Google News: Interface Translation, Voice Search, Bork Bork Bork

Google bits... Google's preference page includes "interface languages," allowing you to choose in which language you want to view the Google interface. New interface language options include Afrikaans, Bulgarian, Catalan, and "Bork Bork Bork.." that is to say, the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. Guess which one mine's set at. 

Google is also now offering the ability to help add to the interface languages. This service, which is in beta, is called "Google in Your Language Program" and is available at http://services.google.com/tc/Welcome.html . You'll have to sign up to be a translator. After that you'll be presented with a series of phrases and terms to be translated, and Google will add this to their translation work. 

The sign up page asks you to specify what languages you are fluent in. While there were some unexpected choices here (Klingon, Elmer Fudd) I was disheartened at the lack of Native American language choices. Heck, I didn't even see French Creole as an option. This new program is in beta, though, so its choices and scope may improve. 

Finally, Google clued me in on some new technology that's still in the lab. It's called "Google Voice Search," and spokesman David Krane described it thus: "It enables users to speak search terms into a telephone or cell phone, and see the results of their query on either a traditional web browser (on a desktop PC) or WAP-enabled mobile phone. Using a traditional or WAP phone to call a special phone number, users are greeted with a voice that says "please say your search terms," and after speaking the specific query into the phone, the results are available at either a desktop web browser or on the screen of the user's WAP phone."

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