谷歌于9月27日推出了基于机器学习的中译英新版（translate.google.cn），较之旧版的翻译质量有了数量级的提高。工具为人所用，是文明的阶梯！

我以博文“矛盾与悖论（http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=space&uid=2322490&do=blog&id=1005079）”为例，先使用谷歌翻译器译出了原文，然后在此基础上进行修改。谷歌译文的整体效果不错，但是对其中韩非子“矛盾”故事原文的那段翻译，基本无法用，于是我用在法语博客上的法语译文，将之用谷歌翻译器译成英语，就大大增加了译文的可用性了：

－韩非子的原文：

楚人有鬻盾与矛者，誉之曰：“吾盾之坚，物莫能陷之。”以誉其矛曰：“吾矛之利，于物无不陷也。”或曰：“以子之矛陷子之盾，何如？”其人弗能应也。

－谷歌中译英的译文：

Chu people have vend shield and spear, reputation of the said: "I shield of the firm, things can be trapped in the Mo." Yu said: "I spear of the spear of the benefits are all stuck in the material also. Sub-spear subsidence of the shield, how?

－我的法语译文：

Un commerçant du royaume de Chu vendait à la fois des lances et des boucliers. Il se vantait de ses lances en disant que ses lances étaient très fortes, et capables de transpercer n'importe quelle défense; ensuite il recommandait ses boucliers en disant que ses boucliers étaient très résistants à toute arme. Quelqu'un lui a demandé d'utiliser cette lance capable de percer un bouclier pour voir ce qui se passerait. Ce commerçant baillait sans pouvoir dire un mot.

－谷歌法译英的译文：

A trader in the kingdom of Chu selling both spears and shields. He boasted of his spears saying his spears were very strong, and able to pierce any defense; Then he recommended his shields, saying that his shields were very resistant to any weapon. Someone asked him to use this spear can pierce a shield to see what would happen. This trader yawned unable to say a word.

－经我修改的译文

A trader in the kingdom Chu selling shields and spears, he boasted of this spears, saying that his spears were so strong to be able to pierce any weapon; then he recommended his shields, saying that his shields were very resistant to any weapon. Someone asked him to use his spear to pierce a shield, and to see what would happen. This trader yawned and was unable to say a word.

使用谷歌中译英新版翻译中文文章，虽然仍然需要人工的介入，但是比起以前使用旧版的翻译器却省许多力气，谢谢谷歌！

附上：

一，经我在谷歌翻译器译文的基础上修改的译文；

二，未经修改的谷歌翻译器译文。

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一，经我在谷歌翻译器译文的基础上修改的版本

Contradiction and Paradoxe

My French friend asked me to interpret Han Fei's "contradictory story" long ago. Normally, it is not difficult to explain this well-known story, but until recently I finished it.

The reason is that I found that there is no distinction between "contradiction" and "paradox" in some document in English or French, such as the French wiki says：

The philosopher Han Feizi pointed out a paradoxe of language. In his book he told a story of a famous arm trader who sold two merchandises to the King : My spear can pierces any weapon, and my shield can resist any weapon. The king pointed out the contradiction in the trader’s words. The Chinese word "contradiction" (literally "spear - shield") comes from this story, meaning «contradiction» or «paradoxe». (- Dans cet exemple le philosophe Han Fei Zi montre un paradoxe du langage. Ainsi, il raconte dans un de ses ouvrages l'histoire d'un vendeur d'armes très renommé qui présente deux de ses produits au roi : une lance capable de transpercer n'importe quelle défense et un bouclier résistant à toute arme. Le roi fit remarquer la contradiction évidente dans le discours du vendeur. De cette histoire, vient le mot chinois máodùn (littéralement « lance-bouclier ») signifiant « contradiction » ou « paradoxe ».)

However, I should use contradiction or paradox to explain this "contradiction story"? What is really the difference between them? It seems that such discussion is not small matter, because some most basic issues concerning the Chinese philosophy and Western philosophy are related to it.

Here, I share some initial discussions about the two concepts.

1, Contradiction

Contradition comes from the Latin word "contradicere": contra (against) + dicere (to speak), meaning "negative, refutation."

Logically, contradiction refers to the case that the propositions A and non-A are true or false at the same time.

Han Fei's original contradiction story: a trader in the kingdom Chu selling shields and spears, he boasted of this spears, saying that his spears were so strong to be able to pierce any weapon; then he recommended his shields, saying that his shields were very resistant to any weapon. Someone asked him to use his spear to pierce a shield, and to see what would happen. This trader yawned and was unable to say a word. - 韩非子的“矛盾”的故事：楚人有鬻盾与矛者，誉之曰：“吾盾之坚，物莫能陷之。”以誉其矛曰：“吾矛之利，于物无不陷也。”或曰：“以子之矛陷子之盾，何如？”其人弗能应也。夫不可陷之盾与无不陷之矛，不可同世而立。

In this sense, “矛盾” is generally translated as « contradiction ».

2, Paradox

Paradox comes from the Greek word "paradoxos": para (contre) + doxa (opinion), meaning "contrary to common sense", which is generally translated as "paradox".

Logically, paradox refers to the case that the propositions A and non-A appear to be true or false based on "self-denial".

A typical example is the "liar paradox": "If I lie (A)", "I do not lie (not A)"; "I do not lie (not A)", "I lie (A) (See blog post: http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-2322490-927075.html).

From the definition of contradiction and paradox, we can see that the two concepts are related, that is, logically contrary to the "law of contradiction", but the two can replace each other?

