MetaFilter posts tagged with Language and Google

Nothing is ungoogleable in Sweden

Etrigan — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:47:31 -0800

The Language Council of Sweden has been the semi-official arbiter of the Swedish language since World War II. It monitors "the development of spoken and written Swedish" and publishes a list of new words each year to ensure consistency of spelling and make sure that Swedish is a "complete language, i.e. [is] possible to use in all areas of society." This year, for the first time, the Council has taken a word off the list: ogooglebar, which literally meant "ungoogleable" but was defined as "a thing or person that does not produce relevant results when typed into a search engine." Google objected to the word's official definition, saying that it would rather the word mean anything that couldn't be found on Google specifically (possibly trying not to open itself up to the threat of genericization). The Council decided not to bother with the word instead, striking ogooglebar from the list.

Domo arigato, Mr Roboto

gilrain — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:55:16 -0800

Google has released a new version of Translate, for Android. It now features Conversation Mode.

Simulated Language

nangar — Sat, 28 May 2011 10:57:04 -0800

In the recent MIT symposium "Brains, Minds and Machines," Chomsky criticized the use of purely statistical methods to understand linguistic behavior. Google's Director of Research, Peter Norvig responds. (via) Relevant bit from Technology Review:

The two linguists on the panel, Noam Chomsky and Barbara Partee, both made seminal contributions to our understanding of language by considering it as a computational, rather than purely cultural, phenomenon. Both also felt that understanding human language was the key to creating genuinely thinking machines. "Really knowing semantics is a prerequisite for anything to be called intelligence," said Partee. Chomsky derided researchers in machine learning who use purely statistical methods to produce behavior that mimics something in the world, but who don't try to understand the meaning of that behavior. Chomsky compared such researchers to scientists who might study the dance made by a bee returning to the hive, and who could produce a statistically based simulation of such a dance without attempting to understand why the bee behaved that way. "That's a notion of [scientific] success that's very novel. I don't know of anything like it in the history of science," said Chomsky.

Google Translate for Animals

memebake — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:43:30 -0800

Google Translate for Animals, a new Android app. It is not Google’s responsibility if you are offended or disappointed by what your chosen animal may say.

The Next Big Breakout

netbros — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 06:16:34 -0800

An Omnivorous Google Is Coming. "Imagine what it would be like if there was a tool built into the search engine which translated my search query into every language and then searched the entire world’s websites," she says. "And then invoked the translation software a second and third time – to not only then present the results in your native language, but then translated those sites in full when you clicked through.” Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president for search products and user experience, shares her unparalleled insights into the future of internet search engines. "She divides the focus areas for Google into three parts: modes, media and personalisation. Modes refers to the ways we can access search – the latest addition to which has been Google Goggles – an Android mobile tool which enables people to search using pictures instead of words. Users focus their phone's camera on an object, and Google compares elements of that picture against its database of images. When it finds a match, Google will tell you the name of what you're looking at, and provide a list of results linking through to the relevant web pages and news stories."

Python + C = Go. Google's Programming Language

FusiveResonance — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:06:37 -0800

Say hello to googles new concurrent programming language Compiles faster than c/c++ and runs just as fast. Garbage collection + concurrency included

Aargh!

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:45:45 -0800

Aargh!

Google calls in the 'language police'

eclectica — Tue, 24 Jun 2003 12:14:06 -0800

Google calls in the 'language police': "Google is now a verb, meaning to search. It sounds like the ultimate compliment to the company, so why do its lawyers want to keep the word out of our dictionaries?"

A warning shot in the dark.

beagle — Wed, 27 Nov 2002 09:41:34 -0800

A warning shot in the dark: For connoisseurs of clever turns of phrase: The phrase "a warning shot in the dark" popped out at me from a Google News preview panel as being a mixed metaphor. Indeed, a Google search reveals that the phrase has never before been used on the entire Web, which is rather amazing. Delving into the story, it appears by paragraph three that the mixed metaphors are appropriate, in this case.