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From: eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya)
Newsgroups: net.ai,net.cse,net.arch,net.math,net.nlang,net.wanted,net.graphics,net.physics,net.research,net.bio,net.mag
Subject: Foreign Language Technical Material
Message-ID: <1135@ames.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Sep-85 12:13:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.1135
Posted: Fri Sep 13 12:13:59 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 14-Sep-85 17:03:08 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 59
Xref: watmath net.ai:2999 net.cse:432 net.arch:1785 net.math:2258 net.nlang:3560 net.wanted:7167 net.graphics:1103 net.physics:3261 net.research:223 net.bio:262 net.mag:220

Lately, there have been significant technical advances from non-English
speaking countries: Japan and the Continent.  How many know the Japanese
equivalent to the CACM?  What is the German equivalent of the IEEE?
It is too easy to say that such organizations and publications are
not significant.  We have been accused of parochialism.
Our problems in the computer industry are rather unique as colleagues in other
fields such as nuclear fusion report that most of their colleagues are,
for all practical purposes, forced to come to the U.S.  This is not the case
with computing

Just as we have file servers and process servers, we have a
distributed system.  Our greatest resource are not the machines, but
the people with special skills.  To this end I propose the following:

Propose:
1) to identify individuals who are capable of providing simple
translation.  It would help if the Universities could do this, but
languages requirements in most graduate CS and EE programs has been dropped.
Perhaps, Universities could get assistance from foreign language
departments.

2) Identify various foreign language publications of technical interest.
Quickly identify articles of wide interest.  This information could
be posted to general interest Usenet newsgroups such as net.research
and net.mag as well as the special interest groups such as the AI List,
net.lang, and so forth.  We should not create news grops, but work
on top of existing groups.

3) Help fund subscription and translations. Perhaps, individuals
without technical translation expertise can get together to pay for
technical translations [commercial], and/or help fund the subscription
of those with technical translation expertise.  This information
could be posted to the standard news groups addressed above.

Dymond@nbs-vms.ARPA has started an info-japan and a nihongo discussion
group on the ARPAnet, but it would be difficult to get Usenet
participation.  I specfically do not want to create new newsgroups.
This structure can be placed atop the existing new group structure.

It appears our most critical needs are in the Eastern Asian languages
such as Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.  Other useful work would include
French, German, and the other European languages.  We have to look to
the Universities for much of our assistance, but private organizations
and government can also help.  We can certainly make inquires.
The Usenet extends into Japan, France, and other non-English native
countries.  We must take benefit of these contributors.
Similarly, we can contribute to these countries by tagging significant
English language documents.

I am willing to act as a clearing house for determining finding
individuals and groups, and specific journals.  For this purpose,
I am giving my address an ARPA, uucp gateway.  Send the mail inquires
there.  More in a couple of weeks.

From the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:
--eugene miya
  NASA Ames Research Center
  {hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,decwrl,allegra}!ames!amelia!eugene
  eugene@ames-nas