Slang Machine 5000
Breaking barriers, translating slang
Created on 24th March 2024
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Slang Machine 5000
Breaking barriers, translating slang
The problem Slang Machine 5000 solves
This program mainly targets non-English speakers and people unfamiliar with American/English slang and diction. We believe that there is a growing rift between generations and different age groups, and this problem stems from how these age groups talk. To help everybody connect, we made a project that not only translates text from one language to another but also helps interprets the meaning of slang phrases. In conversation or online text, people may find it inefficient to use Urban Dictionary to translate each unrecognized word one by one. With our program, they can easily input the phrase into our program and get the meaning translated into the language of their choice. It also helps non-English speakers get used to the phrases used in modern English and can train them to incorporate them in conversations of their own. With the use of our project, we hope to establish firm connections with everyone around the globe through a common language.
Challenges we ran into
The main kind of challenge we ran into while creating our project came from the bugs in our code. It took a while to figure out how to maximize functionality and convenience. Sometimes, the program took definitions from Urban Dictionary and replaced every word (not just slang) with the definition. Other times, it completely ignored parts of the phrase that still needed to be translated. With some debugging, added features, and a lot of persistence, most of these problems were eventually fixed. The biggest kind of programming obstacle came with words that could be considered actual words as well as slang. For example, "cap" and "bars" can mean different things, and figuring out how to make our program able to contextualize them took the longest time.
Tracks Applied (2)