Translation Sciences Institute
Dates
- Existence: 1976 - 1980
Administrative History
The Translation Sciences Institute (1976-1980) at Brigham Young University functioned to provide machine translation of texts with a minimum of human assistance.
In 1974 then-President of Brigham Young University, Dallin H. Oaks, and Dr. Eldon Lytle presented the idea of a Translation Sciences Institute to the Board of Trustees in an effort to gain funding. The Translation Department of the Church agreed to provide forty percent of the funding, and the project began in 1976. In 1977, President Wilkinson donated the money for a computer dedicated to computer translation work. Originally, the computer was designed to translate accurately and efficiently between English and five other languages: Spanish, French, German, Portugese, and Chinese. The purposes were largely extended to translations of scriptural materials and other church-related texts. Dr. Lytle (1976-1979) and Dr. Gary Carlson (1980) served as directors of the project until funding was withdrawn in 1980.
Citation:
Department of Linguistics and English Language records, 1957-2004 (Translation Sciences Institute)Brigham Young University, L. Tom Perry Special Collections worksheet, Apr. 21, 2009 (Translation Sciences Institute; est. 1970 at Brigham Young University; developed Interactive Translation System software; closed in 1979)
Machine translation, 1986: p. 17.10 (Translation Sciences Institute; members of institute founded Automated Language Processing System (ALPS) in 1980)
BYU organization history website, via WWW, Nov. 2, 2011 (researched computer-assisted language translation; reported to Dept. of Linguistics)
Translation Sciences Institute records, 1973-1992 (existed 1976-1980; machine translation; human assistance minimum; Oaks and Lytle presented idea to Board of Trustees; Translation Dept. 40 percent funding; 1976 began; Wilkinson donated money for computer; English and five languages: French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Chinese; scriptural materials; directors Lytle 1976-1979 and Carlson 1980; funding withdrawn 1980)
Found in 7 Collections and/or Records:
Translation Sciences Institute annual reports and committee records, 1975-1992
Contains general records of the Translation Sciences Institute, including annual reports and policies from the Humanities Research Center, database distribution records, building records, and general files. Also included are two plaques in an oversize folder from the institute honoring Ernest L. Wilkinson and his contributions, 1975-1992.
Translation Sciences Institute general records, 1973-1992
Contains the general records of the Translation Sciences Institute, including annual reports and committee records, information from the scriptural database run by the institution, and papers related to the Translation Sciences Institute and its functions, 1973-1992.
Translation Sciences Institute microfiche, 1974-1982
Contains microfiche from the Translation Sciences Institute covering four broad areas: analysis lexicons, scripture comparisons of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, English lexicon and word order, and complete concordance of the four standard works, 1974-1982.
Translation Sciences Institute papers by Charles D. Bush, 1973-1977
Contains papers written completely or partially by Charles D. Bush, a senior research consultant at the Brigham Young University Humanities Research Center. Papers include the "English Modification Handbook," "Levels of Modification Applied to Transformational Grammar," papers covering the topics of translators and computers, as well as other papers and correspondence, 1973-1978.
Translation Sciences Institute records
Collection contains records from the Translation Sciences Institute at Brigham Young University, including information regarding the Junction Grammar Theory, general records of annual reports, minutes, and correspondence, as well as microfiche used by the institute in computing translations. Also includes materials related to the institute gathered by Charles D. Bush. Materials date from between 1973 and 1992.
Translation Sciences Institute records on Junction Grammar, 1973-1978
Translation Sciences Institute scriptural database records, 1980-1986
Contains information relating to the scriptural database maintained by the Translation Services Institute. Included are records from the 1980 scriptural publication committee, records involving database licensing, scriptural database committee records, and other general records, 1980-1986.