What's New

May 11th, 2009

Launching of version 5.3

Sep 2nd, 2008

Updates to Version 5.2

Mar 14th, 2008

Updates to Version 5.1

Nov 9th, 2007

Updates to Version 5.0

Oct 19th, 2007

Updates to Version 5.0

Set 07th, 2007

Updates to Version 5.0

Aug 31st, 2007

Updates to Version 5.0

Aug 24th, 2007

Updates to Version 5.0

Aug 17th, 2007

Updates to Version 5.0

Aug 10th, 2007

Updates to Version 5.0

Aug 3rd, 2007

Updates to Version 5.0

Jul 27th, 2007

Updates to Version 5.0

Jul 17th, 2007

New Version 5.0

What's New

May 11th, 2009

Launching of Version 5.3

For more details about this release please refer to Version 5.3 page here.

September 2nd, 2008

Launching of Version 5.2

Every 4 or 5 months, Word Magic Software launches a very meticulous updating of its programs. That day has come, and with great pleasure we announce the launching of our new Version 5.2, totally free for registered customers of Version 5.0. Many and important changes have been implemented into this new update, including, as is customary, a new and profuse extension of the dictionaries.

The most significant improvements are mentioned below:

1. The Text Translator machine (MT) has been greatly improved. Word Magic starts to implement the “Learning Patterns” system, which will establish the guidelines for future versions under development (“Automatic Learning”) More…
2. Translation Options in Translator 5.0 Plus: From Spanish to English, this option was producing too many “options” which, upon revision, turned out to be inaccurate. This problem has been fixed in the current update. More…
3. New links to WordNet (Princeton University) and Zirano Corp (Spain), to increase the number of definitions in both languages. More…
4. Addition of approximately 1,000 new Spanish proverbs, with their equivalent in English. These are additional to the 1,000 already added to Version 5.1, some 4 months ago. More…
5. Addition of approximately 3,000 new more terms in the fields of Law, Economics and International Commerce. They include the names and abbreviations of some 1000 international organizations related to ALCA, plus their equivalent in English. More…
6. As suggested by some of our users, we have implemented a system to “hide” the thousands of regionalisms and slang we have collected over the years for the database. The idea is to give the user the option of displaying or hiding these regionalisms when translating a formal document. More…
7. Addition of approximately 4,000 Names of Historic Figures, with a brief note on each, available in Translator and in Dictionary & Tools. (These correspond to the ones added in 5.1) More…
8. Correction of miscelaneous operative bugs reported by our customers. See list

And, what’s more important for all our Version 5.0 registered customers…
This update is completely Free!

1. Word Magic Software is already developing Version 6.0, which is expected to cause a true revolution in the field of Machine Translation (MT). To achieve this goal, which has been the dream of many investigators in the field of artificial intelligence, Word Magic has had to overcome successive phases.

• The first phase was automatic translation, pure and simple, which is the phase in which the majority of the translation programs available today for PCs are.
• The second phase was achieving a context-based translation.  For example,
  
  

Ser una persona acabada

→

Be a washed-up person,

versus

Ser una obra acabada

→

Be a finished work.

Or else:

Acudiré a mi hermano por ayuda	→	I will resort to [call on] my brother for help
Acudiré a una reunión	→	I will attend a meeting
Acudiré a los tribunales	→	I will go to court.
Acudiré al teléfono	→	I will take the phone. Etc…

