--------begin quote--------------------------
Convention of the Modern Language Association of America
Conference on Interlinguistics
(December 27, 1954, 2:00 P. M., Hotel Statler, New York City)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE PROBLEM OF FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE IN INTERLINGUA
Dr. Alexander Gode
The preparation of this paper was rather a tantalizing business. What
seemed at first a fascinating, and clear-cut topic remained fascinating
but
became more and more involved. As the paper now stands, it is wide open
and
had better be called an invitation to further study than a study
complete
in itself. It consists of an attempt to clarify the question of function
and structure in terms applicable to Interlingua followed by
illustrative
excursuses and a summary of the practical implications of the approach
used.
[SNIP]
It is quite conceivable that research of the kind proposed in this paper
will eventually bear fruit in the use of Interlingua as a half-way
station
in MT (as the experts have come to call the new field of mechanical
translation by means of electronic computers). Instead of translating
from
German to English, one would translate from German to Interlingua and
from
Interlingua to English. Instead of having to calibrate German
function-structure relations against those in French, those in French
against those in English, and so forth in a criss-cross maze of
connections
of all sorts of language pairs, there would have to be only
back-and-forth
calibrations between each individual language and Interlingua.
>>>>>>>>>>
The above is excerpted from a paper presented by Dr. Alexander Gode,
to the Modern Language Association in 1954. He was the director of the
International Auxiliary Language Association's research project that
developed the international auxiliary language, Interlingua. So, he
is one to cite as having this idea very early on. Does that put it in
the public domain at that time? I don't know the dates of the supposed
patents above.
--
Stanley A. Mulaik
School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332
uucp: ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!pscccsm
Internet: pscccsm@prism.gatech.edu
---------------end quote-----------------------------
When we put that together with what Pascale Fung has just mailed to this
list, the case is abundantly clear. There is nothing in Toltran's
claims but plagiarism and theft of intellectual property.
As Pascale Fung's lawyer friend suggested, I think it would be
an excellent idea to provoke Toltran's lawyers into threatening
all of us who are into MT in the same manner (and here, I wish
I were into MT, alas, I am not).
But getting Toltran to recant is not enough. Tomorrow, some other
two-bit outfit is likely to try a similar scheme, and we will be
back to fighting a similar case all over again.
So, in my view:
1. Toltran must be made to suffer, and to suffer grieviously
for its action, as an example to others who would follow
the same path.
2. If possible its lawyers must be likewise made to suffer.
If Patrick Juola is right and "barratry is a disbarring
offense", then we have an excellent case, if I am to believe
my Heritage Dictionary; barratry 1. Law. The offense of
exciting or stirring up quarrels or groundless lawsuits.
3. That is still not enough. We must find ways to insure that
research is no longer open to such pilfering, theft, and
misappropriation.
There, I have no suggestions, only vague ideas that,
perhaps, something like a GNU licence...?
Beyond that, I am at a loss, a babe in the woods, at least
for the time being. I do not know how to tackle this task
best. But tackle it we must. It might cost, but it will
cost less if we crush it now rather than close our eyes,
hoping it will all go away. Myself, I am willing, nay,
eager, to pledge US$200 to that end. For a start. But it
would be premature to go into litigation now. A press
campaign is likely to produce far better results.
Yet, "know thy enemy".
I have done an AltaVista search on "toltran". It has
returned 32 documents, a few of which had nothing to
do with *that* "Toltran", and the most interesting of
which is:
http://www.knowledge.co.uk/xxx/mpcdir/products/ts_002.htm
Here it is:
----------begin quote------------------
Toltran Modular Translation Engine from Toltran Ltd
Keywords: Translation
Hardware: IBM-compatible; Windows 3.1+; preferably CD-ROM.
Printers: Most (if printscreen capability exists)
Languages: German, Russian, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese,
Esperanto, Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin & other dialects),
plus many other modern and classical languages belonging to the
Indo-European, Semitic, Uralic, Altaic, Sino-Tibetan and other
families, can be translated via source or destination modules according
to unique patented techniques available for licensing.
Reviews: Computer Shopper UK Feb 1991, WordPerfect Magazine, Feb 1993.
New York Times (Science) March 5, 1991.
BYTE Jan 1993.
Description: The Toltran Modular Translation Engine (see Screenshot,
10-25K) enables automatic translation from one language
to another, taking into account morphology, syntax and context.
Depending upon the machine, speeds of several thousand words
per minute can be attained. Split-screen editing is available. Words may
be added to the users' dictionary so that the system can be
customised as needed. The architecture is so unique that it has been
awarded US and foreign patents, including the first patent (to
issue) covering the use of Chaos and related concepts in the field of
computational linguistics. The Toltran System allows for
translation from and into multiple language selections, not just
one-to-one specific language pairs, via a universally-reversible bridge
(US Patent #4,864,503 & others). It is possible, therefore, to translate
from Spanish to French, using the same engine, bypassing
English entirely. This technology is the result of years of research by
the inventor while preparing his preliminary report on
translation & genetic relationships of the dead language Etruscan
(Library Of Congress : Oct. 1993). Past products sold to
determine market validation by this patent holding company include
"Foreign Correspondent" (see WordPerfect Magazine). This
and other intellectual property is available for licensing and/or
acquisition.
-------------------------------------end quote--------------------
Note this sentence:
"The architecture is so unique that it has been awarded US and foreign
patents, including the first patent (to issue) covering the use of Chaos
and related concepts in the field of computational linguistics"
"Chaos and related concepts in ... computational linguistics"?
That is absolute nonsense, of course, of the very type Sokal and
Bricmont have been denouncing. "So unique"? We all know how
unique it is.
And:
"This technology is the result of years of research by the inventor
while preparing his preliminary report on translation & genetic
relationships
of the dead language Etruscan (Library Of Congress : Oct. 1993)"
A novel way indeed of referencing your publications! A search on
+etruscan +tolin returns one single document, the one above. The
electronic bookshop www.amazon.com, which even knows about three obscure
publications of mine, knows nothing of Bruce Tolin, as you might have
guessed.
Finally, Toltran Modular Translation Engine requires Windows 3.1+.
I urge you to take a look at the screenshot, which is:
http://www.knowledge.co.uk/xxx/mpcdir/figures/ts_002.gif
I will refrain from commenting on it: that is simply too
gross to be believed, yet, it appears to be true.
All that gives us an idea of the sort of people with whom we are
dealing.
With my apologies for the length of this message.
Jacques Guy
Telstra Research Laboratories
770 Blackburn Road
Clayton 3168 Australia
