A Nuanced Approach to Translation
Turning the PSP into a pocket translator took a little Euro-ingenuity.
Published: July 12, 2006
Though it was discussed around the time of the PSP launch, Talkman has been something of a foreign prospect for American PSP owners. That's not really going to change any time soon, but at least the friendly little Parrot will start speaking in languages that are a little more familiar. And he'll be doing it thanks to help from one Nuance Communications, a company specializing in speech recognition.
It's all based on something called VoCon, a software development kit that enabled Sony Computer Entertainment to link up their basic ideas for a non-threatening avatar that can both listen and speak in multiple languages to guide clueless travelers around a foreign land (or at least to a bathroom, night club, restaurant, hotel and so on). VoCon was used in both the original Japanese and Asian releases of Talkman, which understood and spat out Japanese, Chinese, Korean and American English, and the newer European release.
Fitted with the utterly unusual and completely nonsensical moniker of Talkman Euro (we're still trying to figure out where the hell that came from, but it was probably birthed from a ragin' kegger or something; it's out there), the software effectively apes the Asian version and repurposes it for the European market. No, that totally couldn't have been gleaned from the name, we know, that's why we're here.
"We created a new level of realism in the game play by adopting speech recognition as the natural interface between the player and the gaming characters, bringing an unprecedented game experience to the international gamers community," boasted Yoshiteru Yamamoto, creator of the "Talkman" series and producer of SCE Worldwide Studios' Japan Studio. "Nuance's Speech SDK has proven to be a very flexible software development tool to incorporate speech recognition engine in Talkman Euro.'"
"Speech technologies continue to revolutionize traditional applications such as gaming," added Alan Schwartz, vice president and general manager, Asia Pacific and Japan, Nuance. "This application is a stellar example of our impact, and we look forward to working with SCE in the future as it develops other new titles that incorporate this exciting new interface."
No, that word wasn't coughed from the ether, Schwartz said games. While Talkman (Euro or otherwise) won't be confused with LocoRoco -- though that game does offer plenty of gibberish of its own -- there are a couple of apps that help you strengthen your basic conversational skills. The pair of games won't make you fluent (Talkman Euro only knows about 3000 phrases in the Queen's English, French, Japanese, German, Spanish and Italian), but they will help you learn how to ask how to find the loo or your hotel room instead of that hot new strip club. Then again, maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
The late-May release of Talkman in Asian countries and Talkman Euro a month later isn't a sure sign that we'll see it over here, but there is one upside to things: given that both versions understand English, and the PSP doesn't really have region codes, you could always go proactive and import the thing. You might just learn a thing or two too, which couldn't hurt the American reputation abroad right now. If there is a local release, we'll be sure to let you know.
It's all based on something called VoCon, a software development kit that enabled Sony Computer Entertainment to link up their basic ideas for a non-threatening avatar that can both listen and speak in multiple languages to guide clueless travelers around a foreign land (or at least to a bathroom, night club, restaurant, hotel and so on). VoCon was used in both the original Japanese and Asian releases of Talkman, which understood and spat out Japanese, Chinese, Korean and American English, and the newer European release.
Fitted with the utterly unusual and completely nonsensical moniker of Talkman Euro (we're still trying to figure out where the hell that came from, but it was probably birthed from a ragin' kegger or something; it's out there), the software effectively apes the Asian version and repurposes it for the European market. No, that totally couldn't have been gleaned from the name, we know, that's why we're here.
"We created a new level of realism in the game play by adopting speech recognition as the natural interface between the player and the gaming characters, bringing an unprecedented game experience to the international gamers community," boasted Yoshiteru Yamamoto, creator of the "Talkman" series and producer of SCE Worldwide Studios' Japan Studio. "Nuance's Speech SDK has proven to be a very flexible software development tool to incorporate speech recognition engine in Talkman Euro.'"
"Speech technologies continue to revolutionize traditional applications such as gaming," added Alan Schwartz, vice president and general manager, Asia Pacific and Japan, Nuance. "This application is a stellar example of our impact, and we look forward to working with SCE in the future as it develops other new titles that incorporate this exciting new interface."
No, that word wasn't coughed from the ether, Schwartz said games. While Talkman (Euro or otherwise) won't be confused with LocoRoco -- though that game does offer plenty of gibberish of its own -- there are a couple of apps that help you strengthen your basic conversational skills. The pair of games won't make you fluent (Talkman Euro only knows about 3000 phrases in the Queen's English, French, Japanese, German, Spanish and Italian), but they will help you learn how to ask how to find the loo or your hotel room instead of that hot new strip club. Then again, maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
The late-May release of Talkman in Asian countries and Talkman Euro a month later isn't a sure sign that we'll see it over here, but there is one upside to things: given that both versions understand English, and the PSP doesn't really have region codes, you could always go proactive and import the thing. You might just learn a thing or two too, which couldn't hurt the American reputation abroad right now. If there is a local release, we'll be sure to let you know.