• The third phase was to obtain translations based on colloquial and idiomatic language (ESI STD) and to interpret popular slang and localisms from several countries, in both English and Spanish. For example:  “Caer en la cuenta”  is not translated as “To fall into the account”  but as “To get the point”.    In turn, “To get the point” is not translated as “Obtener el punto” but as “Agarrar el hilo”, or “Comprender”
• The fourth phase was to achieve an interactive system (ESI PRO) in real time through which the User could rectify a wrong translation with one or two clicks of the mouse, immediately and in front of their own eyes…a system that is unique in the market, exclusive of Word Magic Software.  The user can also choose among thousands of meanings and 2 million synomyms to polish the results even more.
• The fifth phase was the implementation of the Translation Options feature, which was launched about a year ago, in our Translator 5.0 Plus, another unique idea in the market.  Another invention was introduced in this same launching: True Retranslation, which is a valuable instrument for verification of results, another exclusive Word Magic Software feature in alliance with Spoken Translation Inc., from California.  The philosophy behind True Retranslation is: If it’s verifiable, it’s more reliable!
• The sixth phase – under development for future Version 6.0— will include for the first time in history a translation system that learns on its own, under the User’s guidance!
• Current Version 5.2 already contains some of the fruits of this revolutionary system, because we have achieved greater precision in translation, although the User cannot access the learning process just yet. This is reserved for future Version 6.0…

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2. The Translation Options in Spanish were cut down to the necessary minimum, giving priority to words that have more meanings and very different translations. An example of this would be:

El vino (without an accent)
	(Option 1)	→	Wine
	(Option 2)	→	He came

 

El abono (without an accent)
	(Option 1)	→	The payment
	(Option 2)	→	He fertilized the ground
	(Option 1-1)	→	The payment
	(Option 2-1)	→	The fertilizer
	(Option 2-1)	→	He fertilized the ground
	(Option 2-2)	→	He amortized the account

Note that the Translator is now more flexible regarding accentless Spanish words, typical of e-messaging. In other words, it accepts “él vino” (he came) as a second option even though “él” was written without the accent.

What would happen if the text says “el cae”, without the accent?  Seeing that there is no other working option, the translation offered by Word Magic is ‘He falls’.  We recommend the user to try out this phrase in any other available translator on the Internet and see the results thus obtained.

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3. New definitions in Spanish and English. Another important improvement is achieved when linking each Word Magic meaning with its corresponding Princeton WordNet meaning (under license), as well as with the corresponding Zirano meaning (also under license). These links towards both databases – under continuous development—imply a many-year process, which is why with each Word Magic update the user will notice more and more definitions, usage examples, and more coherence among the multiple meanings.

This makes the Word Magic dictionary the only one in the world that includes everything: translation as well as usage examples, synonyms, antonyms, inflections, grammar attributes and definitions of the entries, all in both languages.

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4. Addition of approximately 1,000 new Spanish proverbs, with their English equivalents.  Here are some examples. It is important to note that the proverbs are a part of the database, for both the dictionary and the translator. In the dictionary, they can be looked up under “Idioms” with a key word. A more thorough search can be achieved with the Phrase Scanner feature, in the same application.

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5. Addition of approximately 3,000 new terms in the fields of Law, Economics and International Commerce. These include the names and abbreviations of some 1000 international organizations related to ALCA (Free Trade Area of the Americas, FTAA) with their English equivalents. Here are some hundred-odd examples, taken from the 3,000 entries of the new dictionary. (Available only in our Business & Finance Technical Dictionary)

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6. Handling of Regionalisms and Slang.  The Spanish language is very uniform throughout Latin America regarding normal and formal communications. Nevertheless, when making reference to idioms, folklore, informal, colloquial or vulgar language, there are great variations in the terms used. Our translator has the option of translating using regionalisms whenever it finds them, but there are so many of them that there have been occasions in which a translation using Mexican terms has not been recognized, not even by a native of that country. This is why we have installed a filter in this 5.2 Version that blocks the regionalisms of any country by default, especially if they are vulgar, offensive or too far off from international Spanish. Only the common ones, such as the use of “camión” for “autobús”, “órale” for “está bien”, “guajolote” for “pavo”  and similar cases are left (still thousands of them).

In a nutshell, we have incorporated two filters under “Tools / Options / General/ Regional Language”.  The user can activate or inactivate any of them or both:

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7. Addition of nearly 4,000 Names of Historical and Current Figures with a brief note. These were added in Version 5.1, four months ago. Some more have been added. Neither Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton nor John McCain should be missing from this list, nor should some others that have been added little by little.

