor that is emotionally taxing— and rewarding!

SURVIVABILITY— Cultural Awareness = Situational Awareness

If you don’t understand the culture, you can cause real trouble. Our team of accomplished staff is dedicated to helping students survive and thrive in the subject culture. A series of cultural activities will take place throughout the program. Students will be encouraged to use their new skills as they eat Middle Eastern meals and engage in situational interviews— in the immersive environment. This highly intensive language environment empowers you to immediately put your language skills into action and test the boundaries of your cultural survival skills!

At only $1495 per student, space is extremely limited.
To reserve a space for you or your unit
Call or email us today!

That must be some INTENSE training - language AND culture under a week!

[SWJED]

1 November Washington Times - Soldiers Train in Languages by Eric Pfeiffer.

The Army has invested $4.2 million in a Web-based software program to improve the foreign-language skills of overseas personnel.

The program was created by Rosetta Stone, which provides training software in 30 languages. The contract, entering its second year, allows software access to any member of the active-duty Army, National Guard or Reserve, and civilian personnel in the Department of the Army.

"You can't send everyone to language training school," said Stan Davis, project manager for the Army's E-Learning program. "But this is a capability the Army needs in today's operational environment."

More than 64,000 soldiers are using the software, Mr. Davis said, and that number is expected to double next year. "We're getting about 2,000 to 3,000 people signing up a month," he said.

The military has been criticized for a lack of foreign-language speakers during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Rosetta Stone provides courses in Pashto, spoken in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan; Farsi, widely spoken in Iran; and Arabic, which is used throughout the Middle East...

1 November Washington Post - First Ears, Then Hearts and Minds by Renae Merle.

For science-fiction buffs, it's probably a common-sense solution. Two months after arriving in Iraq, a second lieutenant with the 16th Military Police Brigade was handed the Phraselator, a hand-held device that promised to digest his English phrases and produce a prerecorded Arabic translation with an Iraqi accent.

But after a brief test last year, the soldier gave up the gadget, deciding that, while helpful in some instances, it wasn't useful to his unit, which conducted raids and provided convoy security. He had even tried to teach himself Arabic using the device but decided that it was no match for the complex language. Even such simple phrases as "What is your name?" are spoken differently in Fallujah than in Baghdad, he found. "This may have been the reason why many of the Iraqis . . . did not appear to understand the Arabic phrases & words" stored in the device, according to a report prepared for the Army.

An Annapolis firm, VoxTec International Inc., developed the device and said it has steadily made improvements. But the goal of having a machine replace a human interpreter remains elusive, and the military is mounting a multimillion-dollar campaign to find a more capable successor, one that can translate both sides of a conversation, from English to Arabic and vice versa...

[Steve Blair]

From what I'm seeing in the AF side, much of the language assessment stuff is more of a box-checking exercise than anything else. Many universities do not have language programs that go beyond the Big Three (Spanish, German, and French), and even then may not offer more than a year or so of real language instruction.

[marct]

From what I'm seeing in the AF side, much of the language assessment stuff is more of a box-checking exercise than anything else. Many universities do not have language programs that go beyond the Big Three (Spanish, German, and French), and even then may not offer more than a year or so of real language instruction.

Ouch! That's "multiple-quess" not language training! Mybe the AF should look at the CAN-8 Virtual Language lab system. The only real problem with it is that it is a lab-based system - works for the classroom, not the field.

Marc

[SWJED]

14 November Washington Post Letter to the Editor - What The Phraselator Says.

What The Phraselator Says

There is a pervasive misconception in our society that technology can do just about anything. Although well-applied technology is useful and at times astounding, poorly applied technology more often than not is costly, wasteful and frustrating. Such is the case with the Phraselator and other devices mentioned in the Nov. 1 Business article "First Ears, Then Hearts and Minds; Facing Shortage of Arabic Interpreters, Pentagon Seeks a Technological Solution."

Language is perhaps the most human of all human expressions. It is a manifestation of our thoughts, desires and emotions. The notion that a synthesized voice from a small electronic device saying in Arabic "We're here to search your house. Please stay in this room. Do you have any weapons?" could calm or reassure a frightened Iraqi is absurd.

The interpretive devices and so many other projects like them are misguided attempts to use technology to solve a problem that requires a human solution: linguists who understand both languages and cultures.

Rather than spending $20.8 million this year on "translation technologies," the Pentagon's money would be better spent on training qualified people to work as interpreters and help our troops do their jobs.

Barry Slaughter Olsen, Falls Church

The writer is a freelance interpreter and translator who has done work for federal agencies.