Translation Tool Documentation

The Tibetan to English Dictionary and Translation Tool takes Tibetan language passages - which can be cut and pasted in, typed in Wylie transliteration, or typed in Tibetan script - and divides the passages up into their component phrases and words, and displays corresponding dictionary definitions.

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Index

1. Overview
1. Purpose: How This Free On-line Utility May Be Helpful For You
2. Supported Platforms
2. Dictionaries Available
3. Notes on Input
4. Text Sample
5. Installation of the Stand-alone Version
• Installation on laptops & desktops
• Installation on Pocket PC (version 2002 or higher) / Mobile (version 2003 or higher) handheld devices
6. Description of main classes included in org.thdl.tib.scanner
7. AMP Open Community License
8. Known Bugs
9. Troubleshooting
10. Future Plans
11. Authors
12. Suggestions and Donations are Welcome!

Purpose: How This Free Online Utility May Be Helpful For You

This useful tool helps Tibetan to English translators partially automate the translation process. In the Tibetan language, the boundaries of individual words are not marked in any manner such as the way in which spaces separate and mark words in English. Instead, there is a punctuation mark called a "tsheg" which separates each syllable. Thus while syllabic boundaries are utterly explicit, word boundaries are often unclear. One of the main difficulties beginning students thus have with translating Tibetan texts is figuring out where each word ends and the next word starts, and determining what series of syllables to look up in the dictionary either as constituting a single word or a larger compound phrase. This entails a very time consuming process of looking up multiple combinations of syllables to determine which are found within a given dictionary.

This tool partially automates that process by breaking up a sentence/paragraph entered in Extended Wylie or Tibetan script into the biggest component parts it can find in multiple dictionary databases. Then for each component part found, it displays its stored definitions and relevant information. This will thus often yield only the definition of a long phrase, rather than its component words, but one can also search for the syllables of that phrase one by one separately.

All Tibetan tools I developed, I have made available for free in order to help translators and students facilitate the understanding of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. If you have found them useful, donations would be much appreciated so as to support further development.

Supported Platforms

• The tool is available as a:

  • Java servlet (using Roman script for input and Tibetan script for output)

    The text is typed (or pasted) using Extended Wylie in a text box within a form. All of the processing is done on the server, and the results are returned in plain HTML. This allows the user to run this version on even the most basic browser without needing any additional software installed. Also, because the results are returned in HTML, features of HTML like hyperlinks, tables, and text formatting allow it to be skimmed more easily. The user can choose between seeing the Tibetan within the results in Extended Wylie or in Tibetan script (using Tibetan Machine Web font now available for free). Click here to run the java servlet version.
     

  • Java Web Start application & stand-alone application (using Tibetan script for both input and output)

    This version can be used using Roman script (in Extended Wylie) or in Tibetan script (using Tibetan Machine Web font now available for free) . When display is set to Tibetan script multiple keyboard methods of entry are supported: Extended Wylie, TCC Keyboard #1, TCC Keyboard #2, and Sambhota Keymap One. As text is typed the user sees it directly in the Tibetan script.

    Additionally, in Tibetan script mode an advanced pasting system is supported. Text either in Tibetan script (implemented using Tibetan Machine Web or Tibetan Machine) or Roman script (using Extended Wylie or ACIP's transliteration system) can copied from almost any application and pasted into the Translation Tool's input pane. Its format is automatically recognized and properly converted if necessary.

    The application can run off-line accessing local dictionaries or if connection to the Internet is available it can access the on-line dictionary databases. If a remote database is being accessed, all the processing is done on the server side, and the results are displayed interactively within the program's window. Again the user can choose to see the results in Extended Wylie or in the Tibetan script.

    Easy launching of the application can be done over the Internet using Java Web Start, which comes with Sun's Java Runtime Environment version 1.4 or higher. This is the recommended way to run the tool. If Java Web Start is not supported the stand-alone application can be used on any environment supporting the Sun's Java Runtime Environment version 1.2 or higher; although version 1.4 or higher is recommended. Click here to run the java web start version. Click here for installation notes on the stand-alone application version.
     

  • Java applet (using Tibetan script for both input and output)

    The applet's interface is almost identical to the Java Web Start application & stand-alone application's interface with the only difference that it runs within a browser. The browser not only needs to support Java, but since the classes that handle the Tibetan font use Swing, Sun's Java Runtime Environment version 1.4 or higher must additionally be installed. Click here to run the java applet version.
     

