Man, computer in translation contest

Man and computer will have a translation showdown.

The contest will be made between automatic translation software and a professional translator. The unique showdown will take place at the Press Center in Kwanghwamun, Seoul, Tuesday. Changshin Soft (www.cssoft.co.kr), a translation software developer, said Monday that its Korean-Japanese and Japanese-Korean translation software, ``Easytrans,`` will vie with a professional translator.

The showdown will be held in two ways. The two contestants will translate a Japanese newspaper web site, which will be chosen at random on the day, and also they will be given the task of searching a site for specific information and translating it.

To ensure fairness in the judging, three, first class professional translators and a professor specializing in Japanese were chosen as the judges. Prof. Lee Duk-Bong of the Japanese language department of Dongduk Women`s University will head the panel of judges.

Moon Kwon-Mo africa7@donga.com