Machine
Translation: past, present, future
(Ellis Horwood Series in Computers and their Applications) 382 pp.
Chichester (
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Note to readers (2003)
Since this book, first published in 1986, is still the most comprehensive history of machine translation (up to 1985), I am making the whole text available for researchers. Copyright remains with me and the publishers (Ellis Horwood). Publication and multiple-copy reproduction (in any form and for any purpose) of the whole or any part of the text is forbidden, except after prior permission from me and the publishers. However, single copies of sections or chapters may be made by individuals for private personal use only.
The text has not been changed, except for spelling corrections. However, references have been added in footnotes to more recent articles which update, expand (and occasionally correct) parts of the content.
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Contents
1 General introduction [PDF, 85KB]
2 Precursors and pioneers [PDF, 156KB]
2.1 Before
the computer
2.2 The
first beginnings (1946-1949)
2.3 Weaver’s
memorandum (1949)
2.4 From
Weaver to the first MT conference (1949-1952)
2.5 From
the MIT conference to the Georgetown-IBM demonstration (1952-1954)
2.6 From
the Georgetown-IBM experiment to the first international conference (1954-1956)
3 Problems, methods and strategies [PDF, 181KB]
3.1 Mechanical
dictionaries
3.2 Polysemy
and semantics
3.3 Morphological
analysis
3.4 Syntactic
analysis
3.5 Formal
syntax and transformational grammar
3.6 Syntactic
ambiguity and discourse relations
3.7 Sentences
and texts
3.8 Transfer
and synthesis
3.9 Systemn
designs and strategies
3.10 Perspectives
and influences
3.11 MT
research in the period 1956-1966
4 Groups and projects in the United States (1950-1966) [PDF, 273KB]
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4 RAND
Corporation (1950-1960)
4.5
4.6 Ramo-Wooldridge
and Bunker-Ramo (1958-1967)
4.7 Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (1953-1965)
4.8 National
Bureau of Standards (1959-1963)
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13 Other
5 Groups and projects in the United Kingdom and Western Europe (1954-1966) [PDF, 177KB]
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4 National
Physical Laboratory, Teddington (1959-1966)
5.5 Research
in
5.6 Research
in
5.7 Research
in
5.8 Other
West European groups
6 Groups and projects in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (1955-1967) [PDF, 147KB]
6.1
6.2 Steklov
Mathematical Institute
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6 All-Union
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information
6.7 Other
Soviet groups
6.8 Summary
of the
6.9 Research
in
6.10
6.11
6.12 Projects
in
6.13 Research
in
7 Groups and projects in Japan, China, and Mexico (1956-1966) [PDF, 89KB]
7.1 Projects
in
7.2 Research
in
7.3
8 Expectations and criticisms: the decade from 1956 to 1966. [PDF, 156KB]
8.1 Period
of optimism
8.2 Variety
of approaches and methods
8.3 Doubts
and criticisms, Bar-Hillel’s report
8.4 The
state of the art in 1960, and new directions
8.5 Official
support for US research
8.6 National
and international conferences
8.7 Taube’s
Computers and Common Sense
8.8 Operational
systems and the ‘semantic barrier’
8.9 The
ALPAC report
8.10 Expenditure
on MT research
8.11 The
situation in 1966
9 Strategies and methods since the mid-1960s. [PDF, 143KB]
9.1 After
ALPAC
9.2 Direct
translation systems
9.3 Interlingual
systems
9.4 Transfer
systems
9.5 Semantics-based
systems
9.6 Interactive
and restricted language systems
9.7 The
developments after the mid-1970s
9.8 Computational
and linguistic techniques and issues
9.9 Separation
of linguistic data and algorithms
9.10 Modularity
9.11 Transformational
parsing
9.12 Filtering
9.13 Augmented
transition network (ATN) parsing
9.14 Tree
transducers
9.15 Charts
9.16 Semantic
analysis
9.17 Semantic
parsing
9.18 Outline
of project descriptions and general sources
10 Interlingual systems, 1965-1975. [PDF, 147KB]
10.1 Centre
d’Etudes pour la Traduction Automatique (CETA),
10.2 Mel’chuk’s
‘meaning-text’ model (1965-1976)
10.3
10.4 Forschungsgruppe
LIMAS,
11 Other indirect systems, 1965-1975. [PDF, 116KB]
11.1 EURATOM,
11.2
11.3 Other
US projects
11.4
11.5
11.6 Projects
and research in the
12 Direct translation systems since 1965. [PDF, 138KB]
12.1 Systran
system of Latsec Inc./World Translation Center (1964- )
12.2 Logos
Development Corporation (1969-1978)
12.3 Xonics
Corporation (1970-1976)
12.4 Pan
American Health Organization (1976- )
12.5
12.6 Other
direct translation systems
13 Transfer systems since 1970 [PDF, 229KB]
13.1
13.1.1 System
design
13.1.2 The
METEO system
13.1.3 The
AVIATION system
13.2 University
of the
13.3 Groupe d’Etudes pour la Traduction
Automatique (GETA), University of Grenoble (1971- )
13.4
13.5
13.6 Logos
Corporation (1982- )
14 Projects and systems at the Commission of the European Communities (1976- ) [PDF, 139KB]
14.1 Systran
14.2 Eurotra
15 Artificial Intelligence systems (1970- ) [PDF, 127KB]
15.1
15.2
15.3 Other
AI approaches
15.4 Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (1971-1974)
15.5
15.6 Georgia
Institute of Technology (1982- )
15.7
15.8
15.9 The
future relevance of AI approaches in MT
16 Other interlingual systems since 1975 [PDF, 106KB]
16.1
16.2 Philips
Research Laboratory,
16.3 Buro
voor Systeemontwikkeling,
17 Interactive and human-aided systems [PDF, 146KB]
17.1 Pre-edited
input
17.2 Restricted
language systems
17.3 Institut Textile de France, TITUS system
(1970- )
17.4 SMART
AI Inc. (1977- )
17.5 Other
‘restricted’ systems
17.6 Automated
dictionaries and term banks
17.7 Interactive
systems
17.8 RAND
Corporation, the MIND system
17.9
17.10
17.11 Automated
Language Processing System,
17.12 Weidner
Communications Corporation (1977- )
17.13 Other
interactive systems
18 Projects and systems in the Soviet Union and Japan
(1974- ) [PDF, 145KB]
18.1 The
Soviet research (1974- )
18.2
18.3
18.4 The
AMPAR system
18.5 The
NERPA system
18.6 The
FRAP system
18.7 Other
Soviet systems
18.8 Research
in
18.9
18.10
18.11 Fujitsu
18.12
18.13
18.14 Other
Japanese systems
19 Present developments and some future prospects [PDF,
135KB]
19.1 The
general scene in the 1980s
19.2 Linguistic
problems and methods
19.3 Artificial
Intelligence and MT
19.4 MT
quality and revision
19.5 Future
prospects
19.6 Generations
and periods
Chronological table
of main projects and systems [PDF, 43KB]
Bibliography [PDF, 248KB]
Index