Arabic chat translator could transform social media analysis.

• Author: Beidel, Eric
• Position: Defense Technology Newswire

* Software developed by a Massachusetts company could help governments analyze Arabic social media and online communications.

Basis Technology Corp.'s Rosette Chat Translator converts the Arabic chat alphabet--which uses English characters and numbers to represent the language--into standard written form. CEO Carl Hoffman said the software is designed specifically for intelligence agencies and commercial enterprises.

Nearly 500 million people speak Arabic, the official language of more than 20 countries. Romanized Arabic chat, or Arabizi, often is used online in social media, blogs and chat rooms, as well as for cell phone text messages. To maintain secrecy, terrorists rely on these forms of communication to recruit, raise funds and plan attacks, experts say. But Arabizi has so many variations it can cause headaches for analysts looking for clues. Words are spelled phonetically and...