For example, a typical entry:  type in the name “Bach”   

Results:

Whitman:  Historical Character  «Literature»

            Whitman , Walt Whitman

Definition:  United States poet who celebrated the greatness of America (1819-1892).

           Whitman , Marcus Whitman

Definition: United States frontier missionary who established a post in Oregon where Christianity and schooling and medicine were available to Native Americans (1802=1847).

Cervantes:  Historical Character  «Literature»

            ( Miguel de Cervantes) Cervantes , Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Definition:  Spanish writer best remembered for 'Don Quixote' which satirizes chivalry and influenced the development of the novel form (1547-1616).

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8. List of Miscellaneous Corrections suggested by our customers.

1. Bug in “Save All” function. It didn’t save properly.
2. New intelligent display of pronouns in the conjugator. Now only pronouns semantically compatible with each verb are displayed (I, you, he, she , it, etc.)
3. It is now posible to use Large Fonts in the menus
4. There is now an option to print both texts, original and translation, in the same page.
5. Improvement in Home Edition: Now you can selectively pronounce only the selected text, same as in the professional version … 
6. Program registration is now possible from the command line

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March 14th, 2008

Word Magic Software is very pleased to announce the launching of our software’s 5.1 version. Multiple important changes have been added to this new update, but above all, a lavish revision and expansion of the dictionaries.

Our 5.0 databases hadn’t been updated since their launching in July 2007. For 5.1, however, six months of intense refinement and perfectioning have accumulated as a result of a collation using highly-renowned dictionaries in both English and Spanish; among the latter are the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española (DRAE), the RAE’s Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas, the Bilingual Oxford, and the Gran Diccionario de la Lengua Española Larousse.

The most significant improvements are listed below:

1. New links with WordNet (under license of Princeton University) for English definitions and Zirano Corp. (España) for Spanish definitions. More…
2. Addition of almost 4,000 Names of Historical figures, with a brief description of each, available for both the Translator and the Dictionary & Tools. More…
3. Addition of almost 1,000 new Spanish proverbs, with their English equivalent. More…
4. Improved text translator with new functionalities, such as:
   • Handling of .PDF documents with an Add-on Buy PDF Add-On here
   • Total connectivity with the Word Magic Dictionary & Tools Profesional. Now the Translator can interact with each of the 4 tools.
   • New copy function for copying the retranslation to the clipboard in the interactive window.
   • New copy function for copying results within Dictionary & Tools.
   • Greatly improved translation engine, especially Spanish↔English
5. These improvements not only apply to Dictionary & Tools but also to Translator Standard, Professional and Professional Plus
6. Miscellaneous Improvements:
   • Improved Ambiguity Checker. Several bugs were repaired. More…
   • The false virus warning of the AVAST antivirus program was resolved. More…
   • Handling of irregular plurals in both languages. More…
   • A more precise conjugation of the impersonal verbs and of “haber” More…
   • New display of syllable separation of Spanish words in the dictionary More…

And, what’s more important to all our registered 5.0 Clients: This upgrade is FREE!

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1. New links with WordNet and Zirano
Another important breakthrough is the progress achieved by linking each Word Magic meaning to its corresponding meaning in WordNet from Princeton University (under whose license our dictionary obtains its English definitions), as well as with their corresponding Zirano meaning (under whose license our dictionary obtains its Spanish definitions). These links to both databases –under continuous progress – is a process of many years, which is why in each new Word Magic update, the User will see more and more linked words, which subsequently means more and more definitions, usage examples and a greater coherence within an immense variety of meanings.

This makes the Word Magic dictionary the only one in the world that includes everything: both bidirectional translation and definitions.

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2. Addition of almost 4,000 Names of Historical figures

Among the thousands of links from WordNet, we now have available new ones to historical figures, which we consider a very important addition. You will find names from Greek and Roman mythology, historical figures such as Nero, Euclid, Socrates, etc.

If you grouped all the recently added names, there would be enough to compile a book of some 800 pages, including five personalities per page.

