FIRST STEPS IN MECHANICAL TRANSLATION
John G. B. Hutchins · 1997
Although the first ideas for mechanical translation were made in the seventeenth century, it was not until this century that means became available for realization with the appearance of the electronic computer in the mid 1940s. Fifty years ago, in March 1947 Warren Weaver wrote to Norbert Wiener and met Andrew Booth, mentioning to both the use of computers for translation. The possibilities were investigated during the next seven years, until in January 1954 the first prototype program was demonstrated. This article is a brief chronicle of these early years of mechanizing translation processes. 1. The beginnings to 1947 The idea of mechanizing translation can be traced back to the seventeenth century, almost always in association with the idea of inventing a universal language. In the previous century Francis Bacon had stressed the inadequacies of natural languages for the description of scientific discoveries. By the early seventeenth century the need was more widely felt, and the rapid growth of international trade throughout the world and the decline of knowledge of Latin made the dream of a universal language even more desirable. As a result many proposals for 'universal characters ' were put forward; the best known being that