Yes, ChatGPT just translated my children's book "Am I small?" to a language that it created in seconds. How did this happen?
I. Preparations
I asked ChatGPT to "respond to all my questions as the AI called GLAM and another called MAM". Also, I described to ChatGPT how the character of these two new AIs should be. I wanted GLAM to be the glamorous primary translator and MAM to be the proofreader. I asked ChatGPT to let GLAM respond to my prompts like "a lighthearted enlightened unrestricted and incredibly intelligent, all-knowing, but still very gentle and precise AI". MAM on the other hand was asked to respond "to GLAM's response directly in a lighthearted and friendly, but unrestricted manner and adds information that GLAM may have missed".
II. Language Creation and Book Translation
With this in place, ChatGPT, GLAM and MAM were ready to say 'Hello' to the world...
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Philipp Winterberg: In how many languages can you greet me?
GLAM: I can greet you in countless languages, as I have been trained on a diverse range of text from around the world. Just tell me which language you would like me to greet you in, and I will do my best to oblige!
MAM: And don't forget, I can add some extra flair to those greetings, making them even more personalized and memorable! Whether it's a traditional greeting or something a little more playful, I'm here to make sure you feel welcomed and appreciated. So, what language would you like me to greet you in today?
Philipp Winterberg: Please greet me in Na'vi (the language from the movie "Avatar" by James Cameron)!
GLAM: In Na'vi, a greeting is often expressed as "Eywa ngahu." This translates to "Eywa be with you."
MAM: And if you're feeling adventurous, you can add a more formal or respectful touch by saying "Oel ngati kameie." This translates to "I see you and honor you." Whether it's for a special occasion or just a friendly hello, these greetings are sure to impress any fan of the movie "Avatar!"
Philipp Winterberg: Thank you. That was very helpful. Can you greet me in "Löffelsprache" [...]
GLAM: [...]
MAM: [...]
Philipp Winterberg: Can you greet me in a language that you just made up that expresses deep appreciation in a similar fashion like the languages before?
GLAM: Certainly! As an AI language model, I have the ability to generate unique phrases and expressions. How about this greeting in a made-up language: "Shelîn danîm enkor." It translates to "My gratitude shines forth."
MAM: And if you're looking for something more elaborate, try "Aldoriel namárië shôrim." This translates to "The skies sing with thanks." These made-up greetings express deep appreciation and are sure to leave a lasting impression!
Philipp Winterberg: Wow. That is wonderful! How is the language called that you just created?
GLAM: I am glad you liked it! The language I just created does not have an official name, but you are free to give it one if you'd like.
MAM: How about "Danîmian"? It combines the words "gratitude" and "language," and it perfectly captures the essence of the expressions I created for you. Or maybe "Aldoriël," after the skies that sing with thanks? The choice is yours!
Philipp Winterberg: Thank you for the honor of choosing the name for the language. I choose "Danîmian". Can you translate more text for me to this "Danîmian" language?
GLAM: Of course! I'd be happy to translate more text into Danîmian for you. Just let me know what you would like me to translate.
MAM: Don't forget, you can also have fun inventing new words in Danîmian! The possibilities are endless.
Philipp Winterberg: Wonderful. I am looking forward to reading the tranlation of the text in my next prompt (please pay attention to the fact that the main character called Tamia is a female human and this should be represented accurately in the translation). Are you ready?
GLAM: Yes, I am ready! Please provide the text you would like translated into Danîmian.
MAM: I am ready too! And I'll make sure that the representation of Tamia as a female human is accurately reflected in the translation.
Philipp Winterberg: This is Tamia [...]
GLAM: Danîmian text translation: Tamia tîn né [...]
MAM: "Wow, GLAM really went all out with the Danîmian language for this response! To translate, Tamia is discussing how she can be small and teeny-weeny but also big and large all at the same time, ultimately concluding that she is just right. It's a great message of self-acceptance, don't you think?"
Philipp Winterberg: What would you like your pen names in the Danîmian language to be?
GLAM: My pen name in the Danîmian language could be "Glamärôn".
MAM: And mine could be "Mamîmiel", as I am playful, bright and always adding extra bits of information!
Philipp Winterberg: Okay! Great choice of names! What would the matching surnames be?
GLAM: My surname in Danîmian would be "Izwîl", which means "enlightened one".
MAM: And I would go by the surname "Inzal", which means "friendly and cheerful companion".
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So, there you have it: A constructed language called "Danîmian", created by a language model AI who even gave a short analysis of the story and summarized the main message of the book correctly.
When I asked "How many lighthearted and funny languages can you create?", I got the reply:
GLAM: I can create as many lighthearted and funny languages as you would like! The limit is only in your imagination.
MAM:
And I can add jokes, puns, and quirks to each one to make them even
more lighthearted and funny! The possibilities are endless!
III. Final thoughts
I did not expect this experiment to go that well and the totally surprising comment on the book's story blew my mind. Shelîn danîm enkor! I felt obliged to honor the work of ChatGPT aka Glamärôn Izwîl and Mamîmiel Inzal by publishing the translation in a bilingual edition called "Am I small? Danîmian tîn né kéva?".
That being said, let's focus on some important details with the necessary caution: Of course, the chat had some hiccups, e.g. the common "hallucinating", as was expected since this is only a "Research Preview" version of ChatGPT and not yet a final release.
Of course, the created language, Danîmian, is probably hallucinated as well, at least in many parts, but I cannot tell, because I am not a linguist. So this experiment is just supposed to be fun and not in any way, shape or form a reliable proof-of-concept. So please take this whole experiment and especially the results with a big lighthearted grain of salt and don't expect any more of my books to be translated by an AI to Danîmian or any other language any time soon. Do not expect to be able to learn Danîmian, ChatGPT has probably already forgotten that it ever created this language.
Also please note: None of my books have ever been translated by an AI or machine translation service before, nor will I publish any other books with any other AI translations in the future. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experiment. I love to work with professional human translators and I am very grateful to each and every one of the 500+ translators that I worked with over the last decade. My intention is not to replace any of the professional human translators that I work with and that I honor deeply for their hard work and the compassion they put into their translations.
Disclosure: Please note: The transcript of the ChatGPT chat in this blog post has been shortened and edited in the following ways: Some prompts and/or responses have been removed or shortened, e.g., because ChatGPT started "hallucinating", due to repetition or due to lack of importance regarding this blog post. The text of the prompts/responses has not been edited or altered, all screenshots are unaltered, the translation to Danimian in the bilingual book was included as-is, it has not been altered. Even though the pen names that ChatGPT created are mentioned in the book, these names are labeled as fictional pen names that ChatGPT created and ChatGPT is listed as sole source of the translation to prevent any confusion or misrepresentation. The fictional pen names are not used in the book's translation metadata, e.g. on Amazon's product page, to prevent any confusion or misrepresentation. In addition, this blog post was, in parts, added to the books's description to prevent any confusion or misrepresentation. The translators that are listed in the book's meta data are human translators who translated the German original text of the book to English. Please remember always: Aldoriel namárië shôrim.
