Idea 46: Translation through Comparision

Problem:

Let it be Chinese, Japanese, English, German, Russian or Spanish – translating can be a time-consuming activity, especially when the alphabets are different and one does not have a dictionary at hand.

Solution:

When considering that any word, any sentence or any phrase can be defined as a “symbol,” one might be able to create a system that translates through comparing “symbols” with a given database. For example: the sentence “I like to play tennis” is not “4 english words including a “subject” and “predicate” etc but a symbol/picture  consisting of lines and dots. It would work like “face recognition” but with words and allow instant translation using a smart phone.

Idea 14: Books for Multilinguists

Problem:

Learning a language is already difficult enough. And even once mastered, keeping that level is another obstacle, because when talking about languages a particular expression holds true: When you don’t use it, you lose it.

To learn and to maintain a certain language level, people watch TV, listen to music, go to language exchanges and read books among others. In addition, more and more people speak more than one language fluently as they often have to transcend their own country borders to find a job.

Solution:

Many books are translated into several different languages. Thus, offering books that include one or two translations might offer an interesting value proposition to people that speak more than one language to maintain a certain level of fluency in both languages. Keeping in mind that over the years e-readers will become cheaper and cheaper, manufacturing an e-reader especially for these types of e-books might attract a certain niche-market. Some e-readers already offer an “vocab-trainer,” which is a sign that people that speak several languages are an upcoming customer base.