Capitol Grilling: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis

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#1531 - 06-03-02 01:23 PM Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	I thought this article was particularly interesting and illustrates some the challenges the intelligence community faces in sorting through intel data in Arabic. I don't have a link since it was forwarded to me. Lost in Translation at the F.B.I. June 1, 2002 By GEOFF D. PORTER In announcing his restructuring of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, its director, stressed the importance of upgrading the F.B.I.'s intelligence capabilities by recruiting "the right people with the right experience." If my own experience with the agency is any guide, that should include an urgent recruiting drive for people with the right Arabic language skills. Less than a week after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I responded to the F.B.I.'s calls for Arabic translators. I know of a half-dozen other Middle Eastern studies graduates who also applied - Ph.D.s who, like me, are proficient in one or more Arabic dialects, as well as in Modern Standard Arabic. Ultimately - dismayed by what seemed to us the agency's flawed understanding of what proficiency in Arabic means - none of us pursued our candidacies. I applied less than a week after Sept. 11 but wasn't called for the four-and-a-half hour translation test until January. It wasn't until February that I sat for a four-hour interview and polygraph test. The F.B.I. was then to begin a six- to eight-month background check. At the earliest, I might have started translating more than a year after I applied. The slow pace, however, wasn't the most unsettling characteristic of the process. There was something more worrisome: The F.B.I.'s Arabic translation test simply does not measure all the language skills needed for intelligence gathering focused on Arabic speakers. The Arabic-language test - copyrighted in 1994 by the Defense Language Institute, according to the back of my exam booklet - was solely in Modern Standard Arabic, the Arabic most frequently studied at American universities. This is the form used for official speeches and in the news media in Arab countries - but almost never in conversation. It differs substantially from the spoken varieties of Arabic in vocabulary, syntax and idioms - enough so that a non-native speaker who learned only Modern Standard Arabic would not be able to understand Arabic speakers talking to one another. The regional dialects also differ from one another - varying considerably from one end of the Arabic-speaking world (in Morocco) to the other (in Oman). The dialects are, for some Arabic speakers, mutually unintelligible. (Once, I mistakenly gave a Cairo taxi driver directions in Moroccan Arabic, and he responded: "Ich spreche kein Deutsch.") These varieties of Arabic are the language of the market, the home and the street for the world's 200 million Arabic speakers. Yet no colloquial Arabic, in any dialect, appeared anywhere on the F.B.I.'s Arabic translation test, which included a listening-comprehension section. During my post-exam interview, I tried to offer some feedback about the test's failure to measure skills in everyday spoken Arabic, but the interviewer brusquely moved on to his next question. Nor was there a chance for me to name the two Arabic dialects in which I am proficient. The interview is scripted; there is no room for unscripted interaction. All the other Middle East studies applicants with whom I spoke said they, too, noticed the test's shortcoming but couldn't find an opening to comment on it. As the F.B.I. reorganizes, it should improve its recruitment of Arabic translators by adding tests that measure fluency in one or more of these numerous Arabic dialects. Otherwise, its translators may be limited to reading Arabic newspapers or listening to Al Jazeera broadcasts. They may misunderstand wiretapped phone conversations or be unable to identify crucial information. Until the F.B.I. shows more willingness to listen to the experts it is trying to attract, it will not get the expertise it needs. Geoff D. Porter teaches Middle Eastern studies at New York University.