These figures can be looked up in the dictionary by their name or by their last name. By giving only the last name, the complete name and details will appear. This applies to both the dictionary and the translator.

Here you will find important figures from Fine Arts and Literature, from Victor Hugo, to Marcel Proust, Chopin, Beethoven, Elgar, Bach, Whitman, Cervantes, and hundreds more.

Well-known political figures: all the US presidents; plus, Churchill, Ghandi, Nehru and even Fidel Castro, and hundreds more, each have their entry, with their complete name and a brief biographical description.

Popular figures, from Madonna to the Beatles:

Examples:

• George Harrison: English rock star; lead guitarist of the Beatles (1943-2001)
• President Bush, George Herbert Walker Bush : Vice President under Reagan and 41st President of the United States (born in 1924)
• Vannevar Bush: United States electrical engineer who designed an early analogue computer and who led the scientific program of the United States during World War II (1890-1974)
• George W. Bush / Bush, George Walker Bush / President George W. Bush: 43rd President of the United States; son of George Herbert Walker Bush (born in 1946)

Furthermore, we include Spanish translations when they are known and used in written texts.

• Sixth Baron Byron of Rochdale = Sexto Barón Byron de Rochdale:
  English romantic poet notorious for his rebellious and unconventional lifestyle (1788-1824)
• Marcus Aurelius Antoninus= Marco Aurelio Antonino
  Emperor of Rome; nephew and son-in-law and adoptive son of Antonius Pius; Stoic philosopher; the decline of the Roman Empire began under Marcus Aurelius (121-180)

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3. Addition of almost 1,000 Spanish Proverbs and their Equivalents

Our previous database already included hundreds of Proverbs. With this new addition, our dictionaries, the Translator STD and Professional are greatly enhanced. It is important to note that the proverbs have not been merely “translated” into English, but our specialized linguists have found the closest “English equivalent” after an exhaustive research in several sources. This highlights the proverbial and linguistic value of the new entries, where the wittiness and cleverness of both languages go hand in hand without losing the real meaning of each proverb.

When applicable, we have even included synonymic expressions in each language, which will give greater amplitude and delight to our users.

Here are some examples: (randomly taken from a list of 989)

