How does it work?

To use Twasebook, type a word or (very) short phrase into the search field, either in your own (native) language, or in the language you are learning (your "target" language). Twasebook will then provide a translation (via Microsoft Translator) into your native language. It will then search up to 50 of the most recent public "tweets" (individual status updates) in your target language containing this text and, once again through Microsoft Translator, translate each individual tweet into your own language for reference.

For example, let's say you want to know the German word for "nearby", and how that word should be used within a sentence. If you type "nearby" into the search field, and select German as your target language, a translation will be initially provided ("in der Nähe"), followed by a list of recent status updates in German which contain the phrase "in der Nähe" and a translation into your own language. For example, "Ich wohne in der Nähe von Berlin" - "I live near Berlin".

Frequently Asked Questions

Well, I haven't actually been asked any of these questions, but I guess these should cover some of the issues that people may be concerned about!

Does Twasebook do the actual translating of tweets?

Nope. All translation is done by the Microsoft Translator API .

I'm often told that no results from Twitter can be found. What does this mean?

The number of results returned from Twitter depends upon a combination of how common the word/phrase you are searching for is, and how many people have used that word/phrase on Twitter within the last few days. As a result, searches containing individual (and common) words are more likely to return several more results than unusual phrases containing numerous words. Therefore, it is worth keeping the search term down to one or two words, rather than a full phrase.

Some of the results are a little odd. The translations don't make sense.

The most important thing to remember is that, as wonderful that Microsoft Translator is, it is still a computer doing the translation rather than a human being, so some translations into English might sound a little odd. Additionally, many Twitter users post updates in somewhat "informal" language, using lots of slang or idiomatic expressions, or even local "text speak" variants of "LOL", "kthxbye" or "spk l8r" which do not translate well into English. As a result, any translation is only a guide - if you want a more "correct" version, I would advise that you consult a dictionary or a grammar book. Or a local teenager.

Why are some words/phrases not translated?

Occasionally, and depending upon the language, the Microsoft Translator API is unable to translate a word/phrase. As a result, Twasebook presents the result as something like "The German word for XXX is XXX", in which both words are exactly the same. In some cases, this can be the correct response but, in others, it may not be. This is possibly due to the fact that the word/phrase is not included in the Microsoft Translator dictionary. I'll try and reduce the impact of this issue soon, promise!

Can I store individual tweets for future reference?

Not at the moment, although this may change, particularly as it is currently only possible to search through the most recent tweets (and therefore older tweets will disappear). For the moment, though, you'll have to make do with a pen and a bit of paper to note down interesting tweets, as they may have disappeared by the next time you look!

Which languages are supported?

All languages supported by the Microsoft Translator API are included within Twasebook. Except Slovenian.

Why is Slovenian not supported?

Despite being supported by the Microsoft Translate API, for some reason Slovenian causes a problem. There are definitely Slovenian results being returned from Twitter, but Twasebook treats these as being in an "unknown language". It's on my "to-do" list for bug fixing, honest!

Why is Language X not supported?

The languages supported depends upon those included as part of the Microsoft Translator API. If the Microsoft Translator API does not support a particular language, then neither does Twasebook. A shame really, as I'd personally love to learn Scottish Gaelic ! However, if Microsoft provides support for a particular language in the future, I will make sure it is incorporated within Twasebook.

Are tweets filtered for bad language, or political/religious content?

No, as this would be a monumentous task! Unfortunately, given that there are 200 million Twitter users , there are bound to be tweets containing content you may find offensive or do not agree with. The best advice I can give is to ignore them!

I've just done a search, and noticed that one of the results returned is a private conversation between me and my friend. I demand you take it down immediately!

Sorry, no can do! As far as I know, whenever you create an account on Twitter, any tweets you post (apart from direct messages, or "DMs") are publicly available and can be seen by anyone through, for example, Twitter's own searching facility . So, the only way you can prevent your tweets appearing on Twasebook is to change your Twitter privacy settings . Twasebook only searches through publicly available tweets.

Have you thought about integrating audio into Twasebook?

Yes - indeed, Microsoft Translator's API can "speak" results. However, there are two reasons why I have not yet implemented this - firstly, because I haven't quite worked out how to implement it yet and, secondly (and getting slightly technical) Twasebook already makes significant demands on the Microsoft Translator API, so I'm not really sure I want to make further calls to the API. For the moment, if you want to listen to how individual tweets sound, you can copy and paste them into the Bing Translator and use the audio feature there.

Have you thought about integrating Twasebook into Facebook/YouTube/Flickr/Google+ etc.?

I'd love to add extra features to Twasebook, such as improved integration with Twitter, logins for storing tweets, and so on, but these decisions are very much limited to the time I actually have to build the required functionality. At the same time, I quite like the fact that the tool provides minimum functionality. However, I made the decision early on not to integrate Facebook status updates into Twasebook. While I realise I'm probably over-stereotyping here, unlike Twitter users who appear to be more aware of the fact that their tweets are available to the world, I'm still convinced that a significant number of Facebook users do not realise how public their status updates can be, and may post updates on Facebook that Twitter users would never, ever, consider tweeting. For example, take a little trip through the web applications available on Tom Scott's site , such as Who Said It and Evil , to illustrate how easy it is to display information outside of Facebook that users may believe is private.

Is Twasebook affiliated with Twitter and/or Microsoft Translator?

No.

How can I contact Twasebook for e.g. bug reports?

Please send all enquiries to info [at] twasebook dot org or, alternatively, follow Twasebook on Twitter .

Who are you?

Hello, my name is Graeme Coleman and I am a researcher at the School of Computing at the University of Dundee (although please note that this is a personal project for the time being).