Monthly Archives: July 2009

Mightyverse(マイティーバース)の紹介

今回が初めてのポストですのでMightyverse(マイティーバース)がいったい何なのか紹介させていただきたいと思います。

Mightyverseは、「文化と文化を言葉で結び合わせる手助けをする。」をコンセプトに作られたウェブサイトアプリケーションです。Sarah (サラ) もMightyblog「how can I say…」の中でいっていますが、Mightyverseは、語学学習を主な目的として作られたアプリケーションではありません。

Mightyverseは、実際の文化の中で、ネイティブが実際に使用しているフレーズ(句)、語学の教科書や会話のクラスでは習う事のないようなスラングや、フレーズを紹介していく場所です。もちろん、学習の用途としてヒヤリングやリスニングの勉強には多いに役立つと思います。

旅先で、たとえ一言でも、その土地の言葉をつかうことができたら、旅の内容が大きく変わって来ると思います。スラングや実際に使われている言葉を使う事によって、会話も楽しくなり、地元の人とも楽しく交流ができるようになると思います。それは、逆の立場になっても同じことだと思います。例えば、日本の屋台などで、英語を母国語をする人が、日本語で「おいしいです。」と一言でも言えば、「あっ、美味しい。よかったねー。」と笑顔で返したくなるものです。

Mightyverseホームページにいくと、21か国語のビデオフレーズが検索閲覧できます。今は、それだけです。でも、これから少しづついろんな機能が加えられていきますので楽しみにしていてください。

今後のポストで、いろいろなMightyverseのアップデートをしていきたいと思います。また、個人的な経験の中でMightyverseがあったら良かったのにも含めて紹介していきたいと思いますのでよろしくお願いします。

how can I say…

Mightyverse is not a translation web site or a language learning site… sure you can use Mightyverse for those things, but they are not the primary raison d’être, they don’t capture the gestalt. The purpose of Mightyverse is to help each of us convey meaning, to help us communicate across language and culture — not by ignoring differences, but by embracing them.

Many phrases cannot be translated directly. You cannot understand it unless you also understand some of the context and culture where that stream of sound evolved. “10-4 good buddy,” “Where’s the beef?” or “LOL” have complex, whimsical meaning that tie to culture. Each language has such phrases and learning them allows us to connect in surprising ways.

Even when listening to someone who appears speak the same language, one can discover that direct translations don’t work. I speak English, but am also fluent in geek. I can hear someone say that their mongrels are all tied up and understand that they are concerned about web site server performance and not the mistreatment of animals. Whatever language you learned as a child, it is likely that you also speak a domain specific language in some aspect of your life.

Humans are driven to invent specific words to resolve problems that we face together, whether it be something as mundane as server performance or as dramatic as global warming.  David Harrison speaks about the value of languages that are currently threatened by extinction. He describes the Yupik of Alaska who have the ability to name, and thereby precisely distinguish, 99 different formations of sea ice. The naming of a thing sharpens our perception of it. Harrison describes language as a technology, and the Yupik language may be one of the most sensitive instruments to detect the signs of climate change and global warming. Perhaps that vocabulary is worth learning.

So when you look at Mightyverse I hope you won’t only see a fun website with entertaining quotes or a tool for learning basic conversational phrases in a foreign language.  I hope you will catch a glimpse of what will happen when it is populated with a wide swath of human language, including dialects and vocabulary too new for the dictionary, languages threatened by extinction, as well as the essential expressions of commonly spoken languages that are just as commonly misunderstood.  We have a million ideas for how we can get from here to there, but we’re taking it one feature at a time, and recording phrases at every opportunity.  We don’t have the community features that we had hoped for at launch, but we do have a forum, twitter and this blog.  We’re interested in hearing what you think.

Helllllloooooo……. !!

So what’s this Mightyverse thing all about?

Well, we travel a lot. And… we like people… a lot.

A favorite peak...

A favorite peak...

In a normal year, I might spend as much as 10 full 24 hour days or more in the air. When I land, I often find myself in the midst of a new culture for a few days, on assignment as a filmmaker. What that translates to – or more accurately doesn’t translate to – is the need to be able to navigate and connect with people in a language that I’m not native in.

One might argue that English is becoming the language of business everywhere. I kinda prefer to try to connect with people on their terms, or more accurately, in their own language.

So what is someone from the midwest who has taken all of about two semesters of French and a smattering of Japanese classes to do?

Surveying the options I’ve tried over the past several years:

– cram for days before each trip and try to resemble a sponge…
– hire translators wherever I go (how do you say, “that’s not in the budget” in that language?)
– be a maniac with a phrasebook (note to self: improve charades skills……)
– make friends with people around the world and have them be my personal translators (Gomen nasai (I’m sorry!), Shimizu-san!)

We had an idea: what if there was something that would allow us to make someone laugh in their native language? Or to express gratitude in a way that was genuine and authentic to the area we were in? What if we had a global utility that was always there whenever we needed it – online or on our phones – that could answer the question, “How do I say ________ in any language?”

It’s a big dream. One that we can’t hold by ourselves. We invite you to be part of something truly global and truly human – to help us create a community and utility that doesn’t exist yet: to be a part of Mightyverse. At the center of this is a bridge that we’ve been seeking between language and cultures – an enormous collection of native speaker video phrases that are cross-translated into other languages.

We’re excited you’re here.

For now, we invite you to browse through an early smattering of phrases (more than 20,000) that we’ve pulled together in over 20 languages. You’re bound to find holes – that’s part of the journey. Soon, you’ll be able to help us fill those in. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, we’d love to hear from you. And if you’re in the bay area and would like to get more involved, drop us a note – we’d love your help!

Welcome to Mightyverse! There’s much more to come…

Glen Janssens

– co-founder, phrasefarmer

Mightyverse is now Live!

As one of the co-founders of Mightyverse I’m especially please to announce that Mightyverse is now live on the web!

It’s simple, but it’s mighty.

Especially if you are interested in Hebrew or Korean.
(for some reason we were on a roll for those sessions….)

My favorite phrase? Right now it has to be: Frog in a Well

The speaker is Fujita-san, the CTO of Knowledgelink, our wonderful Japanese partners. His voice is almost overwhelmed by crickets as we shot him in the little park across from KL’s offices in a little park in Akasaka section of Tokyo last summer.

We will be very active in the coming months and years to bring you wonderful phrases from many fantastic, expressive individuals. In the meantime, if you have a request for any phrases, or ideas for the site, let us know:
feedback@mightyverse.com

If you speak several languages and would like to record phrases for the site, we’d love to host you at our studio in Sausalito for a session. We’ll buy lunch!

Selamat Tinggal

– Paul Lundahl
phrasefarmer, co-founder
Mightyverse