• A amistades que son ciertas, siempre las puertas abiertas = True friendship always leaves a window open
• A base de educación se hace bailar al oso = Education moves the masses
• A buen sueño no hay mal catre = Any brick makes a fine pillow for the weary
• A buena hambre no hay pan duro = The famished make a feast out of bread crumbs
• A lo dado, no se le busca lado= Never look a gift horse in the mouth
• A cada capilla le llega su fiestecita = Every dog has his day
• A cada casa le llega su tiempo = Everyone has his day in the sun, Every dog has his day
• A camino largo, paso corto = Slow and steady gets you there in better shape
• Más vale paso que dure no trote que canse = Slow and steady gets you there in better shape
• A carne de lobo, diente de perro = When the going gets tough the tough get going
• A casa del necesitado habrás de ir sin ser llamado = When your brethern are in need don’t wait to be called in order to heed
• A comer y a misa una vez se avisa = One call should be all to get y’all off the wall
• A cualquier dolencia es remedio la paciencia = Patience can solve any problem
• A dar no nos neguemos que Dios nos da para que demos = To be able to give is the greatest gift of all
• A Dios le pido sueño y no cama en qué dormir = Ask God for skill not tools
• A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando = God helps those who help themselves
• A donde no te llaman no vayas = The uninvited are never well taken in
• A falta de pan buenas son cemitas = Beggars can’t be choosers
• A fuerza de ir todo mal, comienza por ir todo bien = When everything is going wrong try to do everything right
• A fuerza de ir todo mal, comienza por ir todo bien= Every cloud has a silver lining
• No hay mal que por bien no venga = Every cloud has a silver lining
• A fuerza ni los zapatos entran = Finesse can pass any test
• A fuerza ni la comida es buena = Nothing takes the right course by force
• A fuerza ni la comida es buena = Finesse can pass any test
• A gato satisfecho no le preocupa el ratón = A full guard-dog is never effective
• A gato viejo ratón tierno = The older the owl the younger the prey
• A gente villana pocas palabras = Never give a scoundrel a second thought
• A grandes males grandes remedios = The greater the illness the bigger the pill
• A la altura de las circunstancias = Up to the test
• A la calle y casa ajena, no salgas con vejiga llena = An empty bladder is a great travel companion
• A la mejor cocinera, se le va un tomate entero = Nobody is perfect, Even monkeys fall from trees
• Al mejor mono se le cae el zapote= Even monkeys fall from trees, Nobody is perfect
• A la miseria, le gusta tener compañia = Misery loves company
• A la oportunidad la pintan calva = Opportunity rarely seems inviting
• A la pera dura, el tiempo la madura = Time will soften even the hardest stone
• A la pereza, le sigue la pobreza = Sloth will never bring happiness
• A la prudencia, le llaman pendejada = There is a thin line between cowardess and prudence
• A la tierra que fueres, haz lo que vieres = When in Rome do as the Romans
• A lo tuyo tú, otro como tú ninguno = The man in the mirror is always the best manager for your affairs
• A lo único que debemos temerle es al miedo mismo = There is nothing to fear but fear itself
• A los que no vence la desgracia los instruye = That which does not kill us makes us stronger
• A mal vivir, mal morir = Live by the sword, die by the sword
• A mi buen saber y entender = To the best of my knowledge
• A mi no me cantan ranas, a cantar a la laguna = Go cry to your momma
• A mucho amor, mucho perdón = With great love comes great forgiveness
• A mucho hablar, poco obrar = He who talks too much does too little
• A muchos debe temer, aquel a quien muchos temen = The scarier the man, the more frightened he is
• A nadie le amarga un dulce = Sugar sweetens the most sour drink
• A palabras necias oídos sordos = Dumb words usually fall on deaf ears
• A boca de borracho, oídos de cantinero = Every drunk with a problem has a bartender who wants to be a shrink
• A pan duro, diente agudo = Teeth are hard to eat away hardship
• A quien de los suyos se aleja, Dios lo deja = If you turn your back on your own you will soon be all alone
• A quien de ti se fía, no lo engañes = If you receive someone’s trust fulfill your obligations you must
• A quien de ti se confia, engañarlo es villanía = Never stab someone in the back with their own gift
• A quien dices tu secreto, haces tu dueño = To tell a secret is to give someone power over you
• A quien dices tu secreto, regalas tu libertad = Let the cat out of the bag and he will scratch you
• A quien nada le debo, con nada le pago = I don’t owe you shit and no more than shit shall you receive
• A quien no fuma ni toma vino, el diablo lo lleva por otro camino = If you don’t smoke and don’t drink your vice is darker than you think
• A quien saber no quiere, no hay maestro que lo enseñe = There is no way to teach the unwilling
• A quien te dice ten, quiérele bien = He who gives you a gift, on a pedestal you must lift
• A rio revuelto, ganancia de pescadores = The wise take advantage of turmoil

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6. Miscellaneous Improvements:

Improved Ambiguity Checker. Several bugs were repaired.
The Ambiguity Checker points out the occurrence of ambiguities in Spanish texts, such as fabrica, which can be both a factory (fábrica) (Noun), or fabrica (verb). These events were not being recognized in previous versions, and now everything is working fine

The false virus warning of the AVAST antivirus program was resolved.
The antivirus incorporated into Windows Vista gave a false virus message with the previous version. This is already resolved.

Handling of irregular plurals in both languages. It now handles many nouns with an irregular plural in English, such as datum-data, memorandum- memoranda, virus-viruses, acarus-acari, etc. It also works the other way around: if the text says "acari" it translates it to "ácaros". It also includes thousands of nouns that do not pluralize in Spanish but do in English: análisis (sing)= analysis, análisis(pl)=analyses.

