KCSL Inc.

Headquarters

150 Ferrand Drive, Suite 904
Toronto, Ontario, M3C 3E5
CANADA

Website: www.kcsl.ca

Founded: 1981

Key People

Motivation

Technology will never eliminate human translators.

Although more automation is needed to satisfy the increasing demand for translation, technology will never completely eliminate human translators. Localization, and what we call "mission-critical" translation, is best carried out with the right combination of human and machine translation. At KCSL we develop technologies that help translators get the job done, without disrupting their work habits and environment.

To optimize the localization process, we must recognize that the actual process of translating text is quite distinct from the technical infrastructure that facilitates this process. While the two must ultimately combine in the overall translation experience, the industry should ensure the two remain independent by design.

I believe that natural language processing techniques, which we have been applying at KCSL for over two decades, are critical to the future of the translation industry. This does not mean that complete language automation is just around the corner. Automated advanced linguistic techniques can and do work well on very well-defined tasks. On more general tasks, however, humans know and use linguistic information they have acquired, almost instinctively, in a manner that computers today are still not able to match. Humans are better than machines on many translation tasks and probably will continue to be so for quite some time.

KCSL sees TAUS as an excellent forum for exchanging and crystallizing ideas and best practices that impact in a positive and far-reaching manner on the language industry.

Company Description

Since its founding in 1981, KCSL Inc. has taken an approach to development that first and foremost accounts for the needs of end users and corporations. It has developed and licensed software worldwide. Today KCSL technologies are the backbone for numerous electronic systems that are recognized for their quality, reliability, simplicity, and efficiency.

For much of its history, KCSL has been a development company that licensed its technologies through third parties, who provided the sales and marketing efforts. Companies which have used KCSL technologies include Microsoft, Corel, Inso, McClelland & Stewart, Hewlett Packard and Sharp. Over 200 million computer users throughout the world depend on KCSL's spell and grammar checking technologies. Other KCSL technologies, including unstructured data searching, are behind such products as the electronic versions ofThe American Heritage Dictionary and The Canadian Encyclopedia as well as many government and corporate web sites.

KCSL, in recognition of the computer industry shift to the Internet and browser based products, in 1998, moved its focus from developing technology for the desktop to developing web based applications. In 1999, KCSL released an end user CD-ROM, X-Portal® Findware, an award winning search tool for the Internet.

At the beginning of 2001, KCSL completed the development of its breakthrough UniFind™ Technology, the outgrowth of 20 years of numerous outstanding KCSL solutions. UniFind is most simply described as a search engine but, more aptly is described as the Most Advanced Enterprise Natural Language Search Solution. Not only can UniFind search information in multiple languages, one at a time, but also it can simultaneously search across many languages with its unique CrossLanguage™ Search.

Building on its extensive experience in automatic spelling and grammar correction, thesauruses, categorization, summarization, automatic language detection, information retrieval and other linguistic technologies, KCSL, in 2004, introduced a new language technology tool, called NoBabel™ Translator.

NoBabel Translator eases the problem of human translators being unable to adequately cope with the rapidly increasing demand for translations. By integrating a number of proven linguistic and statistical technologies in a unique way, NoBabel automatically generates high quality translations and assembles them into Translation Memories (TMs). NoBabel's processes are completely automated. By providing translators with a unique technology, NoBabel Translator is the only commercially available Machine Translation (MT) product that easily and affordably is integrated into a translator's working environment and so increases their productivity.

For over 25 years, KCSL has been creating commercially successful and innovative solutions. Its ongoing breakthrough technologies and derivative products clearly demonstrate KCSL’s constant drive to remain at the forefront of linguistic technology.

Associations

Standards

Technologies

Machine Translation Tracker: NoBabel Translator Suite