First Steps In Mechanical Translation

Although the first ideas for mechanical translation were made in the seventeenth century, it was not until this century that means became available for realisation with the appearance of the electronic computer in the mid 1940s. Fifty years ago, in March 1947 Warren Weaver wrote to Norbert Wiener and met Andrew Booth, mentioning to both the use of computers for translation. The possibilities were investigated during the next seven years, until in January 1954 the first prototype program was demonstrated. This article is a chronicle of these early years of mechanised translation