  • Handheld devices

    This version is specially designed for handhelds supporting WebSphere Everyplace Micro Environment Personal Profile 1.0 or higher. Since Swing is not available for such platforms, Tibetan script is not supported. Click here for installation notes on the handheld device version.

The following dictionaries are available through the Translation Tool:

• Jeffrey Hopkins' Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary version 2.0.0
• A Tibetan-Sanskrit Table of Buddhist Terminology based on the Yogacarabhumi
• Tibetan Vocabulary by Dan Martin version April 14, 2003
• Jim Valby's Dictionary
• Ives Waldo's Dictionary
• Richard Barron's Tibetan-English Word List
• The Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Culture version 3.0

They can be accessed on-line and off-line through all versions of the translation tool. The All-In-One Online Installer and the All-In-One Offline Installer (Windows 98/ Me/ NT/ 2000/ XP/ 2003 only) include the dictionary pack for off-line use by default and provide the easiest installation method.

Non-windows users wishing to access the dictionaries off-line must manually install them in your computer following these simple steps:

1. Download the dictionary bundle from here.
2. Unzip it into any local folder. It should produce a folder called free with three files inside: free.def, free.dic, and free.wrd
3. Run the translation tool. The Java Web Start version is recommended for OS X, Linux, and Solaris users. The stand-alone version is recommended for other platforms supporting Java.
4. Go to File -> Open -> Access Local Dictionary -> Browse.
5. Go to the free folder wherever you unpacked the bundle and select the free.wrd file and choose Open.
6. Make sure Use this settings as default is checked.
7. Click on Ok.

Additionally, Jeffrey Hopkins' Tibetan-Sanskrit-Dictionary version 2.0.0 is also available (download here) in Tomeraider format.

Third parties who are compiling and distributing Tibetan dictionaries are welcome to get in contact to arrange the distributions of their dictionaries through this multi-platform utility.

In the handheld and servlet version, Tibetan text should be entered using the Roman script in the Extended Wylie method of transliterating Tibetan. Click here to see scheme. The java-web start application, the stand-alone application and the applet version can work using Roman script in Extended Wylie or Tibetan script (using Tibetan Machine Web font now available for free). When display is set to Tibetan script multiple keyboard methods of entry are supported: Extended Wylie, TCC Keyboard #1, TCC Keyboard #2, and Sambhota Keymap One. As text is typed the user sees it directly in the Tibetan script. Additionally, in Tibetan script mode an advanced pasting system is supported. Text either in Tibetan script (implemented using Tibetan Machine Web font or Tibetan Machine font) or Roman script (using Extended Wylie or ACIP's transliteration system) can copied from almost any application and pasted into the Translation Tool's input pane. Its format is automatically recognized and properly converted if necessary.

For the "punctuation marks", the tool assumes that

• '  ' (tsheg), '_' (space), <enter>, <tab>: function as syllable separators and may show up in between component word or phrases.
• '/' (shad), ';', '|', '!', ':', '[', ']', '^', '@', '#', '$', '%', '=', '<', '>', '(', ')', '{', '}', blank line (two enters in a row): may not show up in between component word or phrases (and hence is interpreted as marking the end of a component word or phrase). See Extended Wylie documentation for the corresponding symbols in the Tibetan script.
• all other characters are part of the syllable
  

To force the parser to "break up" a component word or phrase into its individual syllables, use any character of the second set in between the syllables. For example, if the entry is:

or

the parser will recognize it as a single word "chos nyid". But if the entry is:

or

the parser will assume "chos" and "nyid" are independent, and will be looked up separately.

Test this utility by following these steps:

1. Copy into the clipboard the following prayer (select it by dragging the mouse over it and then click on the menu edit - copy): dpal ldan bla ma dam pa rnams la skyabs su mchi'o /
yi dam dkyil 'khor gyi lha tshogs rnams la skyabs su mchi'o /
sangs rgyas bcom ldan 'das rnams la skyabs su mchi'o /
dam pa'i chos rnams la skyabs su mchi'o /
'phags pa'i dge 'dun rnams la skyabs su mchi'o /
dpa' bo mkha' 'gro chos skyong srung ma'i tshogs ye shes kyi
spyan dang ldan pa rnams la skyabs su mchi'o /
2. When the Online Tibetan Scanner page loads:
   • Paste the clipboard on the text box (click on the text box and then click on the menu edit - paste).
   • Select the dictionaries you want the utility to use.
   • Click on scan button.
3. Try it out! To load the Online Tibetan to English Translation / Dictionary Tool page click here.