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#1532 - 06-03-02 01:41 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
SuperTroy SuperTroy Mattress Monkey Registered: 03-21-02 Posts: 24062 Loc: Western Style Handjobs	I recall a story shortly after 9/11 about the difficulties of gathering intelligence in the ME. The most glaring example involved a senior field agent whom would ask his new charges to "Smile for him" Long story short - Its awful hard to look like you are from a poor country when you've had thousands of dollars of work done on your mouth. Sounds like this would fit into that sort of paradigm. You could try to fit in and gather intel on LA Street gangs using proper english. But you'd be pretty damn ineffective. -Soup or Troy _________________________ You can't be first, but you sure as hell can be next, honey - Ric Flair 29th Buddha
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#1533 - 06-03-02 02:44 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	I found some interesting links for AI research in the area of linguistics. The LDC projects highlighted below seem to be the type of functionality that will be later incorporated into Echelon and Carnivore type applications. Linguistic Data Consortium The Linguistic Data Consortium is an open consortium of universities, companies and government research laboratories. It creates, collects and distributes speech and text databases, lexicons, and other resources for research and development purposes. The University of Pennsylvania is the LDC's host institution. The LDC was founded in 1992 with a grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), and is partly supported by grant IRI-9528587 from the Information and Intelligent Systems division of the National Science Foundation. Some of these projects go far beyond data collection and simple translation and would minimize the human capital needs on the Intel Analysis side of the house. Of course for clandestine ops, no computer can replace living-breathing field operatives which is an area all the intel agencies are seriously lacking. http://www.ldc.upenn.edu/Projects/ The Text REtrieval Conference (TREC), co-sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), was started in 1992 as part of the TIPSTER Text program. Its purpose was to support research within the information retrieval community by providing the infrastructure necessary for large-scale evaluation of text retrieval methodologies. http://trec.nist.gov/
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#1534 - 06-03-02 02:48 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
NYC1 NYC1 Member Registered: 01-16-02 Posts: 5534	ST - Well, somehow John Walker Lindh got into those al Qaeda training camps -- and he doesn't look like the sharpest knife in the drawer, so it can't be TOOO hard to get good Middle Eastern agents... Also, I am curious about whether similar techniques are used to recruit oversees agents as are apparently used to recruit translators/analysts here at home...
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#1535 - 06-03-02 02:52 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Anonymous Anonymous Unregistered	A former CIA agent was interviewed on MSNBC within the half hour. He said that the gathering of information was no problem. It was the sharp decrease in funding over the last 10 years that inhibited understaffed agencies from processing it usefully -- leading to missed opportunites.
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#1536 - 06-03-02 03:00 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Anonymous Anonymous Unregistered	Quote: Originally posted by : This story appeared in the Op-Ed of Saturday's New York Times.... Saw it there, too, but this is worth reposting. It's been nipping at the back of my mind since I read it. I think we have some troubling problems, and am not sure we can easily overcome the cultural disparities highlighted here (-- and by Troy's excellent example of simple things, like common access to dentists -- things westerners take for granted). RQF, I'm reluctant to accept only one view on this, although the anonymous pundit whose idea you mention is correct in my opinion, too. Coordinating intel data is just as important as collecting it, and we seem to be failing at both. Hardly a newsflash, but our intel agencies are in deep ... muck.
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#1537 - 06-03-02 03:02 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
tlbshow tlbshow Member Registered: 09-20-04 Posts: 245	As long as the agency is funded and not ham strung by the WH as the years 93-2000 were. The intelligence will go on and be fine.
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#1538 - 06-03-02 03:24 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Paris of Troy Paris of Troy Member Registered: 07-15-01 Posts: 3465	The original article quoted by Zeroflux confirms a story to to me by an Afgan cab driver in November. This fellow had been a veteran of the Afgan-Soviet war and had moved to the D.C. area in the mid '90s. Soon after September 11, he contacted the FBI and asked to be used as a translator; he was willing to volunteer his services. He was referred to some agency who called him to Tyson's Corner for a language test. He noticed that the test was in Persian Farsi and, more than that, it was in a scholastic dialect not often used by an ordinary person. He mentiond this to the proctor, telling him that Afgani Farsi was to Persian Farsi as Spanish is to Portugese. The proctor blew him off and the would-be volunteer left confused and disgusted. OTOH, I have a friend who was trained by the Army as an Arabic translator. His instruction consisted of a sort of language imersion where he and the other students sat around day after day and listened to tapes of Arabic broadcasts and were encouraged to speak Arabic to each other during their free time.
