In this unit we are going to examine other features of the Google search engine that make the translator’s work easier, improving her documentation capabilities. One of the other functions of Google is called "Google Directory" and is found at the address http://www.google.com/dirhp, but you can access it also from the toolbar. opening the pull-down menu on the left side. It opens a page containing the following indications:
Arts (Movies, Music, Television,... )
Business (Industries, Finance, Jobs,... )
Computers (Hardware, Internet, Software,... )
Games (Board, Roleplaying, Video,... )
Health (Alternative, Fitness, Medicine,... )
Home (Consumers, Homeowners, Family,... )
Kids and Teens (Computers, Entertainment, School,... )
News (Media, Newspapers, Current Events,... )
Recreation (Food, Outdoors, Travel,... )
Reference (Education, Libraries, Maps,... )
Regional (Asia, Europe, North America,... )
Science (Biology, Psychology, Physics,... )
Shopping (Autos, Clothing, Gifts,... )
Society (Issues, People, Religion,... )
Sports (Basketball, Football, Soccer,... )
As you can see, near frivolous subjects like "shopping", there are serious headings. Clicking on "science", for example, you access a new summary, containing, this time, the following reference links:
Agriculture (2787)
Anomalies and Alternative Science (652)
Astronomy (3994)
Biology (25771)
Chemistry (4739)
Conferences (45)
Directories (50)
Earth Sciences (7339)
Educational Resources (396)
Employment (206)
Environment (7913)
History of Science (680)
Institutions (1164)
Instruments and Supplies (2476)
Math (12338)
Methods and Techniques (208)
Museums (488)
News (116)
Philosophy of Science (331)
Physics (5058)
Publications (277)
Reference (724)
Science in Society (791)
Search Engines (8)
Social Sciences (28529)
Software (247)
Technology (14503)
Women (232)
As you can see, in these lists there is always also the entry "Reference", a sort of link to sites that can be consulted, and is a sort of preferred ground fro translators, insofar as it contains those works, those texts that are particularly accessible to have in a short time a vast overview on a subject, on a discipline. If we choose "Physics" and, then, click on "Reference", we see a list of seven links to as many sites, that on the left side reports a green and gray line; this line is the so called "PageRank", i.e. the evaluation that the search engine itself gives the page. Based on a complex (but not unerring) system, founded in part on the number of accesses to a given site and in part on the supposed quality of the sites that link to it.
The second link on the "Reference" page of "Physics" is "The Law List", at the address http://www.alcyone.com/max/physics/laws/ and it is a page that can be very useful to a translator who is facing a text containing (or implying) some laws of physics, because it contains links to all the main laws and substantially constitutes a huge physics glossary, spanning from "aberration" to "Zeeman effects".
But if, from the home page of the Google Directory we choose "Health" (notice that medicine is not listed among sciences: will it be an ideological choice or an empirical recognition?) and, then, you choose, one after the other, "Medicine", then "Reference", then "Medical Dictionaries", you get to the page http://directory.google.com/Top/Reference/Dictionaries/By_Subject/Medicine/ containing (on the date of my consultation, of course) as many as sixty-nine medical dictionaries, and precisely:
Multilingual Glossary of Technical and Popular Medical Terms - http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~rvdstich/eugloss/welcome.html Addresses medical terminology for the professional and the layman in Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
On-line Medical Dictionary - http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/omd/ Searchable dictionary created by Dr. Graham Dark.
Human Genome Project Glossary - http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/glossary/index.html Indexed and cross-referenced collection of genetic's terminology.
Eye Cancer Dictionary - http://www.eyecancer.com/Glossary/gloss.html Eye cancer related vocabulary with pronunciation guides for individual terms.
Stat-Ref - http://www.statref.com/ Electronic medical library lets you cross-search more than 31 medical texts.
Ecological Epidemiology Dictionary - http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/%7Ejs229/glossary.html Cross-referenced dictionary of ecological epidemiology terms edited by Jonathan Swinton, University of Cambridge.
