text-based translators like alta-vista's babel fish have have existed for some time. but their translations are often poor. the problem is even more difficult with spoken language because of background noise and people's tendency to use ungrammatical sentences.unlike other translators, verbmobil which is the product of a $94 million research program doesn't fit. the translation often arrives back in a kind of pidgin language, but prople still understand.
developer wolfgang wahlster from the artificial-intelligence research institute DFKI in saarbrucken, germany , expects-the service to be commercially available within five years. instantaneous translations of long phone conversations will take up to 10 years. he says early tests have shown the system is 90% accurate and quick. the delay in translation is no more than a few milliseconds. anything to get food on the table a little faster