Reply
Wed 24 Mar, 2004 02:08 am
I downloaded a Chinese software,but its interface is Chinese.
I would like to know what tool can translating Chinese interface into English?
Thanks!
If I understand your question correctly (that you want some kind of automatic application-front-end translation software), there's no tool that does that, unless your Chinese software was specifically written in a method intended to allow that. For example they could put all images with words, and all text used throughout the program in a resource file that would still work after being run through some kind of translation program.
It's unlikely you'll find a solution to this. Sorry 'bout that.
According to a freind of mine in the Languages Department at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, there are some Commercial Applications that sorta do that,,, translate Chinese to English and vice-versa. I'm told you should bear in mind there is a significant difference between Simplified Chinese Character Set and Traditional Chinese Character Set, as well as major discrepencies and differences among various dialects. For most professional applications, though not all, Mandarin will be operative, and Mandarin is also used for all Official Documentation in China. If the Chinese you're working with is actually from Taiwan, there is a specific Taiwanese variant of Chinese akin, but not identical with, Mandarin. There are some other things to consider first, however:
1) You'll need to install Chinese Language support on your computer (that's easy, just go to Windows Update)
2) You'll need an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) app capable of handling Chinese characters (Available, but pricey)
3) You'll need a Chinese/English translation app (Available, but pricey}. In practice, its best to have a couple or three of 'em, from different vendors, so you can develop and compare at least two translations. There will be differences.
4) You'll need to print out the Chinese Instructions you wish to translate
4) You'll need to scan the printout into the translation apps then compare the translations, paying close attention to where they differ, and use experience and judgement to determine and assess the most likely or most appropriate interpolation.
5) You'll need several hundred dollars - probably something just under a grand all together - to acquire the software mentioned above.
6) You should have a great deal of training and supervised experience in the use of the software before relying on your own judgement. A couple years and a few hundred successful translations oughtta do it.
On the other hand, there are a number of commercial translation services through which multilingual humans will perform translations on a per-word or per-page fee basis. Typical charges for a 300 word page are from around fifty to a hundred bucks.
Enjoy.
Yes, but none of that will put the translated text into the Chinese app, which I believe is what btvbtv was asking about.
That is, unless the app was intentionally written in a way that made it possible, in which case you wouldn't need the OCR program 'cus all the text would already be in a resource file.