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#1539 - 06-03-02 03:38 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
SuperTroy SuperTroy Mattress Monkey Registered: 03-21-02 Posts: 24062 Loc: Western Style Handjobs	Quote: Originally posted by Paris of Troy: OTOH, I have a friend who was trained by the Army as an Arabic translator. His instruction consisted of a sort of language imersion where he and the other students sat around day after day and listened to tapes of Arabic broadcasts and were encouraged to speak Arabic to each other during their free time. The prollem with that approach is that unless you live in an area where the language itself lives and breathes (so to speak) you don't really gain fluency. And even then its iffy becuase language tends to be rather fluid. Personal anecdote: I lived on Military bases in germany for much of my youth. No I'm not fluent in German, but the difference in dialects is enough to cause some problems in communicating between someone from, say HAMBURG and someone from Stuttgart. Not that the overall language changes, but there are subtle differences in slang, grammar, ect ect. Even more blatant example of the differences: Mexican Spanish and Puerto Rican Spanish. Or Quebicios French and Cajun French. IMO the problems associated with language translation is that we tend toward forcing language into a static state.... It just so happens that in this instance lives are at stake with the bungling. -ST _________________________ You can't be first, but you sure as hell can be next, honey - Ric Flair 29th Buddha
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#1540 - 06-03-02 04:54 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	I think the FBI specifically has far more issues to address than the rest of the intel community. I am curious to find out how successful their recruiting efforts have been to date. I doubt they have been able to attract and retain a substantial number of translators. Here are my observations as an Arab-American who speaks several Arabic dialects fluently, was schooled up to the mid-high school level in Arabic and French, and previously held a security clearance: 1. Their preliminary requirements are too stringent. I am already disqualified without even starting the application process due to trying marijuana for the first time once in the past three years and due to having a less than stellar student loan repayment history. http://www.fbi.gov/employment/policies.htm I think the FBI would be better served if they accept all initial applications (like the CIA and NSA do) and then review the applicants background on a case-by-case basis. 2. Their clearance requirements are unreasonable. Why would anyone submit to a year long investigation obtain a clearance simply to translate conversations and text? Most of the data should be highly compartmentalized and not include any information on collection methodologies, surveillance targets...etc. - Positions and documents classified at a higher level than they should be are a huge waste of taxpayer money due to the physical security costs for storage of higher level classified data and the waste of manpower for unnecessarily long and detailed background investigations. I actually came across a graphic illustrator position at the FBI that required applicants not only to have 5-10 experience in programs unrelated to graphic design, but also an active Top Secret SCI clearance prior to applying. The position offered a salary far below industry standards and required candidates to be willing to put in a lot of overtime. 3. The Bureau has a serious PR problem. They are the strictest agency and the least flexible yet they have the most scandals and security breaches. Add to this their track record with Arab-American and American Muslim communities, internal problems with their own agents leaving in droves or getting re-organized, an antiquated and ineffective language testing program...etc. I find it hard to see why anyone would want to go through the hassle of working for them. I have several additional observations, but I think the initial three bullets already create an inhospitable hiring environment that weeds out the majority of prospective candidates. I am not at all surprised the FBI is experiencing difficulties in this area.
