Do we have access to this technology??? :

[chknltl]

A universal translator for the internet which allows for one on one dialog between anyone anywhere in the online community?
My thoughts here are that in a better future there will be forums like the Democratic Underground which will not be language restrictive. Imagine if this proposed forum had a section dedicated to American Foreign Policy,(AFP), one hosted by a non-partisan group such as C-SPAN. Imagine if those affected by AFP could hold open dialog with the voting electorate of America. Would you want to know the thoughts of those affected by AFP firsthand? Do you suppose that in this crazy world there are people affected by AFP who wish to communicate their thoughts directly to us? I suspect we have something tech-wise that could do some of what I am suggesting here. Is such technology available for use by the Democratic Underground? Ethically, would it be better if there was an "Official American Foreign Policy Forum" in order to not dilute the concept, (as opposed to a liberal one and a conservative one and a Mormon one and one just for goat herders and etc.). I have more to add but I suspect that you get the idea. Back to my querry, is such tech. available and if so should we avail ourselves of it?

[dutchdemocrat]

1. I use Systran

For Business between Brazil and Holland and find it works great for emails and IM'ing.

I use the actual software not the free online version.

http://www.systransoft.com/index.html

[jeff30997]

2. Dank u voor de verbinding dutchdemocrat.

It seem to work better than Babelfish.(But you can tell me: I typed Thank you for the link and the result in Dutch was Dank u voor de verbinding.Is it accurate ?)

[dutchdemocrat]

6. a wee bit formal

But understandable.

[chknltl]

3. I did see that for the first time earlier...

...when I did a search on "translators". It is a start but it does not have Iraqi for instance. I am imagining here that in the future there will be a universal translator, something like that which is used on Star Trek but for the online community. I imagine that it will get much use in international forums. (Excuse my "provincialness" if these already exist). My motivation here is for the common folks of the world to have access to forums in which open dialog between nationalities is natural, such as what we have here but on an international level. I feel that forums like this can have a direct affect on American politics.

[jeff30997]

4. There is not one Iraqi language:

National or official languages: Standard Arabic, Kurdi.Also includes Egyptian Spoken Arabic (450,000), Syriac, Turkish (3,000), Turkmen (227,000), Turoyo (3,000)

[chknltl]

5. That will make it a bit more difficult.

But don't you agree that sometime in the very near future there will be such a service. Anyone anywhere will be able to plug in and speak freely in an internationall forum in their own language. Those who read the post (and speak back) will have the post automatically translated at the forum's host server. I see this as a usefully tool in countering political spin about American Foreign Policy.