Primezero Chinese Tools Completed
February 5, 2008 – 11:33 am
Primezero Chinese Tools Completed at Version 1.10. Here is a complete list of features. This information architecture experiment has concluded.
I want to clarify:
- Primezero is not a Chinese dictionary. It is a dictionary tool. It searches community-submitted content.
- The idea of decentralized Chinese translation is not completed — just the testbed.
From Developer’s Notebook
Now, for a quick core dump…
The primary goal of this project was to test what a “Chinese dictionary” is supposed to be. Let us first look at the somewhat traditional archetype this book.
A Chinese dictionary is a bound volume that contains insurmountable amounts of information related to one or more dialects of Chinese that can be readily accessed when needed.
Large volumes make wonderful doorstops and also are useful for propping up windows. Smaller volumes are often called “pocket dictionaries”, most likely designed for portability but with limited content.
Some Chinese dictionaries are neither large nor small, so they a provided topic-specific title, where you can find vocabulary that eludes that pocket dictionary without dragging a 5 pound dictionary around.
Things you find in traditional paper dictionaries:
- definitions — (define by whoooooo … from whooooose perspective?)
- parts of speech
- single source that is already outdated information by the time the book is published
- lack of cultural understanding and context
- no links to websites and media content (video, images, audio, etc.)
- closed source
Things you find in Primezero Chinese Tools (not a dictionary… a dictionary tool):
- live human translation
- ability to add your own definitions using Google Docs (and other Google Apps)
- search from multiple sources of information
- aggregation of definitions from multiple editors with equal voice (unlike wikipedia where one or two people can pick a pet rock definition and sit on it forever without allowing others a chance to add their perspective) — more later about Wikipedia’s failure
- rich media content
- open source