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#1541 - 06-03-02 05:55 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman Member Registered: 07-05-01 Posts: 5293 Loc: Western Penna.	Good points zero. There is a major focus on process and procedures in federal gov't hiring at the expense of results. Good people like you are ruled out because of inane requirements that have no bearing on your potential performance as a public servant. Mind you, even wading thru the requirements and job descriptions is an overwhelming task, and once you apply, there is a lag of anywhere from 6 months to a year before anything happens. It's really pathetic. It is very enlightening to read the Hart-Rudman Commission Report that came out last January. Unfortunately, I'm very skeptical that any of these reforms will actually happen, though the Director of Homeland Security position was created after Sept. 11th. The pitiful performance of the FBI and the Dept. of State are a disgrace. The CIA had been watching 2 of the terrorists for a year and a half prior to Sept. 11th and did nothing. God help us. _________________________ "... my grandmother... she is a TYPICAL WHITE PERSON" - Barry Hussein Obama
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#1542 - 06-03-02 06:38 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Anonymous Anonymous Unregistered	1. Their preliminary requirements are too stringent. I am already disqualified without even starting the application process due to trying marijuana for the first time once in the past three years and due to having a less than stellar student load repayment history. I think the FBI would be better served if they accept all initial applications (like the CIA and NSA do) and then review the applicants background on a case-by-case basis. oh my gawd. zero tried pot! zero is a baby hippie/lefty! I knew that libertarian thing was just a front! I agree with you. A person's skills, talents, abilities should carry far more weight then whether or not that person may have "tried" pot. How many people in the bureau do you suppose are on Prozac? Paxil? Valium? However, a credit report can be construed as somewhat of an indicator. If an applicant/candidate is in financial straits, the recruiters may be concerned that this person may be at a higher risk to "sell" information. But if the person will never be dealing with "top secret" material, then this point would be somewhat irrelevant. 2. Their clearance requirements are unreasonable. Why would anyone submit to a year long investigation obtain a clearance simply to translate conversations and text? Most of the data should be highly compartmentalized and not include any information on collection methodologies, surveillance targets...etc. - Positions and documents classified at a higher level than they should be are a huge waste of taxpayer money due to the physical security costs for storing higher level classified data and the waste of manpower for unnecessarily long and detailed background investigations. I actually came across a graphic illustrator position at the FBI that required applicants not only to have 5-10 experience in programs unrelated to graphic design, but also an active Top Secret SCI clearance prior to applying. The position offered a salary far below industry standards and required candidates to be willing to put in a lot of overtime. I think exstensive background checks are indispensible, but if it takes close to a year or longer to investigate a person's background, what does that in itself say about the FBI? I think they see the extensive background checks as a security measure since anyone they hire has potential access to more classified information. I agree that for low level security jobs, like translating non-security documents, this type of extensive background check is probably going overboard. But I do think that mischief, even harm, can be done by someone who moles there way into the FBI, even into a low level job such as translating. Therefore, I think there should be some kind of double, even triple check system of translated documents to insure that the translaters are translating the info correctly. And perhaps, for the lower level security postions, the more extensive background check can be running concurrently with the person who is already working, thus if something turns up, they can always cut the person loose. 3. The Bureau has a serious PR problem. They are the strictest agency and the least flexible yet they have the most scandals and security breaches. Add to this their track record with Arab-American and American Muslim communities, internal problems with their own agents leaving in droves or getting re-organized, an antiquated and ineffective language testing program...etc. I find it hard to see why anyone would want to go through the hassle of working for them. I find it most amusing and at the same time disconcerting that kids in the hood have better computer and communications equipment and databases then the FBI/INS, etc. claim to have. As for PR, the only thing that will turn this around is better performances on the job. However, since the FBI is made up of human beings, who are fallible creatures, I think it's fair to say that on occasion things will fall through the cracks. That said, if the FBI doesn't learn by it's mistakes and make the necessary improvement to prevent the same in the future, then it's time to look for new leadership/management. The Notorious M.O.I.
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#1543 - 06-03-02 07:26 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Paris of Troy Paris of Troy Member Registered: 07-15-01 Posts: 3465	Super Troy: The advantage of the Army's approach is that my friend did indeed gain fluency in Arabic within a very short time. Like I said, the greater part of his training was listening to tapes of various Arabic broadcasts, and was quite familiar with a variety dialects. Requiring a student to use the target language in daily life gives the instruction a game-like quality and enhances the student's focus. I learned what Spanish I know from bumming around Mexico; if you can't order food or make simple requests for lack of fluency in a language, you're as a child before you spoke your first words, and it's amazing how rapidly you learn. Besides, they would never teach you in a classroom the kind of obscenities I learned; but those things are infinitely useful on the street. My daughter, who took the scholastic approach, is much more tentative speaking the language than I am. Although she has a vast amount of vocabulary and syntax, she doesn't enjoy speaking Spanish and will only do so when absolutely required to. I think that her aversion to Spanish and her uncertainty in using it are artifacts of the tedium and dullness of the traditional classroom approach. Whereas to me learning Spanish was a game which supplied an instant reward -- food (or beer) or the smile of recognition on the face of the listener -- to her, it was just another blackboard exercise. Zeroflux: My friend is no longer in the Army. He was kicked out for being tangently involved in some marijuana scandal: I don't know all the details. But, within a week of his release from the Army, he was solicited by the NSA and asked to do the same job for them that he had been doing for the Army.
