Haitian Creole Translation in a Hurry

This is a very brief post, what a crazy busy month. But I have to write about this.

One of the highlights of the month for me was writing a feature story for the Microsoft Research website about the amazing work their Natural Language Processing (NLP) group did for the aid effort in Haiti.

Ever wonder how disaster relief workers communicate with victims who speak a different language? How many translators can they make available to the various humanitarian agencies?

It turns out that between translation technology and cellular broadband wireless coverage, some of the aid workers can get access to smart phone apps and translation web sites. Web sites such as CrisisCommons have volunteers who leverage technology to support aid efforts, and some have built mobile applications that make use of translation tools or websites.

However, Haitian Creole is not on the list of major languages supported by the online translation services. When a Microsoft employee who was involved in the aid effort approached the NLP about solving this problem, the research group pulled together a Haitian Creole translation system in five, you heard me, five days.

Translator Fast-Tracks Haitian Creole

Why post this on a blog? Because the research group hopes that the word gets out so that more people make use of the system — and that includes developers who build applications that benefit the aid effort. See the “What You Can Do to Help” section at the end of the article, and pass it on.