Scientist develops alien language translator

On the list of the dumbest shit I have ever heard...

If they created it... then isn't it just a pidgen or creole and not an alien language.

Mibbss
beep boop
Bop Bop
Mibbs

Lemon

Well this is something; although I think it just as likely to turn out useless as useful. But at least it's a tool. Who know's? Might work. Beats a blank.

But I think we're kind of missing the point. I mean if they show up here, then they're further along in technology than we are.

If they're not friendly I doubt they'd want to talk to us anyway. If they are friendly then their resources for understanding us would be greater than ours trying to figure them out.

It just seems likely to me that this tool may help in a situation that probably won't come up. But what do I know?

personally, i dont think having a model do traslate various alien languages will be of much use until we can seriously call ourselves space-faring (long time from now). however, maybe this research will be useful in some other way. example: dna testing has dramatically change the way we behave, in identifying john and jane does, convicting criminals, exonerating the innocent, and potentially creating designer drugs specialized to every individual's unique chemical composition. but where did this magical fountain of love and marshmellows originate. the study of the chemical composition of pond scum in tiny puddles in the midwest. sound like a study you would want to invest your hard earned tax dollars into? the problem with criticizing any research is that its utterly impossible to predict what research will benefit humanity the most.

thats kinda freaky

..there is no us or them.....
you are them...
and they are us.....
and yes it sounds like a Beatles song....
Golden Ruler...Johnnie Hargrave

this is bs. Theres no way we can guess or comprehend their way of communication. A smile from us could mean hatred to them, but they might not even have a face.

how can this article possibly be viable without a reference to Cryptonomicon?

hmmm....and we know what language they speak, how they talk, and for some reason, we've decoded each 'enunciation' 'aliens' have..?!

....sounds like a conspiracy

Whatever language we use to try to communicate, please leave anything from Dubya out. They will be confused enough.

.....there is always that great signal.....a smile....it is universal....and can not be misinterpreted...and if you want you can follow it up with a hug.....Golden Ruler...Johnnie Hargrave

well as long as we don't wage war with them we will be fine im sure

Knowing an alien's language has never been top on my to-do list, but now it seems anything is possible ... wonder if I'll be able to major in alien translation?

hold on... what?! you dont have any remote idea what the alien language could be like, so making a translator is null until contact is made! wipe before you sh*t kids.

Can he translate any language?

...to all of you...you are aliens to everything outside your little playground....and it is widely known that you do not play well with others....not all of you....just enough......and Earth people place a value on themselves that no one else understands or cares about....and you are all on a spaceship...you call it Earth....and it goes close to one million miles a day through the Universe......hold on tight....Golden Ruler....Johnnie Hargrave

I like to think that, if they're out there, they are far too smart to even bother with us. Maybe all the sightings are like a form of entertainment for them - kinda' like a field trip to the zoo.. .. .. I do hope though, that if and when they do come, we don't react by shooting first and asking questions later.

It's a good thing we as a human race are so willing to accommodate and attempt to understand potential visiting aliens when we can't even get along with our OWN species for a number of frivolous reasons.

Here go the scientists jumping the gun again. They haven't even discovered ETs yet-or, is their something they'd like to tell us?

Am i the only one who is thinking of Mars Attacks? lol..I agree that we couldn't develop an 'alien' language device because it seems impossible to base how they communicate on our communication system. Who is to say that we could even comprehend the structure of something out of this world?
We are genetically related to apes and they can communicate with us - but we haven't done so well in return. We base their intelligence on how the apes operate under our language laws.

I wouldn't say it is misunderstanding as much as it is a refusal to understand. If and when we are ever visited, I imagine that any civilization that is so much more advanced than we are, will already know every language and dialect there of that is spoken here on earth. This sound like a futile attempt at scoring grant money.

The only translation I would be interested in would be "We are from Zip-Lock and we are here to harvest 9 billion human eyeballs for Zip-Lock martini garnish"

....the main thing that has stood in the way of humans is language...and a fear of all things different that evolves from misunderstanding.....people in Texas can not understand people from Louisiana....the aliens have been watching Andy Griffith and Bonanza in Japanese for many years so that may save Earth....no matter which language you speak it ruins it when most of what is being spoken is lies.....Golden Ruler...Johnnie Hargrave

Another waste of resources and a lot of attention for a weak program. How would any person know the basic structure of anything without some type of previous knowledge (code book)?

This article raises more questions and offers very little as to their knowledge base, which simply invalidates any research material. Anyone can speculate or run an analysis on human languages; which will only be limited to HUMAN language. Just because they have letters behind their names doesn't change the fact that it is little more than speculation.

As to '...starting some where', you can't learn to swim until you get in the water (have a point of reference). How would anyone look if they dressed like a life guard and offered you swimming lessons but never got wet in their life?

Exactly... now we can see what Palin is trying to say too!

Does this mean we finally have a way of translating the language coming out of the Blackhouse so Americans can understand what Bush is saying?

That's stupid. There are plenty of people who can translate Spanish.

Drum roll, crash!

incredibly ridiculous....