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#1544 - 06-03-02 11:02 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Anonymous Anonymous Unregistered	Zeroflux: My friend is no longer in the Army. He was kicked out for being tangently involved in some marijuana scandal: I don't know all the details. But, within a week of his release from the Army, he was solicited by the NSA and asked to do the same job for them that he had been doing for the Army.[/QUOTE] Another bright idea brought to you by the War on Drugs-brand Republicanism. Another casualty of this nonsensical employment program for overpaid cops (also known as DEA agents) are students who honestly answer questions about drug use: they do not qualify for Federal assistance under new rules, or so I understand. Having tried pot once (and only once) myself, this seems like a completely moronic use of law enforcement resources and a waste of intellectual capital. Before I get flamed by the unrelenting Religious Right, I would like to add that except for that one episode of taking a couple of bong hits, I have never used illegal drugs. Mostly because I found that alcohol -- a completely legal substance -- is more fun, less expensive, and readily available, unlike other recreational substances.
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#1545 - 06-04-02 12:49 AM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
SuperTroy SuperTroy Mattress Monkey Registered: 03-21-02 Posts: 24062 Loc: Western Style Handjobs	No doubt Immersion is one of the best ways to learn a new language. What I had hoped to communicate was that immersion in a place where the language is native is better than immersion where the language isn't. -SuperTroy _________________________ You can't be first, but you sure as hell can be next, honey - Ric Flair 29th Buddha
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#1546 - 06-04-02 01:24 AM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Anonymous Anonymous Unregistered	Hey Bud! Does conversing over a pitcher of margaritas qualify as "immersion training"? If so, maybe we could have a first-ever CG reunion! -SuperBob
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#1547 - 09-04-02 01:40 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Tishimingo Tishimingo Junior Member Registered: 01-02-02 Posts: 1719	zero I cut and pasted the article that you started this thread with to mt senator and congresscritter. I suggest that every poster on this thread do the same, especially if your senator or congresscritter is on one of the intelligence oversight committees. You can contact your senator or congresscritter by going here _________________________ Elvis is dead and I'm not feeling too good myself.
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#1548 - 09-04-02 01:47 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Anonymous Anonymous Unregistered	Everyone, please understand. The FBI is NOT a part of the intelligence community in anything but a very adjunct role. It is a police agency.
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#1549 - 09-04-02 01:51 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Tishimingo Tishimingo Junior Member Registered: 01-02-02 Posts: 1719	milguy Sorry to burst yur bubble, but the FBI is the agency tasked with counter terroism in the continental U.S. That makes them a member of the intelligence community. _________________________ Elvis is dead and I'm not feeling too good myself.
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#1550 - 09-04-02 02:02 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Anonymous Anonymous Unregistered	Quote: Originally posted by Tishimingo: milguy Sorry to burst yur bubble, but the FBI is the agency tasked with counter terroism in the continental U.S. That makes them a member of the intelligence community. No it doesn't. counter intel is not intelligence. The foreign intell agencies which make up the intel community under the DCI are with very few exceptions prohibited from operating in the U.S. or gathering info on U.S. citizens. The FBI is obviously not so constrained. While in some areas there may be token representation by the FBI in joint planning, it is just that token. The FBI is a police outfit. It does not want to stop terrorists as much as gather evidence and prosecute them.
