As I noted in the previous entry, Google has a service called Google Language Tools that uses personal to translate text entries among 23 languages.
Looking forward, the company will apparently complement this service with an on the web marketplace for people who want to buy and sell human translation services.
According to a post in Google BlogoScoped, folks who need documents translated will submit them — along with pertinent info like deadlines — to the Google Translation Center, where some computer magic will pair them with translators and reviewers (who I’d presume will make sure the translations are legit).
In addition to matching paying customers with professional translators, the new site will also provide tools for people who are passionate about bringing some of the Web’s riches to different language groups.
Google BlogoScoped says it doesn’t know how Google will make money off this service — perhaps by selling ads, perhaps by taking a cut from each transaction.
Either of those sound plausible, but I can see a third possible way that Google could benefit — by using this endless treasure trove of human-translated material to improve its machine-translation software.
I’ll be curious to read the terms of service when Google Translation Center launches to see if the company reserves some right to use the translations for such a purpose.
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