The stand-alone version can be used for platforms were Java Web Start is not supported or for specialized use of the different classes offered in it.

• Installation on laptops & desktops

  1. Install Sun's JRE v. 1.4 (download here) or higher, if available for the platform where you want to run the tool. Otherwise get the latest version available making sure to avoid the problematic versions.
  2. Add the bin subfolder of Sun's JRE folder to the path. For example, if you installed the Sun's JRE to c:\jre\jdk1.4.0 then:
  • For DOS based systems like Windows 95, 98, and ME:
    • Open autoexec.bat in a text editor (like notepad). It should be located in "c:\". If it isn't there, create a new file with that name.
      Note: Sometimes Windows is configured to hide the system files. See the documentation included with Windows on how to disable this option.
    • At the end of the path variable line add a semicolon (;), which separates the different folders, and then the bin folder (in the example: c:\jre\jdk1.4.0\bin). The line would then look something like: set path=c:\windows\command;c:\jre\jdk1.4.0\bin
    • Restart the computer.
       
  • For NT based systems like Windows 2000:
    • Log in with a user that has administrative privileges
    • With the mouse right click on My Computer, and select properties.
    • In the System Properties select the Advanced tab
    • Click on the Environment Variables button.
    • Click on the variable path under System Variables.
    • Click the Edit... button.
    • In the text box, add a semicolon (;) at the end of the list, which separates the different folders, and then the bin folder (in the example: c:\jre\jdk1.4.0\bin).
    • Click on OK to close each of the windows that were open.
       
  3. Create a folder for the Tibetan Translation Tool and copy DictionarySearchStandalone.jar for desktops (download here), which contains all of the compiled classes. 
  4. If you have downloaded the dictionary database (see available free dictionaries) skip this step.
     To convert the Tibetan glossaries you have (stored in text files) into a dictionary database format accepted by the Tibetan Translation Tool you can (i) use the wizard window or (ii) the BinaryFileGenerator class included within the org.thdl.tib.scanner package in DictionarySearchStandalone.jar. See below which formats are compatible with the tool. For example, if you own The Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Culture:
  •  Temporarily copy the dictionary text file (probably called something like ry-dic99.txt) into the folder where you stored the DictionarySearchStandalone.jar file.
  • Through the shell (or DOS prompt) run the command: java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator ry-dic99

    This will generate ry-dic99.wrd and ry-dic99.def, which will be used by the Tibetan Translation Tool.
     

  • If you have several dictionaries, you should convert them all at the same time.
    • For example, if you additionally have myglossary_uma.txt and myglossary_rdzogs-chen.txt and you want to produce alldicts.wrd and alldicts.def, run the command (don't include extensions; their extension is assumed to be .txt): java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator alldicts ry-dic99 myglossary_uma myglossary_rdzogs-chen
    • Then you must create manually (through a text editor like notepad) a .dic file which include the names and abbreviations of each dictionary. Make sure to not leave a blank line at the end! In this example, you would create a file called alldicts.dic with the following possible content:Rangjung Yeshe,RY
Glossary of Middle Way vocabulary,GMW
Glossary of rDzogs Chen vocabulary,GDZC
  • Delete the temporary copy of the dictionary text file from the Tibetan Translation Tool folder.
     
  5. Use the Tibetan Dictionary Tool! To specify which dictionary database to open, you can (i) use the wizard window or specify the file name for the dictionary database through the command line. For example, if you have already created ry-dic99.wrd and ry-dic99.def 
     • If the JRE you installed supports Swing classes, run the command (or create a script or .bat file containing) java -jar DictionarySearchStandalone.jar ry-dic99
     • If the JRE you installed does not supports Swing classes, run the command (or create a script or .bat file containing) java -jar DictionarySearchStandalone.jar -simple ry-dic99

• Installation on Pocket PC (version 2002 or higher) / Mobile (version 2003 or higher) handheld devices