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#1551 - 09-04-02 02:11 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Anonymous Anonymous Unregistered	I should have pointed out that by very strict definition, you are corrrect. Parts of the FBI function as are parts of state and treasury are considered part of the intel community. But in point of action and operation, the distinction is legally FBI counter intel may be included in the intel community, in point of reality and day to day operations, nothing could be more untrue. Cops and spys are different animals.
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#1552 - 09-04-02 02:14 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
Anonymous Anonymous Unregistered	Zero, there are some very interesting web resources for AI & linguistics (as well as logic and linguistics). This stuff was a little outside my range in school (I was a signal analysis type), but I have plenty of resources if you're interested (I keep meaning to go over the fundamentals someday so I can at least be knowledgeable). But back to your point in general... this is just an extreme example of how foolish standardized testing can be. And it's been the trend in this country for the last few years. I bet some blond haired blue eyed guy who studied the "offical" version of "arabic" in grad school aced the test and probably got sent to Afganistan. What they don't realize is that Arabic, as most languages is alot like English. There's the Queen's English an dthen there the trailer park queens english. Technically they're both the same language. But try to send one undercover in the world of the other and she'll be spotted.
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#1553 - 10-17-02 01:17 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	Originally posted by the Real Fifi US military personnel abroad are being handheld translators. For those of us who have ever tried babelfish, I wonder how useful these can be? Read Article
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#1554 - 11-15-02 11:19 AM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
SuperTroy SuperTroy Mattress Monkey Registered: 03-21-02 Posts: 24062 Loc: Western Style Handjobs	Whistling past the graveyard Army Dismisses Gay Arabic Linguists SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Nine Army linguists, including six trained to speak Arabic, have been dismissed from the military because they are gay. The soldiers' dismissals come at a time when the military is facing a critical shortage of translators and interpreters for the war on terrorism. [Snip] The government has aggressively recruited Arabic speakers since the Sept. 11 attacks. "We face a drastic shortage of linguists, and the direct impact of Arabic speakers is a particular problem," said Donald R. Hamilton, who documented the need for more linguists in a report to Congress as part of the National Commission on Terrorism. [snip] "It's not a gay-rights issue. I'm arguing military proficiency issues — they're throwing out good, quality people," said Alastair Gamble, a former Army specialist. Does the phrase cutting off your nose to spite your face come to mind to anyone else? -ST _________________________ You can't be first, but you sure as hell can be next, honey - Ric Flair 29th Buddha
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#1555 - 06-20-03 03:05 AM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	This company is offering an advanced course in Arabic-English interpreting at GWU: Summer Intensive Arabic Interpretation Institute
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#1556 - 08-06-03 04:49 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	Government Considers Lockheed Martin Janitor a Security Risk Because of His Financial Struggle By Michael Rubinkam Associated Press Writer Published: Aug 6, 2003 PHILADELPHIA (AP) - In 19 years of using his security clearance to sweep floors at a plant owned by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, janitor Michael Lynch has done nothing to arouse suspicion. Co-workers and bosses speak glowingly of Lynch, a brain-tumor survivor who's active in his church, building homes for poor people in Maine and West Virginia. But because he and his family have struggled financially, the government now sees him as a threat to national security. Defense Department officials believe the janitor may be tempted to sell government secrets to get out of debt. Link
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#152182 - 03-28-07 10:58 AM Arabic Wikipedia [Re: zeroflux]
