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Ergane 8.0

What is Ergane?

Ergane is a multilingual translation dictionary for Windows that uses the artificial language Esperanto to translate words and short expressions from one natural language to another. Ergane is a product of Majstro AplikaÄµoj.

Ergane's user interface and manual are available in three languages: English, Esperanto and Dutch. The user interface alone is also available in Spanish.

On-line version

On this site is also available Travlang's On-line Translation Dictionary, which is an on-line version of Ergane:

MUSIC:

jonerik writes "Sony has released software for its popular PSP handheld gaming device called TalkMan. In development for some time now, the program currently stores about 3,000 conversation patterns in English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. 'A user may speak the words "Koko-wa-dokodesuka?" (Where is this?) in Japanese, for example, into the device's microphone, upon which a cartoon bird acting as an interpreter will pop up and start talking in the user's language. The bird is also able to translate the reply into Japanese.' A European release for TalkMan is expected in the spring."

First, because Karen Traviss's latest book Triple Zero - AND the latest Star Wars Insider will have more details and information about Mandalorians and their language, Mando'a.

AND Karen informs us the material about Mando'a will be online in the official Star Wars subscription Hyperspace Community (she also hopes to put it online at her website's Mando'a section where you'll find Karen's own recordings of spoken Mando'a. [Note: the materials at StarWars.com will be going online February 14th.]

Retroactive continuity â�� commonly contracted to the portmanteau retcon â�� is the adding of new information to "historical" material, or deliberately changing previously established facts in a work of serial fiction. The change itself is referred to as a "retcon", and the act of writing and publishing a retcon is called "retconning".

Retcons are common in comic books, especially those of large publishing houses such as Marvel Comics and DC Comics, due to the lengthy history of many series and the number of independent authors contributing to their development; this is the context in which the term was coined. Retconning also occurs in TV shows, movies sequels, video games, radio series, series of novels, and can be done in any other type of episodic fiction. It is also used in roleplaying, when the game master feels it is needed to maintain consistency in the story or to fix significant mistakes that were missed during play.

What if there aren't any Words?. (podcast version here)

Some thinking about non-human, non-verbal communications....

How could we communicate ... if there aren't any words? Remember the tones in "Close Encounters?" That's one solution - here's one attempt to solve that problem:

http://home.pacifier.com/~patten/

UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATION

Here's how you might say/write "Today is a good day to die":

Here's a book (comments from B&N, and my mini-review) that explores human, animal and alien communication at a space station orbiting Jupiter.

Jupiter

Ben Bova

A novel of one of the strangest places imaginable, a place where hydrogen flows as a liquid, a place with a lightless ocean ten times wider than the entire earth, a place where cyclones larger than planets rage for centuries at a time.

Grant Archer merely wanted to study astrophysics, to work quietly as an astronomer on the far side of the moon. But the forces of the New Morality, the coalition of censorious do-gooders who run twenty-first century America, have other plans for him.
To his distress, Grant is torn from his young bride and sent to a research station in orbit around Jupiter, charged with the task of spying on the scientists who work there. Their work may lead to the disvoery of higher life forms in the Jovian systemâ��a discovery whose implications might destabilize the theocratic power structure back on earth.
What Grant's would-be controllers don't know is that his loyalty to science may be greater than his desire for a quiet life. But that loyalty will be tested in a mission as dangerous as any ever undertaken.
Meanwhile, what lurks in the middle reaches of Jupiter's vast atmosphere is more than any faction has counted on...and stranger than anyone could possibly have imagined.

Wow! I really enjoyed this entrant in Bova's "Grand Tour."

He sets up several interesting problems

A powerful conservative religious coalition limiting science
Scientific obsession to the point of danger
Possibility of intelligent life on Jupiter
A young Christian scientist whose faith is challenged by the work he's doing

I wasn't sure what to expect. Other books by Bova didn't lead me to think he was particularly interested in promoting religious faith - I was afraid this book might caricature believers, and "save" the scientist by leading him away from his faith - but Bova didn't do that. Even the religious villains were not painted as completely evil. The the hero, Grant Archer, is not led away from his faith - rather the opposite. Very enjoyable, thoughtful and worth reading!