3, Contradictions and Paradoxes

The cognition of concepts are generally expressed in natural or logical languages. Natural language has the uncertainty about the subject, because the subject is placed in a specific context. When just the "contradictory" nature of contradiction and paradox is emphasized, the indiscriminate use of both works, such as the French wiki about the interpretation of the chinese contradiction story, which does not affect the communication. However, in the case of logical language expression or strict speculation, the situation is then different, the concept must be strictly analyzed.

From the point of view of conceptual cognition, the term "contradiction", as a concept, refers to the case that propositions A and non-A are both true or false, but as a concrete « contradiction », it should consider some other factors like the cause of a contradiction.

Paradox is caused by self-denial. In general, it means that there is the confusion of the levels to interpret a concept, so the basic method to solve a paradox is to trace to the source of the paradox, and sort out the relationship between those levels. This is why the "paradox" in the field of science is often regarded as a crisis, revealing new ideas that cannot be expressed in the existing theoretical system; and at the same time "paradox" is also a turning point, which requires to re-examine the theoretical basis, such as the three crises in of the history of mathematics caused by the paradox.

The contradiction in a fact is often used in the logical deduction. The principle is that if a contradiction appears after an effective reasoning process, then the assumption can be overturned, since a contradiction is never true, and if the reasoning is effective, but a contradiction is still introduced, then it means that the assumption cannot be established, such as the classic proof of that the square root of argument 2 is the irrational number. However, if a paradox appears in the process of an argument, it cannot be treated as a contradiction in a fact, such as the « Halting Problem » proof that we are interpreting, otherwise some deep cognitive bias would be hidden up without conscious, . . .

Obviously, the analysis about contradiction and paradox is quite important, which is worth pursuing.

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二，未经修改的谷歌翻译器译文

Contradiction and Paradox

French friend Richard has long asked me Han Fei's "contradictory story", reason to explain this well-known story is not difficult, but until recently I finished。

The reason is that I found in the foreign language information without distinction to "contradictions" into "contradiction" or "paradox", such as the French wiki said：

The philosopher Han Feizi pointed out the paradoxe of a language. In a book he tells the story of a famous arms merchant who sells two of his merchandise to the King: My spear pierces any weapon, and my shield can resist any weapon. The king pointed out the contradiction in the merchant's words. The Chinese word "contradiction" (literally "spear - shield") comes from this story, meaning «contradiction» or «paradoxe».

Dans cet exemple le philosophe Han Fei Zi montre un paradoxe du langage. Ainsi, il raconte dans un de ses ouvrages l'histoire d'un vendeur d'armes très renommé qui présente deux de ses produits au roi : une lance capable de transpercer n'importe quelle défense et un bouclier résistant à toute arme. Le roi fit remarquer la contradiction évidente dans le discours du vendeur. De cette histoire, vient le mot chinois máodùn (littéralement « lance-bouclier ») signifiant « contradiction » ou « paradoxe ».

So, in the end I use contradiction or paradox to explain the "contradictory story"? Contradiction and paradox in the end what is the difference? This finding is no small matter, and the Chinese philosophy and Western philosophy in the most basic issues related.

Here, the two concepts of cognitive initial discussion to share with you.

1, Contradiction

From the Latin "contradicere": contra (against) + dicere (to speak), meaning "negative, refutation."

Logically, contradiction refers to proposition A and non-A at the same time is true or false at the same time.

Han Fei's "contradiction" of the story: Chu people have vend shield and spear, reputation of the said: "I shield of the firm, things can be trapped in the Mo." Yu said: "I spear of the spear of the benefits are all stuck in the material also. Sub-spear subsidence of the shield, how?

"In this sense, contradiction is generally translated as" contradiction. "This is not the case.

2, Paradox

Paradox comes from the Greek word "paradoxos": para (contre) + doxa (opinion), meaning "contrary to common sense", is generally translated as "paradox".

Logically, paradox refers to propositions A and A that appear to be true or false based on "self-denial".

A typical example is the "liar paradox": "If I lie (A)", "I did not lie (not A)"; "I do not lie (not A)", "I lie (A) (See blog post: http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-2322490-927075.html).

From the definition of contradiction and paradox, the two are related, that is, logically contrary to the "law of contradiction", but the two can replace each other?

3, contradictions and paradoxes

Cognition of concepts can generally be expressed in natural or logical language. Natural language has the uncertainty of the subject, the person placed in a specific scene, if the contradiction and paradox of the common "contradictory" nature, indiscriminate use of both, such as the French wiki on "contradiction" interpretation, Will not affect communication. However, in the use of logical language expression or strict speculation, the situation is different, the concept must be strictly analyzed.

From the perspective of conceptual cognition, the term "contradiction", as a general contradiction, is expressed as the fact that proposition A and non-A are both true or false, but as a concrete contradiction, consideration must also be given to the cause of the contradiction And other factors.

Paradox "is caused by" self-denial ". In general, it means that the concept of the level of confusion occurred, so the basic method to solve the paradox is to trace the source analysis paradox Source, sort out the relationship between them. This is why the "paradox" in the field of science is often regarded as a crisis, revealing new ideas that can not be expressed in the existing theoretical system; at the same time "paradox" is also a turning point, to re-examine the theoretical basis, such as : Caused by the paradox of the history of mathematics in the three crises, let mathematics on the floor.

The general contradiction is often used in the "deductive" of logical reasoning. The principle is that if there is a contradiction in fact after an effective reasoning process, then the presumption can be overturned. Since contradiction is never true, if the reasoning is effective, but the introduction of contradictions, it means that assumptions are not established, such as the square root of argument 2 is the irrational number of the classic counter-evidence method. However, if the process of argument is a paradox, it can not be treated as a general contradiction of facts, such as we are reading the "downtime" proof, otherwise it will be hidden deep cognitive bias can not be conscious. . .

Obviously, contradiction and paradox of the analysis is essential, it is worth pursuing.

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