Learn how to use Transkribus, ChatGPT and other AI tools to translate German church records, and other records, into English. Learn about cautions and practical uses.
Geoffrey D. Rasmussen is the father of four budding genealogists. He graduated with a degree in Genealogy and Family History from Brigham Young University and has served as director and vice-president of the Utah Genealogical Association. He is th
Andrea Bentschneider, based in Hamburg, Germany, is renowned for her expertise and contributions to the field of genealogy. Since establishing “Beyond History” in 2004, she has emerged as Germany’s foremost expert in genealogical
Transkribus will definitely help with my tougher records, those with less typical wordings. Thanks! In years past, I fed Tranlate output back as input in the other direction. Where it fails shows the areas where “nuance lossage” and “language aging” that Andrea mentioned, and also idioms, translational inexactitudes, and more are a problem. Feeding it backward allows you some freedom in carefully tweeking or massaging the inputs/outputs. Nice presentation.
I have been using Transkribus to translate personal letters in German for a few weeks now, and I found very quickly that the results were much better if I paid to use the Super Model. I use Deepl to translate and the results are better if you edit the transcription so it doesn’t treat each line separately. It’s not perfect but the human alternative is not affordable and so it’s much better than never finding out what is in those letters.
When I finish this project I will transcribe my grandmother’s letters to my mother, another of those tasks I thought I’d never have time for.
Fascinating Geoff. AI is developing so quickly that I am rarely surprised by what it can do now… but quite honestly, I did not expect this!
I have a few Latin documents that I have attempted to translate but have not gotten very far. I think I’ll try your suggestion and see where it takes me. Thank you.
I found this webinar fascinating and halfway through the proverbial light went on! I have a trove of about 20 letters sent to my great-grandfather that I have been “meaning to translate” for over 40 years. They are written in German script which is getting harder and harder for me to decipher over the years. I grabbed a four-page sample written (I suspected) by his sister in 1898. It took a bit to get it through Transkribus but I succeeded on my fourth try. Then I sent the output to ChatGPT and, oula, there was the letter in English from a neighbor of Louis’s sister who was very ill. Thank you so much for this webinar.
Many people who translate on a regular basis believe that DeepL does a better job of translating that Google Translate, particularly if it’s a longer document.
This engaging webinar presents a countdown of the top ten breakthroughs in AI-assisted genealogy from 2024. We'll highlight the most impressive and impactful instances where AI technology has significantly advanced genealogical research. From uncovering long-lost ancestral connections to solving complex genealogy puzzles, each item in our top ten list will showcase a unique success story. These examples not only celebrate the remarkable achievements of the past year but also offer insights and inspiration for applying AI in your own genealogical endeavors. Join us for a journey through 2024's most notable AI milestones in genealogy.
This engaging webinar presents a countdown of the top ten breakthroughs in AI-assisted genealogy from 2024. We'll highlight the most impressive and impactful instances where AI technology has significantly advanced genealogical research. From uncovering long-lost ancestral connections to solving complex genealogy puzzles, each item in our top ten list will showcase a unique success story. These examples not only celebrate the remarkable achievements of the past year but also offer insights and inspiration for applying AI in your own genealogical endeavors. Join us for a journey through 2024's most notable AI milestones in genealogy.
Luther, Napoleon and the Kaiser – German History for Genealogists
Why is what happened in Augsburg on September 25, 1555 one of the most important historical events in German history and of utmost importance to researchers? And why do we need to know about the French emperor Napoleon? Why does it make such a big difference if a birth took place in 1874 or 1876? Find out in this presentation why knowing the most important events in German history can be helpful for your research.
Why is what happened in Augsburg on September 25, 1555 one of the most important historical events in German history and of utmost importance to researchers? And why do we need to know about the French emperor Napoleon? Why does it make such a big difference if a birth took place in 1874 or 1876? Find out in this presentation why knowing the most important events in German history can be helpful for your research.
5 Ways to Use AI to Involve Children & Youth in Family History
What will happen to your family stories when you turn the corner from being a researcher to being an ancestor? Will the children and youth in your family love genealogy like you do? Will they help keep your family stories alive? Learn about 5 ways you can use artificial intelligence to get children and youth involved in family history: 1) MyHeritage AI Time Machine 2) BillionGraves AI Gravestone Transcriptions 3) AI-Generated Family Stories with Storied 4) Canva's AI Storybook Illustrations 5) MyHeritage AI DeepStory Photos. Do the math: 5 ways to use AI + family History = children & youth having fun!
What will happen to your family stories when you turn the corner from being a researcher to being an ancestor? Will the children and youth in your family love genealogy like you do? Will they help keep your family stories alive? Learn about 5 ways you can use artificial intelligence to get children and youth involved in family history: 1) MyHeritage AI Time Machine 2) BillionGraves AI Gravestone Transcriptions 3) AI-Generated Family Stories with Storied 4) Canva's AI Storybook Illustrations 5) MyHeritage AI DeepStory Photos. Do the math: 5 ways to use AI + family History = children & youth having fun!
Top 10 Tips for Working with the Old German Handwriting
Learn the 10 top tips and tricks for deciphering the old German script! With tips on how to easily recognize certain letters, how to tell tricky letters apart, abbreviations, spelling variations, names, and more, you'll be amazed at what you can do after only an hour of learning!
Learn the 10 top tips and tricks for deciphering the old German script! With tips on how to easily recognize certain letters, how to tell tricky letters apart, abbreviations, spelling variations, names, and more, you'll be amazed at what you can do after only an hour of learning!