The case for animal intelligence: http://www.alexfoundation.org/

MUSIC - Aba-daba Honeymoon - some animal communication.
http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu

Mando'a is OUT! Get it online from Karen Traviss http://www.karentraviss.com - and go buy Republic Commando: Triple Zero - it's got a big glossary of Mando'a and more! Follow the discussion of (and IN) Mando'a here: Star Wars official Mando'a blog

Basic
the standard language spoken throughout the galaxy, Basic was believed to have been derived from several ancient languages, including Dromnyr.

Space Settlements

spreading life throughout the solar system

Our Future in the Cosmos--Space

Welcome to
The Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia
compiled and written by Bob Vitas

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Betrayal

Aaron Allston

When a mission to uncover an illegal
missile factory on the planet Adumar
ends in a violent ambush -- from which
Jedi Knight Jacen Solo and his protÃ©gÃ©
and cousin, Ben Skywalker, narrowly
escape with their lives -- itâ��s the most
alarming evidence yet that sparks of
political unrest are threatening to
ignite into total rebellion. The
governments of numerous worlds are
chafing under the strict regulations of
the Galactic Alliance, and diplomatic
efforts to enforce compliance are
failing. Fearing the worst, the Alliance
readies a preemptive display of military
might in a bid to bring the rogue worlds
in line before an uprising erupts. The
designated target of this exercise:
planet Corellia -- renowned for the
brash independence and renegade spirit
that have made its favorite son, Han
Solo, a legend.

! Very good! I'm impressed (as I noted in Triple Zero) how the SW books manage to deal with contemporary themes, without being literally ABOUT Iraq and such.

Lots of interesting plot lines, and action (Allston is good at that). Like the Return of the Jedi, there are many quick cuts between scenes and locations. A very good SF story, that just happened to be a Star Wars book!

Following that in the series will be Karen Traviss's entrant - guaranteed to have more Mando'a!

See her pages at www.karentraviss.com for Mando'a!

NEXT UP:

LEGACY OF THE FORCE: BLOODLINES - US/ UK September

Jennifer's Language Page!

MiitKad - Word Sword - a Minimalist Editor

Now here's an interesting looking book - I've got
it on order - I'll let you know what I think.

Karen Traviss's next book is on the way - August 29th:
You can preview LEGACY OF THE FORCE: BLOODLINES - the prologue, in audiobook format , read by Marc Thompson.(Sounds Terrific).

http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/starwars/sw_legacy.html

Meanwhile, I'm listening to the audio versions of the prequel trilogy - I have to admit, though I read the books when they came out.... the audio experience is outstanding, maybe better than the movies!

Check out the Random House Audio podcast, It's a Big Universe!

iTunes URL (sorry it's the only one I have)

Don't forget SQPN.com's "Secrets of Star Wars" - been a while since a new episode, but still good!

http://www.sqpn.com/scripts/starwars.php

http://www.atomfilms.com/af/spotlight/collections/starwars/
AtomFilms

MUSIC FROM: www.chrisbouchard.co.uk

Prologue

The mystery would never be solved. It would simply join others, like the Tunguska event or the Square Crater on Callisto, in the catalogue of unexplained occurrences. The initial worldwide excitement waned within a few months, as it became clear that no quick answers would be found. For a few years grieving relatives would, with some success, press officialdom to maintain the studies and inquiries. But there were no lawyers to keep the fires stoked. The courts ruled soon enough that the Grantville Disaster was an Act of God, for which insurance companies were not liable. Within ten years, the Disaster had devolved into another domain of fanatics and enthusiasts, like the Kennedy Assassination. Thereafter, of course, it enjoyed a near-eternal half-life. But few if any reputable scientists in the world held out any hope for a final explanation....

In May of the year 2000, a six-mile sphere, centered on Grantville, West Virginia, was displaced in space and time to Germany and 1631. When the inhabitants of Grantville decided to start the American revolution early the nobility of Europe were not amused.

This story, by Eric Flint, is the basis for a great deal of lively discussion on Baen's Bar on the Baen Book web site since 1999.

