msky's
Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (1965), revolutionized the framework for the
discussion and understanding of the phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics
of human language.

In 1966, the U.S. government-issued ALPAC report offered a prematurely negative
assessment of the value and prospects of practical machine translation systems,
effectively putting an end to funding and experimentation in the field for the
next decade. It was not until the late 1970s, with the growth of computing and
language technology, that serious efforts began once again. This period of
renewed interest also saw the development of the Transfer model of machine
translation and the emergence of the first commercial MT systems.

While commercial ventures such as SYSTRAN and METAL began to demonstrate the
viability, utility and demand for machine translation, these mainframe-bound
systems also illustrated many of the problems in bringing MT products and
services to market. High development cost, labor-intensive lexicography and
linguistic implementation, slow progress in developing new language pairs,
inaccessibility to the average user, and inability to scale easily to new
platforms are all characteristics of these second-generation systems."

A number of companies are specialized in machine translation development, such
as Lernout & Hauspie, Globalink, Logos or SYSTRAN.

Based in Ieper (Belgium) and Burlington (Massachussets, USA), Lernout & Hauspie
(L&H) is an international leader in the development of advanced speech
technology for various commercial applications and products. The company offers
four core technologies - automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech
(TTS), text-to-text and digital speech compression. Its ASR, TTS and digital
speech compression technologies are licensed to main companies in the
telecommunications, computers and multimedia, consumer electronics and
automotive electronics industries. Its text-to-text (translation) services are
provided to information technology (IT) companies and vertical and automation
markets.

The Machine Translation Group of Lernout & Hauspie comprises enterprises that
develop, produce, and market highly sophisticated machine translation systems:
L&H Language Technology, AppTek, AILogic, NeocorTech and Globalink. Each is an
international leader in its particular segment.

Founded in 1990, Globalink is a major U.S. company in language translation
software and services, which off