Ruff Ruff Means I Want to Play|汪汪！快来跟我玩！

by Rebecca A. Fratzke

Bowlingual is taking the pet-owner relationship to the next level through translation.

犬语翻译机透过翻译狗狗的叫声让主人与宠物的感情增温。

Animal lovers today explore every option for building a better relationship with their pets. Some examples include pet spas or travel agencies that _(1)_ pets. Therefore, it is not surprising that during this pursuit of pet-owner bliss, owners would want insight into their pets' emotions. In 2002, Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy came up with a way to make this _(2)_ by creating Bowlingual, a device that translates a dog's vocal sounds into emotions and phrases.

Made up of two parts, Bowlingual includes a receiver and a microphone. The microphone is attached to the dog's collar, _(3)_ the receiver is a hand-held sound analyzer. The receiver determines which of six emotional states the dog is _(4)_, ranging from happy to sad to frustrated to asserted. Then, it chooses a phrase from a database of around 200 possibilities to express more _(5)_ what the dog is trying to communicate. The phrase, the emotional state, and a cartoon face are displayed on the receiver's LCD screen. An example of such a display would be the word "Needy" _(6)_ the phrase "Please play with me some more!" and a cartoon dog face with its tongue sticking out.

Although some people are _(7)_ of Bowlingual's actual translating abilities, Takara Tomy has taken it another step further and released Meowlingual, a similar single-component device for cats. Now, whether your best friend barks or meows, you'll know exactly what it's trying to say.

1.  (A) rule out    (B) single out  (C) cater to    (D) apply to

2.  (A) possibly    (B) possible    (C) to be possible  (D) as possibility

3.  (A) instead (B) despite (C) while   (D) once

4.  (A) in  (B) up to   (C) on  (D) out of

5.  (A) regularly   (B) arrogantly  (C) roughly (D) accurately

6.  (A) removed from    (B) followed by (C) informed of (D) mistaken for

7.  (A) skeptical   (B) enthusiastic    (C) ambitious   (D) passionate

　　现今，热爱动物的人士探索各种能和宠物建立更加美好关系的方法。有些例子包括迎合宠物的宠物水疗中心或是宠物旅行社。因此，主人在追求与宠物同乐的过程中，会想要深入了解宠物的情绪并不令人意外。

在 2002 年，日本的玩具制造商 Takara Tomy 想出了一个可能让这种想法实现的方式，那就是制造出犬语翻译机（Bowlingual），这是一种能够将狗狗发出的声音翻译成情绪和词组的装置。

　　犬语翻译机包含接收器和麦克风两个部分。麦克风系在狗狗的项圈上，而接收器则是手持的声音分析器。接收器会判定出 6 种狗狗的情绪状态，从快乐、悲伤、挫败到坚定的情绪都含括在内。然后，接收器会从含有大约 200种可能状况的数据库中挑出一串词组，更明确地表达出狗狗想沟通的意思。这个词组、情绪的状态和一个卡通表情都会呈现在接收器的液晶屏幕上。这样所呈现出来的例子像是『渴望的』这个字会紧接着『请多跟我玩！』，还有一个卡通狗狗舌头伸出来的脸。

　　尽管有些人质疑犬语翻译机的真实翻译能力，Takara Tomy却更进一步推出猫语翻译机（Meowlingual），也就是为猫咪所设计的类似单一组件装置。现在，不管你的宠物麻吉汪汪叫或喵喵叫，你都能确切知道牠想说什么了。

标准答案: 1. (C)　2. (B)　3. (C)　4. (A)　5. (D)
　　  6. (B)　7. (A)

For Your Information

2002 年轰动宠物界的犬语翻译机，2009年出现了升级版，能将犬吠声转换成人类的语音，透过手持装置放送出来。饲主可同时使用 5 个装置，聆听狗狗之间的交谈互动。

犬语翻译机由日本玩具大厂 Tomy 发行，虽然是『玩具』，不过 Tomy 宣称，确实有科学概念在支持。它能辨识狗狗的 6 种基本情绪，是以犬声的声纹作为依据，这项技术是由日本音响研究室（Japan Acoustic Laboratory）的音响专家铃木松美博士研发而来。

除了语音识别外，新款翻译机还有『动作查询字典』，协助主人了解『不多话』的爱犬心事；里头也有狗狗的家庭兽医纪录、犬知识、狗狗的猜谜游戏等等。一机售价 18,900 日币（约 6,600 台币），不过目前除了在日本贩卖，还没有进一步正式销售海外的消息。