  1. Install WebSphere Everyplace Micro Environment Personal Profile 1.0 for Windows Mobile 2003 into the default folder. Sorry, I didn't find any compatible freeware Java Runtime Environment for windows ce; if you find one please let me know! The good news is that it is very cheap (only $5.99).
  2. Install the Translation Tool Handheld version using
     • the new and easy setup wizard (recommended for Windows based desktops connecting to the Pocket PC)
     • as a cab file (recommended for non-Windows based desktops)
     If on step 1 you installed another Java Runtime Environment (JRE), make sure to change the Translation Tool.lnk short-cut file in programs in order to point to the correct binary file and path of the JRE.
  3. The .wrd, .def, and .dic dictionary files are not created directly on the handheld device because of memory and speed limitations. If you wish to create it, do it through the Java Web start application on your desktop / laptop.
  4. By clicking on the Translation Tool short-cut in your handheld device under start -> programs. The Translation Tool is compatible with landscape or portait orientations of the screen (you need othe third party tools to change the screen orientation). The wizard window will be automatically opened. There you can select which dictionary database to open. In this case the dictionary database must be copied to any folder under /my documents in order for it to be found.
  5. Choose edit -> preferences... to customize the display. Notice that depending on the screen orientation, the options are different and are saved separately. Choose edit -> save preferences to ... to save any prefences that you have changed.
  6. For easy access you can have the Translation Tool short-cut directly on the start menu. You can configure this through the operating system. Go to start -> settings -> menus. Select the Translation Tool checkbox and click ok.

Note: Since Personal Profile 1.0 does not support Swing classes (because it is based on JDK 1.1.8's specification), Tibetan script is not supported.

Description of main classes included in org.thdl.tib.scanner

The classes designed to be run from the command-line are:

• org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator (included only in DictionarySearchStandalone.jar)

  Stores multiple dictionaries into a binary tree file, such file format is the only one that can be used directly by the Tibetan Translation Tool.

  Syntax (Dictionary files are assumed to be .txt. Don't include extensions!):

  • For one dictionary, to read the definitions stored in dic-name.txt and organize them into dic-name.wrd and dic-name.def: java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator [-delimiter] dict-name
  • For multiple dictionaries, to read the definitions stored in dict-name1.txt, dict-name2.txt, etc.and organize them into dest-file-name.wrd and dest-file-name.def: java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator dest-file-name [-delimiter1] dict-name1 [[-delimiter2] dict-name2 ...]

  -delimiter

  • If this option is omitted, it is assumed that each line is an entry (no multiple-line entries) and the definition and definiendum are separated by '-' (a dash). Even though it is not required, it is highly recommended to include a space before and afterwards (to eliminate any possible ambiguity with regards to the transliteration of reverse vowels in Extended Wylie). A sample entry for the dictionary is:

    bkra shis - 1) auspiciousness, good luck, good fortune, goodness, prosperity, happiness. 2) auspicious, favorable, fortunate, successful, felicitous, lucky. 3) verse of auspiciousness; benediction, blessing. 4) a personal name.
bde legs - 1) goodness, happiness, well-being, wellfare, auspiciousness, good fortune. 2) well, fine.

    If this were the content of a file called "my-glossary.txt" the binary tree file would be generated with the command:

    java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator my-glossary
  • -tab: it is assumed that each line is an entry (no multiple-line entries) and the definition and definiendum are separated by '\t' (horizontal tabulation). One tabulation is enough; don't feel the need to "align" the definitions in your word-processor. A sample entry for the dictionary is:

    bkra shis 1) auspiciousness, good luck, good fortune, goodness, prosperity, happiness. 2) auspicious, favorable, fortunate, successful, felicitous, lucky. 3) verse of auspiciousness; benediction, blessing. 4) a personal name.
bde legs 1) goodness, happiness, well-being, wellfare, auspiciousness, good fortune. 2) well, fine.

    Here, the binary tree file would be generated with the command:

    java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator -tab my-glossary
  • -string: it is assumed that each line is an entry (no multiple-line entries) and the definition and definiendum are separated by the character or string of characters specified by the user. A sample entry for the dictionary is:

    bkra shis ** 1) auspiciousness, good luck, good fortune, goodness, prosperity, happiness. 2) auspicious, favorable, fortunate, successful, felicitous, lucky. 3) verse of auspiciousness; benediction, blessing. 4) a personal name.
bde legs ** 1) goodness, happiness, well-being, wellfare, auspiciousness, good fortune. 2) well, fine.

