This document discusses Prompsit, a company that provides machine translation services using the open-source Apertium platform. Prompsit was spun off from the Transducens group at the University of Alicante in Spain. It aims to make multilingualism accessible to all users, budgets, and languages by offering innovative services based on free/open-source software rather than traditional "black-box" products. The document outlines Prompsit's business model and participation in programs like Google Summer of Code to expand the Apertium platform.
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Prompsit: free linguistic
technologies for translation
Gema Ramírez Sánchez
Prompsit Language Engineering
Campus UMH. Quorum III building
Avinguda de la Universitat s/n
03202, Elx (Alacant) Spain
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Prompsit in brief
Prompsit: spin-off fromTransducens group (UA)
Area: machine translation + open source
Technology: the FOSS Apertium platform
Business model: innovative services vs. black-
boxed traditional products
Team: computer + linguists
Aim: multilingualism = reality within reach for all
users, budgets and languages
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Motivation
Take advantage of the know-how created in the
Transducens group over 6 years
Commercialise services around the Apertium
open source machine translation platform
Revolutionise the translation and language
technologies market according to the
collaborative development model powered by
free software
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But, is machine translation useful?
Yes, of course it is
Although some instruction manuals are not
good examples
Useful to understand a text
Useful to obtain a draft useful for publication
(after a compulsory revision)
There is so much content to be translated and it
could be so efficiently managed with the aid of
technologies!!
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The Apertium platform
Translation engine, tools and data
for language pairs: EVERYTHING
is GPL
More than 28 language pairs already running
(more on the way!!)
A world-wide developers community
Fast, based on standards, modular, 100%
customisable
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Apertium@Google Summer of Code
Three consecutive years participating in
Google Summer of Code programme
9 participants by year
Two consecutive years participating in the
Google Code-In programme
150 tasks by year
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Apertium-based Prompsit's services
Translation servers for corporate environments
Adaptation to particular domains (Tourism) or
language variants (Portuguese of Brazil)
New language pairs (Spanish-Slovenian)
Development of plugins, new modules and
auxiliary tools for Apertium
Consulting and training in language
technologies and free software
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Distinguishing features
Customisation vs. black boxes
Trust vs. technological dependency
Open platform, focus in minority languages
Generation of opportunities for companies,
individuals and researchers
“Work as a network” model
Upgrade maintenance