Medical and Science Dictionaries - http://www.medbioworld.com/advice/dict.html Directory of links for those seeking an online science or medical dictionaries or glossaries.
A Modern Herbal - http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/comindx.html Dictionary of herbal botanical terms and remedies with detailed entries.
Mediweb Medical Dictionary - http://www.themediweb.net/ Information for research and education for health care academics, professionals and the general public.
Insulin-Free World Glossary - http://www.insulin-free.org/glossary.htm Cross-referenced glossary of insulin-related terminology.
Allergy Glossary - http://www.hon.ch/Library/Theme/Allergy/Glossary/a.html Detailed glossary of medical and scientific terms associated with allergies.
Drug Trade Terms - http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/streetterms/ Street terms for drugs and used in the drug trade from the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Terms - http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/glossary.html Glossary of abbreviations and words relating to BSE.
Medicinal Chemistry - http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iupac/medchem/ Glossary of terms used in medicinal chemistry recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Iowa Department of Public Health Dictionary - http://www.idph.state.ia.us/glossary.asp Alphabetical listing of terms used within the department including government pseudonyms, acronyms and general medical and health-related vocabulary.
Dorlands - http://www.dorlands.com Offers an illustrated dictionary for healthcare professionals.
Dictionary of Orthodontic Terms - http://www.bracesinfo.com/glossary.html Illustrated dictionary of dental terminology.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases - http://www.ashastd.org/stdfaqs/glossaryindex.html Glossary of medical and scientific terminology relating to sexually transmitted diseases.
Medical Dictionary Online - http://www.online-medical-dictionary.org A free online medical dictionary search engine for definitions of medical terminology, pharmaceutical drugs, healthcare equipment, health conditions, medical devices, specialty terms and medical abbreviations.
English-Chinese Medical Dictionary - http://www.esaurus.org/
Immunology Terms - http://www-micro.msb.le.ac.uk/MBChB/ImmGloss.html Definitions of immunology-related vocabulary.
Multilingual Medical Dictionary - http://www.interfold.com/translator/index.htm
Medical Dictionary spreadsheet: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French & Dutch. Over 3,400 key words in each language. Dozens of online bilingual dictionaries & glossaries listed here, incl. 4-language foods/cuisine glossary
MT Desk - http://www.mtdesk.com/alpha.shtml Medical and surgical dictionary.
Medical Dictionary - http://medical-dictionary.com/
Eye Care and Vision Terms - http://www.allaboutvision.com/resources/glossary.htm
Spellex Medical - http://www.spellex.com/speller.htm
MRI Glossary - http://fonar.com/glossary.htm
Perfusion Technology - http://www.musc.edu/chp-clin/ect/glossary.htm
Diabetes Dictionary - http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/dictionary/
HIV/AIDS Terms - http://glossary.hivatis.org/index.asp
Brain Injury Glossary - http://www.waiting.com/glossary.html Medical vocabulary associated with brain injuries.
Psychotherapy Terms - http://www.mhaedu.org/tguidegloss.html Glossary of terms from the 2001 edition of "Guide to Psychotherapists in Private Practice".
Continuing Education Glossary - http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/conted/gloss.htm
Glossary of Vision Terms - http://www.vision-therapy.com/Glossary_of_Terms.htm
Medical Spell Checker - http://www.medical-spell-checker.com/
Medspeak - http://www.geocities.com/~medspeak/index.html Defines over 300 medical terms used in the television show ER, and has FAQ about the medicine used in ER. A handy reference for medicine.
Medical Abbreviations Dictionary - http://www.media4u.com/abb/medical_abbreviations.htm
Medical Conditions Glossary - http://www.medical-conditions.org
Dictionary Of Holistic Terms - http://www.innerself.com/Magazine/Health/Glossary.htm
Oral Physiology Dictionary - http://www.eclipse.co.uk/moordent/glossary.htm
Medical Dictionary Search Engine - http://medical-dictionary-search-engines.com/
SCXT310 Glossary - http://otpt.ups.edu/Medicine/Glossary-Immune-NS.html Scientific glossary of immune and nervous systems terminology.