The 1632 universe has spawned sequels including an anthology, Ring of Fire, 1633, 1634: The Galileo Affair, and continuing issues of the 1632 universe's magazine The Grantville Gazette both as electronic and print editions. More books and magazines are coming soon including: 1634: The Baltic War, 1634: The Ram Rebellion, 1635: The Cannon Law.

The Mando'a Language Version of the World English Bible

Once anyone hears of a project to make something like a Mando'a Bible, the question that comes up is "why?" Certainly there is no need for such a version, as there is a need for a Bible in English, Spanish, German, or any other "real" language. There is no person who would only be able to access the scriptures in Mando'a.

But in the study of artificial languages, translating standard works of literature like the Bible is often done, and for two reasons. First, it is a way to exercise and develop the language, and second, it helps to develop a body of literature in that language. This literature can then be used and referred to by people learning and using the language.

For some, there can be other benefits. Though this kind of translation might seem frivolous, the work of producing such a translation can have devotional value even if the translation is never used. The effort of reading the scriptures and considering their meaning for a translation cannot fail to benefit the translator by helping him or her develop a deeper understanding of the text.

For example, the Klingon language community has produced at least three efforts in this direction. The Klingon Language Institute (http://www.kli.org) organized a long-term project to translate the Bible. Currently on hiatus, this project has yielded only a few books, for example, the Gospel of Mark. In addition, the Rev. Glen Prochel published a book, Good News for the Warrior Race, which presents the gospels and other selected scriptures in parallel with a "Star Trek" English paraphrase. Finally, I've created a simple Klingon Language Version, http://klv.mrklingon.org. The software used to create the KLV was adapted to create this Mando'a text.

The project presented here, the Mando'a Language Version, is actually a relexification of the World English Bible (WEB) and serves as a demonstration of what a complete Mando'a Bible would look like. When developed by Karen Traviss, the Mando'a language had a large vocabulary of common words that could be mapped to English. These were used to transform the WEB into Mando'a. Though it may not be a grammatical Mando'a text (actually it is more of a pidgin-Mando'a, mixing English vocabulary and grammar with Mando'a) it does provide vocabulary which can be used in doing a proper Mando'a translation.

By the way, the designation of this project, the MND, may appear to be a mere contraction of "Mando'a" - but I prefer to think it stands for Mando'a Naak Dajun, Mandalorian Peace Plan.

Note: I've placed a shuk'orok, a Mandalorian Crushgaunt, on the cover because it seems an appropriately brutal analog to the cross. According to the Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia:

a specialized, armored glove created in the Mandalore System, the Crushgaunt was first developed by the Mandalorian Mercs. Each crushgaunt enhanced the wearer's ability to crush objects, such as hands or other body parts, allowing them to do considerable damage with minimal effort. The use of crushgaunts was outlawed by the Mandalorian government many centuries before the Galactic Civil War, but their use was later revived by the Mandalorian Death Watch. It was also rumored that one of Darth Vader's gloves was a crushgaunt, and that the being who recovered it after the Battle of Endor would become the next ruler of the Empire. It was later learned that this was a ruse that was perpetrated by the so-called Church of the Dark Side.

The MND Bible is a free to distribute version of the WEB using a Mando'a relexification vocabulary.

Ah - I had to re-read this this week, for you see, John M. Ford, passed away this week. A fine writer and highly regarded by friends and readers - if you've not read his books - do it today! This is an example - maybe the best - of what a great writer can do with Star Trek.

In this he created a fascinating view of the Klingons - AND provides us with the first written Klingon dialect! Don't miss it!

