Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical Engineering

First Advisor

Graves, Corey Dr.

Abstract

Today within the US there is a gap between cultures, mainly Spanish speakers and English speakers. Communication is the main barrier and learning each other’s language would be a solution. With this being said, the question is “How can technology be implemented to create a solution?” The proposed system is offered that allows people with different native languages to communicate using cell phones. Besides communication, learning is also a goal. This system implements the 3 most common styles of learning which are; visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning. These learning styles are aided by the ubiquitous and mobile learning paradigms. The system operates such that the users not only communicate with each other, but also can learn while doing so. This system allows two users two speakers of different languages to communicate via basic cell phone SMS and MMS messaging, using text and audio. The proposed tool, Motilingual, is basically an intercessor that translates messages from both languages. It allows a user, who speaks a particular language, to communicate with another person who speaks a different language, by simply sending a text message to the other written in the sender’s native language. The message is then translated to the receiver’s language by an online translation engine. Additionally, an audio file of the message in the sender’s language is generated using an open-source speech synthesizer. Finally, the translated xi text message is sent to the receiver, along with the text and audio in the sender’s language. The advantage of using basic SMS and MMS messaging approach, rather than a smartphone application approach, is that it makes the tool accessible to a broader range of cell phone users. In other words, not everyone has a smartphone, but a majority of cell phone users have the option of using SMS and MMS services. The proposed system allows users to communicate with one another even though they do not speak each other’s language. This system may help students learn in foreign language courses and allow professors to be more involved.This system allows two users two speakers of different languages to communicate via basic cell phone SMS and MMS messaging, using text and audio. The proposed tool, Motilingual, is basically an intercessor that translates messages from both languages. It allows a user, who speaks a particular language, to communicate with another person who speaks a different language, by simply sending a text message to the other written in the sender’s native language. The message is then translated to the receiver’s language by an online translation engine. Additionally, an audio file of the message in the sender’s language is generated using an open-source speech synthesizer. Finally, the translated xi text message is sent to the receiver, along with the text and audio in the sender’s language. The advantage of using basic SMS and MMS messaging approach, rather than a smartphone application approach, is that it makes the tool accessible to a broader range of cell phone users. In other words, not everyone has a smartphone, but a majority of cell phone users have the option of using SMS and MMS services. The proposed system allows users to communicate with one another even though they do not speak each other’s language. This system may help students learn in foreign language courses and allow professors to be more involved.

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