Translating German Newspapers – As Easy as Eins, Zwei, Drei
Many 19th- and early 20th-century German language newspapers were printed in a Fraktur font. And not only that, they were written in a foreign language! This combination of an archaic font and a foreign language creates two significant hurdles for the 21st century genealogist, perhaps with limited foreign language skills, to overcome. But don’t despair. Modern technology has provided solutions. Learn how to "crack the code" and discover where your favorite newspaper sites have hidden the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) text. Translation tools will quickly make those foreign words readable for even the most die-hard English-only speaker.
Many 19th- and early 20th-century German language newspapers were printed in a Fraktur font. And not only that, they were written in a foreign language! This combination of an archaic font and a foreign language creates two significant hurdles for the 21st century genealogist, perhaps with limited foreign language skills, to overcome. But don’t despair. Modern technology has provided solutions. Learn how to "crack the code" and discover where your favorite newspaper sites have hidden the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) text. Translation tools will quickly make those foreign words readable for even the most die-hard English-only speaker.
AI and Family History: Extending Beyond the Basics
Continue to discover the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in unravelling your family's history. This session will build upon concepts covered in the introductory session that explored the world of AI and genealogy. Topics and skills covered during the webinar will enable participants to: Learn the art of crafting exceptional prompts; Navigate the intricacies of bias in AI-generated responses; Develop strategies to ensure a fair and inclusive exploration of your heritage; Safeguard your privacy and security as we shed light on the best practices to protect your personal information; Investigate images and AI and their application in genealogical research; Examine alternative AI tools to ChatGPT; Develop strategies for assessing AI tools and their usefulness; Filled with many practical examples, using his own family history research and investigations, there will also be ample opportunities to ask questions and share your own experiences in using AI tools.
Continue to discover the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in unravelling your family's history. This session will build upon concepts covered in the introductory session that explored the world of AI and genealogy. Topics and skills covered during the webinar will enable participants to: Learn the art of crafting exceptional prompts; Navigate the intricacies of bias in AI-generated responses; Develop strategies to ensure a fair and inclusive exploration of your heritage; Safeguard your privacy and security as we shed light on the best practices to protect your personal information; Investigate images and AI and their application in genealogical research; Examine alternative AI tools to ChatGPT; Develop strategies for assessing AI tools and their usefulness; Filled with many practical examples, using his own family history research and investigations, there will also be ample opportunities to ask questions and share your own experiences in using AI tools.
AI and Genealogy: Using AI to Get Genealogy Research Help
While artificial intelligence won’t help you find specific records for genealogical research, AI can summarize the record sets you should consult for your search. Learn how to construct effective prompts and queries to return the best information on a record set.
While artificial intelligence won’t help you find specific records for genealogical research, AI can summarize the record sets you should consult for your search. Learn how to construct effective prompts and queries to return the best information on a record set.
AI and Genealogy: Using AI to Summarize Genealogy Records
Artificial intelligence can assist in constructing a summary of a document or genealogy record. AI can generate summary text in various formats that you can then add to your research.
Artificial intelligence can assist in constructing a summary of a document or genealogy record. AI can generate summary text in various formats that you can then add to your research.
While you won’t be able to find genealogy-related records using artificial intelligence, you will be able to use AI to learn more about an ancestor’s “social history.” Social history details how an ancestor lived including where they lived, their occupation, the cost of goods and services, and why they may have migrated to or from a location. Social history “fills in the dash” between an ancestor’s birth date and death date.
While you won’t be able to find genealogy-related records using artificial intelligence, you will be able to use AI to learn more about an ancestor’s “social history.” Social history details how an ancestor lived including where they lived, their occupation, the cost of goods and services, and why they may have migrated to or from a location. Social history “fills in the dash” between an ancestor’s birth date and death date.
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Transkribus will definitely help with my tougher records, those with less typical wordings. Thanks! In years past, I fed Tranlate output back as input in the other direction. Where it fails shows the areas where “nuance lossage” and “language aging” that Andrea mentioned, and also idioms, translational inexactitudes, and more are a problem. Feeding it backward allows you some freedom in carefully tweeking or massaging the inputs/outputs. Nice presentation.
I’ve used Transkribus and then DeepL. It is still amazing!
I wonder how Claude.ai would handle the transcript? It’s a game changer for English documents, so it would be interesting to see for German.
I have been using Transkribus to translate personal letters in German for a few weeks now, and I found very quickly that the results were much better if I paid to use the Super Model. I use Deepl to translate and the results are better if you edit the transcription so it doesn’t treat each line separately. It’s not perfect but the human alternative is not affordable and so it’s much better than never finding out what is in those letters.
When I finish this project I will transcribe my grandmother’s letters to my mother, another of those tasks I thought I’d never have time for.
Fascinating Geoff. AI is developing so quickly that I am rarely surprised by what it can do now… but quite honestly, I did not expect this!
I have a few Latin documents that I have attempted to translate but have not gotten very far. I think I’ll try your suggestion and see where it takes me. Thank you.
Did you also obtain the emigration papers for Catharina Kienz, Archiv B731/1 Nr. 902
http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-2237644
Not yet, but she’s on my list. 🙂
I found this webinar fascinating and halfway through the proverbial light went on! I have a trove of about 20 letters sent to my great-grandfather that I have been “meaning to translate” for over 40 years. They are written in German script which is getting harder and harder for me to decipher over the years. I grabbed a four-page sample written (I suspected) by his sister in 1898. It took a bit to get it through Transkribus but I succeeded on my fourth try. Then I sent the output to ChatGPT and, oula, there was the letter in English from a neighbor of Louis’s sister who was very ill. Thank you so much for this webinar.
Wow, how wonderful!!
Many people who translate on a regular basis believe that DeepL does a better job of translating that Google Translate, particularly if it’s a longer document.