Klingonaase	Federation Standard
Kahlesste kaase!	Kahless' hand,'' an oath referring to the story of the Emperor Kahless, who died with his hand tied to the controls of his ship in a battle against Romulans.[k]
Klingon	Klingon. Noun only, I think.[k]
Klinzhai	The Klingon homeworld -- not called 'Klingon'![k]
epetai-zana	Honored and exalted one.[k]
fedegonaase	UFP standard language, whatever that is.[k]
federazhon	The United Federation of Planets.[k]
g'daya	to ''damned,'' but probably stronger.(swearing)[k]
g'dayt	Undefined adjectives (gerunds?), roughly equivalent (swearing)[k]
gagny	Damned.(swearing)[k]
hum zha	The Human game, chess.[k]
humanai kuvest'	Either ''human slave'' or ''slave of the humans.''[k]
kaase	Hand.[k]
kai kassai	The same, emphasized. ''Kai kassai, Klingon!''[k]
kai	Hail, or ''long live''. Used often, as ''Kai ''.[k]
kherx	A screw-up.(swearing)[k]
khest	To screw up.(swearing)[k]
khest'n	roughly equal to ''damned.''(swearing)[k]
khest't	roughly equal to ''damned.''(swearing)[k]
khesterex thath	Screwed up situation.(swearing)[k]
khesterex	Literally, ''the structure which dies.''[k]
kleon	Enemy, or opponent. Same, to a Klingon.[k]
klin zha kinta	The Klingon game with living pieces.[k]
klin zha	The Klingon game (in several variations).[k]
klin	That which is Klingon. One can be 'full of klin,' i.e., a worthy Klingon.[k]
klingonaase	The Klingonese language.[k]
komerex Klingon	The Klingon Empire.[k]
komerex tel khesterex	This was an interjection, probably ''grow or die.''[k]
komerex zha	See 'zha' below.[k]
komerex zha	The perpetual game -- life. See 'komerex' above.[k]
komerex	Literally, ''the structure which grows.'' Overtones of ''path,'' or even ''Tao.''[k]
kuve	Servitor; alternative translation is slave.[k]
kuvekhestat	Worthless slave(s). See 'khest' above.[k]
kuveleta	Half-slave; an insult. Klingons mix races freely, but have cultural prejudices against some.[k]
kuvesa tokhesa	I serve willingly.''[k]
nal	Negating word -- as, ''Nal komerex, khesterex.''[k]
parkhest	Damn!(swearing)[k]
rom zha	The Romulan game, latrunculo.[k]
sa tel'ren	Two out of three. One can't assume sa=2 and ren=3.[k]
straave, straav'	Slave.[k]
tai	Worthy, honored.[k]
tai-kleon	Worthy opponent. See 'kleon' above.[k]
teskas tal'tai-kleon	Compliments to a worthy opponent.[k]
teskas	Compliments, praise.[k]
tharavul	Vulcan servitor, lobotomized to remove the Vulcan's telepathic powers. This is done voluntarily.[k]
tharkuve	Deaf slave, unable to overhear secret conferences.[k]
tokhe straav'	Willing slave. Just about the worst insult one can call a Klingon.[k]
tokhe	Willing. See 'straave' and 'kuve' above.[k]
tokhest'	From context, ''if he is willing or not.'' Your guess is as good as mine how much of that is in the -st', and how much is implied.[k]
vird'dakaase	Disruptor. Literally, ''shake-till-falls-apart tool.'' Note the -aase (or -kaase) suffix.[k]
zan	Neutral title of respect; roughly equal to Mister.[k]
zha riest'n	It was a] pleasant game.[k]
zha	Game.[k]

MANDO'A LANGUAGE RESOURCE - the Mando'a to English and English to Mando'a dictionaries plus the grammar guide are here . Updated November '06. Next update: March '07. Oya!

NEW - REPUBLIC COMMANDO - HARD CONTACT will be available in Polish translation from Amber Books in December.

Russian editions of CITY OF PEARL and CROSSING THE LINE coming next year. More details later.

MATRIARCH, book four of the wess'har wars, from HarperCollins. (Yes, this is a six-book series - it didn't end in book three! Plenty more to come yet...)

BLOODLINES - New York Times bestseller! Also available in a hardcover special edition from the Science Fiction Book Club.

Book 5 of the Wess'har Wars - ALLY April 2007: book 6, JUDGE, Fall/ Winter 2007. LEGACY OF THE FORCE: SACRIFICE - June 2007. REPUBLIC COMMANDO #3 - August 2007. LEGACY OF THE FORCE #8 -March 2008. REPUBLIC COMMANDO #4 -August 2008.