    Here, the binary tree file would be generated with the command:

    java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator -** my-glossary
  • -acip: it is assumed that the electronic file is a transliteration of a Tibetan dictionary. It is called "acip" because it accepts Acip's comment codes ('@' to mark page numbers, brackets to mark comments, etc). Nevertheless, it still requires the files to be in Extended Wylie, so if your file is in Acip's transliteration scheme make sure to run org.thdl.tib.scanner.AcipToWylie first. Definitions here can be of multiple lines, but with no blank lines in between. It is assumed that the definiendum starts after a blank line (except at the beginning of a new page where it could start with the last part of the previous definition) up to the shad (except when the shad is omitted because of grammar rules as for instance no shad after a "ga" suffix without a secondary suffix). Each time a new letter starts, it should be clearly marked in brackets ('[', ']'), parenthesis ('(', ')') or llaves ('{','}'). A sample entry for the dictionary is:

    @1

(ka)

ka ba/ gdung 'degs don byed nus pa/

rkyen/ grogs byed

@2

(kha)

khyod dngos po dang de byung 'brel/ khyod dngos po las byung
zhing/ dngos po ldog stops kyis khyod ldog pa/

khyod dngos po dang bdag gcig 'brel/ khyod ngos po dang bdag
nyid gcig pa'i sgo nas tha dad gang zhig/ dngos po ldog
stops kyis khyod ldog pa/

khyod dngos po dang 'brel pa/ khyod dngos po dang tha dad gang

@3

zhig/ ngos po ldog stobs kyis khyod ldog pa/

kha dog mdog du rung ba'am/ sngo ser dkar dmar sogs mdog tu
rung ba'i gzugs/

    Here the binary tree file would be generated with the command:

    java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator -acip my-glossary

    Comments:  Notice in the sample text that at the beginning of page 2, "zhig" is not a new definiendum, but still is part of the definition of "khyod dngos po dang 'brel pa". Also the definiendum of the last entry  is "kha dog" (the shad was omitted after "ga" suffix) and not "kha dog mdog du rung ba'am". Nevertheless the definiendum of the second term is not "khyod dngos po dang bdag" since there is no omitted shad after that "ga" suffix; the definiedum is "khyod dngos po dang bdag gcig 'brel". As is clear from the sample text, the tool has to make a series of "smart guesses" to try to figure out where each definiendum end and it's definition start.  Such process is not 100% full-proof, so expect some mistakes.
     

  • Dictionaries in different formats can be processed together. For instance the command: java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator alldicts ry-dic99 -acip myglossary_uma -tab myglossary_rdzogs-chen

    would generate alldicts.def and alldicts.wrd processing ry-dic99.txt as dash-separated, myglossary_rdzogs-chen.txt as tab-separated and myglossary_uma.txt in the transliteration format explained above.
     

• org.thdl.tib.scanner.AcipToWylie (included only in DictionarySearchStandalone.jar)

  Provides an interface to convert from tibetan text transliterated in the Acip scheme to THDL's Extended Wylie scheme.

  If no arguments are sent, it takes the Acip text from the standard input and sends the Wylie text to the standard output. If one argument is sent, it interprets it as the file name for the input. If two arguments are sent, it interprets the first one as the file name for the input and the second one as the file name for the output. For example, the following command converts the lam-rim-chen-mo.act storing the results in lam-rim-chen-mo.txt:

  java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.AcipToWylie lam-rim-chen-mo.act lam-rim-chen-mo.txt

  Alternatively by redirecting the standard input/output you perform the same job:

  java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.AcipToWylie < lam-rim-chen-mo.act > lam-rim-chen-mo.txt

  If you only want to display the results to the screen, you can run:

  java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.AcipToWylie lam-rim-chen-mo.act | more

• org.thdl.tib.scanner.SwingWindowScannerFilter (included in both DictionarySearchStandalone.jar and DictionarySearchHandheld.jar)

  This is the tool's main class. It loads a dictionary stored in the binary tree file format (use org.thdl.tib.scanner.BinaryFileGenerator to create it) and provides a graphical interface to input Tibetan text (in Roman or Tibetan script) and displays the words (in Roman or Tibetan script) with its definitions. Works without Tibetan script in platforms that don't support Swing. Can access dictionaries stored locally or remotely. For example, to access the public dictionary database run the command:

  java -jar DictionarySearchStandalone.jar http://www.thdl.org/tibetan/servlet/org.thdl.tib.scanner.RemoteScannerFilterIf the JRE you installed does not support Swing classes but supports AWT (as the JRE for handhelds) use org.thdl.tib.scanner.PocketWindowScannerFilter found in DictionarySearchHandheld.jar. Its syntax is the same.
   

