History
Machine translation technology has become an integral part of modern life. Just 50 years ago, in order to read a foreign article or translate a letter received from abroad, people spent a long and meticulous time flipping through dictionaries or turning to professional translators. Today the best way to understand the “secret” meaning of a foreign language is to use an online translator or mobile app.
Behind the accessibility, simplicity and convenience of computer-based translators is a tremendous amount of work done by scientists, mathematicians, engineers and linguists. This article explores how machine translation technology was born and developed from the 17th century to the present day.