Veterinary Terms - http://www.spvs.org.uk/glossary.htm
Medical Eponyms - http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Villa/6315/eponym/eponym.html Terms, phrases and acronyms used in the medical field.
Dental Terms - http://www.cigna.com/professional/news/glossaries/dental.html Indexed glossary of dental terms.
KEMC Medical Definitions - http://www.kemc.edu/dictionary.html King Edward Medical College medical definitions.
Histiocytosis Association of America Dictionary - http://www.histio.org/association/dict/index.shtml A medical dictionary with emphasis on hemotology and oncology terms and medications.
Neuroscience Glossary - http://www.unmc.edu/ethics/glossary.html Some of the more common terms.
Pediatric Liver Care Center Glossary - http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/prog/liver/glossary.htm
Glossary of Brain Injury Terms - http://www.headway.org.uk/default.asp?step=4&pid=97
The Vocabulary of Loss - http://members.tripod.com/~LifeGard/index-2.html A glossary of suicide-related terminology as well as some essays about related topics.
Dictionary of Pregnancy, Parenting and Preconception - http://www.mommyguide.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Glossary&file=index
MPIP - http://www.mpip.org/frameset.shtml?tools/dict/dictindex.html Searchable medical dictionary with use of wild cards; references cross-linked to additional material.
Med Terms - http://www.medterms.com
Lexicon of Parrots - http://www.arndt-verlag.com/projekt/birds_0.cgi
Franklin Electronics Publishers - http://www.franklin.com/ebooks/categorygroup.asp?groupID=8&CatID=7&PageNum=1
Sites are ordered by PageRank.
Finally, on the ToolBar there are links to the "Language Tools", whose use I explained in the previous units.
Moving rightwards along the toolbar we come to the window in which you can put the strings to be searched (that keeps in its memory the last strings searched, and allows you to reuse them clicking on the black triangle on the right); the indication "Search Web" that, clicking on it, can become "Current site", i.e. allows to make searches not all over the internet space, but only within the site in which you are in a given moment. It is a very useful option when you get lost in a site whose structure you don’t know and you want to find information within it. If for example I get to the www.logos.it site and insert in the search window "translation course", and click con "Current site", I find 35 inner links to this string within the Logos portal. In the window of the Google page this words appear: "site:www.logos.it "translation course"", meaning precisely, in the Google syntax, "search the string ‘translation course’ within the site "www.logos.it".
Moving rightwards, we then meet the icon of two smileys, the glad one, the sad one. It is the opportunity offered to every user to vote for each single site one’s own liking. It is not absolutely clear what Google does with the collected data, whether they influence the Page Rank, anyway it is a potential instrument of democracy in the internet. It is then desirable that its popular indications are corrected based on different evaluations, as the greater or smaller reliability of a site as compared to another, as we have said.
Moving still rightwards, we meet a number followed by the word "blocked": it is a device to block the popup menus. Popup menus are the pages that open automatically when you connect to some sites, so many that sometimes you find yourself with 7-8 open windows even if you are supposed to be working with one window only. They are mainly advertisement or self advertisement windows and can be very annoying. The Google ToolBar blocks them automatically.
But when you need the popup mechanism on (some sites work with popups, for example when you have to fill in a form they make it appear as a window on its own), you need to click on the "blocked" word to unblock them, otherwise you might not be able to correctly see the site in question.
Moving still rightwards, you see the tip of a marker pen: if after a search you click on it, it automatically marks all the occurrences of the searched string in the visualized pages, allowing to save a lot of time to you while you overview the results of your search.
With this features my overview of the Google ToolBar is over. In the next unit we’ll go on examining other resources for translators.