• org.thdl.tib.scanner.ConsoleScannerFilter (included in both DictionarySearchStandalone.jar and DictionarySearchHandheld.jar)

  Inputs a Tibetan text and displays the words with their definitions through the console over a shell. Use when no graphical interface is supported or for batch processes. For instance:

  java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.ConsoleScannerFilter ry-dic99

  It reads from the standard input and prints the results to the standard output. For example if you want to parse a text stored in puja.txt and save the results in puja_words.txt, you can run the command:

  java -cp DictionarySearchStandalone.jar org.thdl.tib.scanner.ConsoleScannerFilter ry-dic99 < puja.txt > puja_words.txt

AMP Open Community License

The AMP Open Community License is a free software license. The source code for our software is completely open and public. It is available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/thdltools/ . We hope that others will contribute and build upon what we've done, resulting in better, more useful products. The core of our license is the Open Public License (OPL), which is also used by THDL and Enhydra. The OPL is a slightly modified version of the popular Mozilla Public License.

Known Bugs

• The internal applet version cannot be accessed outside the UVa network through the ITC Proxy Server. The applet-server communication through a proxy server is not supported.
• For PersonalJava Runtime Environment for Windows CE Version 1.1 Beta 1 (the only JRE made available by Sun for the StrongARM processor), classes must be compiled with any JDK version 1.2.2 up to 1.3.1_02. Classes compiled with JDK1.4.0 are incompatible with it.
• Since multiple dictionaries compiled by different people are being accessed simultaneously, slight differences in the implementation of the Wylie system of transliteration between the THDL Tibetan entry system and each dictionary could cause some words with uncommon stacks to not be found.

• I get garbage when I type Tibetan.
  Make sure the TibetanMachineWeb fonts are installed. Free download available.
• The vowels don't look right
  Due to Java Bug Id 4498203, Tibetan vowels do not display properly in some versions of Java. Problematic versions include 1.3.0-02, 1.3.1, and the 1.4 beta 2. Uninstall Java, then download a newer version (1.4 or higher) and install it. The vowels should look better. 
• I can't convert from Wylie to Tibetan.
  Make sure the Wylie you are using is valid Extended Wylie.
• I can't paste Tibetan Script copied in Microsoft XP.
  A text using Tibetan script in the Tibetan Machine Web font or Tibetan Machine font can be copied from most applications supporting Window's clipboard system and pasted directly into the Tibetan Translation Tool. Unfortunately when Tibetan script is used, Microsoft Word XP's (and higher) clipboard system is currently too sophisticated for the Tibetan Translation Tool to recognize it! A work-around is to have the intermediate step of copying the Tibetan text from Word and pasting into a less sophisticated text editor such as Microsoft WordPad. Then the text can be copied from WordPad and pasted into the Tibetan Translation Tool. If the text is in Roman Script (using Extended Wylie or ACIP's transliteration system) there is no problem.
• I have bought The Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Culture and have downloaded Jeffrey Hopkins' Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary. How can I create a database to access offline both dictionaries simultaneously?
  Importing a text dictionary into an existing dictionary database is currently not possible. Nevertheless the new Rangjung Yeshe Tibetan-English Dharma Dictionary 3.0 CD includes the Tibetan Translation Tool with a database for it to access both dictionaries simultaneously.
• Can I install the Translation Tool on my Palm OS handheld or on my cell phone?
  Theoretically the Tibetan Translation Tool for handeld devices runs on any platform that supports JVM. Nevertheless, the Sun's JVM for Palm OS handhelds (implemented as Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC)/ Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)) and mobile information devices like mobile phones (Java 2, Micro Edition) have too limited of a functionality for it to work. An alternative would be to seek JVMs from third parties that are "compatible enough" to allow the Tibetan Translation Tool for handeld devices to work. You are welcome to try it out and let me know!

There are plans to build a parser on top of the scanner. Currently the utility is working as a scanner. It takes its input and identifies its individual elements that constitute it. Eventually the scanner will be only the first phase of a bigger Tibetan to English Translation Utility. The second phase is to build a parser on top of the scanner.  The parser would determine how such individual elements are related to each other according to pre-determined grammatical rules. Ideally, it would figure out the Tibetan grammar and produce an English sentence.

The tool was developed and implemented in its current state by Andrés Montano Pellegrini at the University of Virginia, while the Tibetan script input facility was built by THDL's Edward Garrett. 

Suggestions and Donations are Welcome!

Please submit your suggestions (as comments to this entry) regarding:

• Bugs that need to be fixed.
• Other Tibetan to English dictionaries that could be made available online through this utility.
• Installation tips on platforms not documented here.

Make sure that the issues you are suggesting or inquiring are not already addressed in this document!

All Tibetan tools I developed, I have made available for free in order to help translators and students facilitate the understanding of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. If you have found them useful, donations would be much appreciated so as to support further development.

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