Translators

I was curious about the usability of online translating programs in the library, but I realized that it could be another research project.  I briefly looked at the three most frequently mentioned online translators, which are Google Translate, Babel Fish, and Bing Translator.  Google seems to have more languages supported than the other two.  My main concern is that people who don’t use the alphabet in their languages such as Chinese or Arabic can not use these programs unless the library provide special keyboards for each language.  According to Wikipedia, Google Translate launched a new service that allows the use of romanization of some languages including East Asian languages, but I couldn’t figure out what it really means.  At first I thought it would work with the romanized pronunciation system of the language, and tried typing in “Ni hao ma?”  but it didn’t work as I expected.  As I said, it will need another new research project.  However, I think the library can consider embedding Google Translate in its website.  Even though many libraries have their websites in multiple languages, it helps only the speakers of a few dominant languages in the area.  The library website can be accessible to a lot more non-English, non-dominant foreign language speakers by embedding Google Translate.