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	This is pretty cool... I found an arabic version of Wikipedia.org - Wikipedia is one of my favorite sites for looking up random facts or serious information on virtually any topic. It is one of the largest collaborative web encyclopedias edited by volunteers from the general public. http://ar.wikipedia.org In order to use Arabic Wikepedia, you obviously need to be able to type in Arabic. If you don't have an Arabic Language keyboard, you can use one of many virtual keyboards online: Virtual Arabic Keyboard
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#153434 - 04-01-07 01:07 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis [Re: zeroflux]
Fish Boner Fish Boner Junior Member Registered: 10-02-01 Posts: 160 Loc: Newark, New Jersey	You are practically the only person posting in this discussion, Zeroflux Sadly, the declining numbers of language experts is not a challenge faced exclusively by the United States as the below article illustrates. In Mideast, a Growing Linguistic Divide On Alon's office door hangs a poster featuring the Arabic alphabet, the insignia of Israel's military intelligence appearing prominently in one corner. The branch gives teachers classroom materials and tests the brightest students in their sophomore year. Only 2.5 percent of Jewish 11th- and 12th-graders choose to study Arabic at the highest level, a number unchanged since the start of the most recent Palestinian uprising six years ago. Military intelligence recruits serve in safer posts than their classmates in the infantry. The classical Arabic taught in high school does not help with conversation in a language complicated by various dialects. But it is the form used in TV and radio news broadcasts in the Arab world, which the recruits monitor. "My friends think it's a bit odd that I study Arabic," Vittelson said amid the din of his high school's hallways clearing out for Passover break. "But they are wrong." Rosh Haayin, a town of 30,000 on Israel's coastal plain, highlights the demographic challenge facing military recruiters as the flow of Jews from Arabic-speaking countries dries up and the first new immigrant generation dies off. Jews from Yemen, raised speaking Arabic, once dominated Rosh Haayin. But they now account for roughly 10 percent of the population, composed mostly of middle-class Jews with European and Russian backgrounds who have little interest in Arabic. "There are very few native Arabic speakers left in the Jewish population," said Carmit Bar-On, who teaches the language at the high school here. "There is a problem teaching Arabic because there is a problem between Arabs and Jews."
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#153438 - 04-01-07 01:15 PM Re: Applied Linguistics in Intelligence Analysis [Re: Fish Boner]
toxteth o'grady toxteth o'grady Uncivil Engineer Registered: 10-24-01 Posts: 64784 Loc: At the airport	"Only 2.5 percent of Jewish 11th- and 12th-graders choose to study Arabic at the highest level, a number unchanged since the start of the most recent Palestinian uprising six years ago." No wonder the two sides don't understand each other... _________________________ "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" --Abe Lincoln
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#153736 - 04-03-07 10:37 AM Arabic-English Translation Technology [Re: zeroflux]
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	Building on the article catz posted in another thread, here are some additional details on the IBM Arabic Speech Translator: U.S. Forces To Test IBM Arabic Speech Translator IBM Corp. said Thursday that U.S. forces in Iraq will use Big Blue's speech-to-speech translation technology to help offset a shortage of military linguists in the country. The bidirectional English-to-Arabic translator should help to improve communications between military personnel and Iraqi forces and citizens. The U.S. will also use some of the laptops to train military personnel in the U.S. "If it's a medical emergency, you don't a linguist, and you need to speak with a doctor or someone else who's unfamiliar with your language, being able to communicate is invaluable," said David Nahamoo, chief technology officer for human language technologies at IBM's research business. The Multilingual Automatic Speech-to-Speech Translator software, dubbed MASTOR, was developed by IBM Research, and supplied and supported by IBM's Technology Collaboration Solutions group. The technology will go into 35 ruggedized laptops tested and deployed to various Department of Defense units, including the Army Medical Department, U.S. Special Operations Command and the Marines. How successful is the speech-to-speech translator? Measuring the ability to create a dialog with another person in completed sentences or "tasks," Nahamoo said the percent successfully completed in 10 to 15 minutes ranges between 19 and 20. Read Article I assume the tranlator uses phrases in classical Arabic. I wonder how successful it is in processing conversational Arabic with heavy regional accents and slang?
