A) conversation about ibmc (international business machines corporation)

- Мистер Браун, вы paботаете в корпорации IBM?

- Yes, I do. It is one of the world’s largest producers of electronic machines.

- А какие виды электронного оборудования вы производите?

- IBM makes data processing systems, electronic computers, electric typewriters, dictation machines, etc

- Мистер Браун, а как называлась ваша корпорация раньше?

- IBMC has grown out of an earlier form, the Computer-Tabulating-Recording Co (CTRC).

- А когда ваша корпорация получила название IBMC?

- It adopted its present name in 1924.

- Кто возглавляет IBMC?

- Thomas J. Watson was the firm’s chief executive for 42 years. IBM’s headquarters are in Armonk, New York.

- В нашем компьютер ном центре есть компьютеры вашей корпорации.

- May I have a look of them?

Безусловно. Всегда пожалуйста.

- Thanks a lot.

Считаете ли Вы, что наступит время, когда будет желательно и даже необходимо иметь единый всемирный язык, и произойдет ли это, в частности, благодаря дальнейшему развитию сети Интернет?

Because the Internet makes the world a smaller place, the value of having a common language is greatly increased. This enhances the importance of English as a second language. I don’t, however, expect English to replace or even diminish any of today’s primary languages. From a technical standpoint, there is no reason that English works better than other languages on the Internet. A technology called “Unicode”, which can represent every character in every written language, is now used in the leading Web browsers.

Возможен ли адекватный компьютерный перевод и если да, то когда? И как Вы оцениваете качество перевода, сделанного на основе существующих программ? Можно ли полагаться на него для работы с важными документами?

Someday software will translate both written and spoken language so well that the need for any common, second language could decline. That day is decades away, though, because flawless machine translation is a very tough problem. Software that does inelegant but often useful translations already exists. Web pages translated with software of this sort can be understood surprisingly well if all you’re trying to do is figure out what product is being offered or get a sense of what is being discussed. But if you’re trying to negotiate a contract or discuss a scientific discovery where subtleties matter, today’s translation software is all but useless. Count on English to remain valuable for a long time as a common language for international communication.