More precise conjugation of impersonal verbs and “haber”
The Dictionary & Tools conjugator does not conjugate the impersonal verbs in the first and second person, just in the third. Neither are the verbs that apply only to abstract subjects conjugated, example: ocurrir. It conjugates as: Ocurre, but not as "yo ocurro", typical failure in other conjugators.

New display of syllable separation of Spanish words in the dictionary: you can activate this option by opening the Dictionary & Tools, clicking on Tools/Options/Dictionary/Other Options and checking the box next to “Break Words into Syllables”. Spanish words as difficult as lingüística and leiomioma are then displayed on-screen, in the dictionary, separated into syllables: lin.güís.ti.ca / leio.mio.ma

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November 9th, 2007

Update Notice: There is a new update available for all our current customers of version 5.0 resolving some minor bugs reported by our users. Please click here if you want to view the update log.

To download these updates please go to the Help menu within your program and then select the Check for Updates... item.

October 19th, 2007

Update Notice: There is a new update available for all our current customers of version 5.0 resolving some minor bugs reported by our users. Please click here if you want to view the update log.

To download these updates please go to the Help menu within your program and then select the Check for Updates... item.

September 7th, 2007

Update Notice: There is a new update available for all our current customers of version 5.0 resolving some minor bugs reported by our users. Please click here if you want to view the update log.

To download these updates please go to the Help menu within your program and then select the Check for Updates... item.

August 31st, 2007

Update Notice: There is a new update available for all our current customers of version 5.0 resolving some minor bugs reported by our users. Please click here if you want to view the update log.

To download these updates please go to the Help menu within your program and then select the Check for Updates... item.

August 24th, 2007

Update Notice: There is a new update available for all our current customers of version 5.0 resolving some minor bugs reported by our users. Please click here if you want to view the update log.

To download these updates please go to the Help menu within your program and then select the Check for Updates... item.

August 17th, 2007

Update Notice: There is a new update available for all our current customers of version 5.0 resolving some minor bugs reported by our users. Please click here if you want to view the update log.

To download these updates please go to the Help menu within your program and then select the Check for Updates... item.

August 10th, 2007

Update Notice: There is a new update available for all our current customers of version 5.0 resolving some minor bugs reported by our users. Please click here if you want to view the update log.

To download these updates please go to the Help menu within your program and then select the Check for Updates... item.

August 3rd, 2007

Update Notice: There is a new update available for all our current customers of version 5.0 resolving some minor bugs reported by our users. Please click here if you want to view the update log.

To download these updates please go to the Help menu within your program and then select the Check for Updates... item.

July 27th, 2007

Update Notice: There is a new update available for all our current customers of version 5.0 resolving some minor bugs reported by our users. Please click here if you want to view the update log.

To download these updates please go to the Help menu within your program and then select the Check for Updates... item.

July 17th, 2007

It is indeed with great pleasure that we announce the launching of the new 5.0 version of our translation products. Forefront technology and the utmost innovative power have come together to create the ultimate set of translation tools, light-years away from any other translation product in the market.

Our high-tech Translator now has images for easier meaning selection, a Translation Options Module using a multiple-choice wizard that lets you choose among all possible variations for your translation, Voice Recognition for dictation capabilities and Voice Commands that allow you to call out the tasks you need without using mouse or keyboard.	Click to Enlarge
Our general reference and technical Mega-dictionaries, with a new look & feel, have each the largest dictionary database known today, plus Four unparalleled programs in one! We are also pleased to announce the newest member of our family: a 300,000-entry Medical Dictionary, with translations and definitions!	Click to Enlarge
All these products include facilities to print out your own user-added words, plus import facilities to add your own glossaries at a single click. And, furthermore, there are awesome new Add-Ons, like a surnames spellchecker, a voice recognition/commands facilitator, color images for nouns and usage examples, to name a few; these can be bought separately and added to your 5.0 programs (most of the add-ons are already included in the Plus version of our Translator)! These are just a few of the staggering features in our new 5.0 products	Click to Enlarge
Give it a shot... try us out and see the language world come to life!

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