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#153739 - 04-03-07 10:42 AM MASTOR: Multilingual Automatic Speech Translator [Re: zeroflux]
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	IBM Hopes Military Will Take Free Gear By BRIAN BERGSTEIN The Associated Press To honor an employee's son who was badly wounded in Iraq, IBM Corp. plans to give the U.S. military $45 million worth of Arabic-English translation technology that the Pentagon had been testing for possible purchase. The offer - made from the highest reaches of the company directly to President Bush - is so unusual that Defense Department and IBM lawyers have been scouring federal laws to make sure the government can accept the donation. The story begins one night in late February, when Army Sgt. Mark Ecker Jr., 21, on his second tour in Iraq, was on patrol in Ramadi. Preparing to raid a house, Ecker's unit lined up along a side of the building. But an explosive device had been hidden in the wall, and when it went off, it wounded several soldiers. Ecker eventually lost both legs below the knee. Ecker's father, an IBM mainframe sales specialist in East Longmeadow, Mass., shared the story of his son's ordeal with co-workers, and word spread through the company. Eventually it reached Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Samuel Palmisano. IBM would not make Palmisano available for comment. But according to other IBM executives, Palmisano had heard from several IBM employees who have returned from active duty in Iraq that a shortage of Arabic translators has severely hampered U.S. forces' efforts to communicate. With that and Ecker's experience in mind, Palmisano called and wrote to Bush, offering to make IBM's Multilingual Automatic Speech Translator software, known as MASTOR, "immediately available for use by our forces in Iraq." Palmisano offered 10,000 copies of the MASTOR software and 1,000 devices equipped with it, plus training and technical support. -snip- Indeed, it is very rare for a large defense contractor such as IBM, which does roughly $3 billion worth of federal business every year, to give the government a freebie. It is also worth noting that MASTOR has been undergoing testing by the Pentagon's Joint Forces Command, in addition to a rival two-way translation technology known as IraqComm from nonprofit SRI International. Both systems take English or Arabic that is spoken into a computer microphone, translate it into the other language and utter it through the machine's speakers. Read Article
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#153755 - 04-03-07 11:19 AM Re: MASTOR: Multilingual Automatic Speech Translator [Re: zeroflux]
loosecannon loosecannon Member Registered: 10-30-05 Posts: 32056	I assume the tranlator uses phrases in classical Arabic. I wonder how successful it is in processing conversational Arabic with heavy regional accents and slang? Well I spose that depends on the application. I think it would be pretty foolish to rely on translation software for intel work. But the software may be set up to accept new slang. It may be a smart program that gets better with use. Which might explain why it is being given free in a trial run. Only a period of use can improve it to the point of it being worth something. _________________________ Rosie data mines your personal info, she's a cunt named Antz. And she needs to be banned, forever.
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#154708 - 04-09-07 11:18 PM Linguistics Contractor MZM [Re: zeroflux]
zeroflux zeroflux Administrator Registered: 03-11-01 Posts: 6175 Loc: Arlington, Virginia	Stumbled across this interesting bit over at CQ: Can We Talk? Not Much in Arabic, Former Translator Says And you wonder why there’s an intelligence gap? I thought I was hardened to bad news about Iraq until I talked with Dustin Langan, an Arabic linguist sent to Iraq by MZM shortly after the 2003 invasion. Langan, now 32, gave a recent and little-noticed interview to Radar magazine that described such criminal folly that I had to call him up and hear it — and more, as it turned out — for myself. The bottom line: The U.S is not just sending people to Iraq with under par language training, in most cases they have been schooled for months in a kind of Arabic that few ordinary Iraqis speak. “There was no accountability” in Iraq, Langan told me by phone from Spain, where he now lives. “There was absolutely no accountability, no oversight there. So you had all kinds of crazy things happening.” Zero Knowledge Langan worked for MZM and another linguistics contractor for about 11 months between late 2002 and early 2004. In September 2002, he was hired by REEP Inc., a contractor in Nashua, N.H., to teach a brush-up course to soldiers who had already taken Arabic at the Defense Language Institute (DLI), in some cases years earlier. Read More
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#154755 - 04-10-07 10:37 AM Re: Linguistics Contractor MZM [Re: zeroflux]
h.rapbrown h.rapbrown Member Registered: 07-11-01 Posts: 44630 Loc: Saginaw Valley	I heard that in our Iraq embassy that employs 1,000 people, only 8 can speak the language. Pretty sad. _________________________ Real cost of Bush's Iraq Quagmire~3 Trillion and counting.
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