Contents

[Language Grid Toolbox Prototype Beta Version Released]

[Monthly Maintenance for October]

[Language Resources: Dictionaries and Parallel Texts for Schools]

[Number of Language Grid Users Reaches One Hundred]

[Language Grid Users] Kinoshita Lab, Cyberscience Center, Tohoku University

Language Grid Toolbox Prototype Beta Version Released

  The NICT Language Grid Project released Language Grid Toolbox, a multilingual collaboration tool based on a Content Management System (CMS), at the end of July and had been listening to comments from users. Based on those comments, the Project improved the usability and modified the design; they then released a prototype beta version of the tool at the end of August.
  Functions of the prototype beta version:
  -Text Translation: Translates text of multiple lines that include line feed.
  -Multilingual BBS: Posted messages can be read in different languages.
  -User Dictionary Creation: To improve quality of machine translations, it supports creation of dictionary of special terms in a community and multilingual text.
  The release schedule is as follows:
  End of September: Ver.1.0 -Text Translation, Multilingual BBS, User Dictionary Creation
  End of October: Ver. 2.0 -Web Translation
  Toward the release of Version 1.0, the Project will continue to accept requests for new functions and functional improvements. If you wish to try the prototype, send your request to join the mailing list for Toolbox users to: asukam[at]nict.go.jp
  The Language Grid Toolbox is a series of tools that help users develop multilingual sites by themselves. Additionally, with Language Grid Playground, developed by Kyoto University, users can try cross-searches of multilingual phrases, user dictionary creation, and machine translation combined with a specialized dictionary. Please visit the site.

Monthly Maintenance for October

  The next maintenance on the Language Grid will be conducted on Monday, September 7, 18:00 -21:00 JST. If you wish to use the Language Grid during this period, please contact us in advance at operation [at] langrid.org.

Language Resources: Dictionaries and Parallel Texts for Schools

  By around October, a number of multilingual language resources concerning schools will be available on the Language Grid. Currently the following resources are planned to be added:
  Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education "Kanagawa Prefecture Public High School Enrollment Guidebook"
  Shiga Intercultural Association for Globalization "Multicultural School Supporting Site: Multilingual Expressions for Schools"
  Shiga Intercultural Association for Globalization "For Your Future...Academic/career Guidance"   Global Campus Net, Osaka "English, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish Writing Together School Wordbook"
  Global Campus Net, Osaka "Campus Wordbook"
  Mie Prefectural Board of Education "An Introduction to Schools in Japan: School Guidance for Foreign Guardians"
  Yokkaichi City Board of Education "Guide to Yokkaichi Municipal Elementary and Junior High Schools for Non-Japanese Students and Parents: Yokkaichi City Schools Welcome You!"
  Mie International Exchange Foundation "New Edition Mieko-san no Nihongo (Mieko's Japanese)"
  Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education "Tanoshii Gakkou (Enjoy your School in Japan) Japanese Textbook for Foreign Students"
  Osaka Prefectural Board of Education "Multilingual Announcement from School"
  Osaka Prefectural Board of Education "Multilingual guidance of career/school path"
  Osaka Prefectural Board of Education "Announcement on Entrance Examinations: Multilingual Version"
  Osaka Prefectural Board of Education "School Life Support Information for Returnees and Non-native Japanese Students"
  Osaka Prefectural Board of Education "Guidance on School Fee Reductions"
  Minami-Alps City "Miru, Asobu, NIHONGO: Japanese Learning Material for Non-Japanese Students"

Number of Language Grid Users Reaches One Hundred

  The number of user organizations of the Language Grid, which has been operated by Kyoto University since December 2006, has exceeded one hundred! Organizations from sixteen countries have now joined the Language Grid. We will continue our efforts to broaden its use. Thank you for your continuous support!

Language Grid Users: Kinoshita Lab, Cyberscience Center, Tohoku University

  Toward the establishment of new software infrastructure in the knowledge society, Kinoshita Lab of Cyberscience Center in Tohoku University conducts research and development on the intelligent distributed information environment, where people, software and hardware collaborate to support people's activities. One of our research teams aims to support the utilization of a variety of academic information based on Active Information Resource (AIR), and we think that effectively utilizing the language resources and services provided by the Language Grid will be helpful and chose the research topics that are related to the Language Grid. Based on the agent-based AIR that is composed for Web services, we are now designing a scheme that will handle the services of the Language Grid as AIR. With this scheme, we hope to realize the environment in which users who are not familiar with service access or who are too lazy to deal with the requirements of the service use--as I am--can easily use Language Grid services or the composite services together (for example, the composite service between the search/process of academic information AIR and the Language Grid service AIR).