10911 Internet Translations

Electronic translators are notoriously inaccurate - and obviously in certain circumstances could be dangerous.

If you have a little understanding of the language you want translated then you might be able to spot the glaring errors. Your two examples Nielo are good, though simple ones, but translators of this kind do not (cannot) put a word 'in context' and so they just select one of the choices provided from [I]their[/I] dictionary.

Take 'cut back' for example in your first sentence. In English we understand what is required - but the electronic translator will search and find:

[B]to cut back[/B]
Traduzione v.tr. e avv.
1 potare (to prune plants)
2 ridurre: the management decided to cut back the aircraft production starting from next year, la direzione ha deciso di ridurre la produzione di velivoli a partire dal prossimo anno; (econ.) to cut back costs, ridurre i costi.

It selected the second option :eeeek: - [I][U]in this case the 'wrong' one.[/U][/I]

Some time ago I translated a 'Easter promo' for an Italian company that tried an electronic translator. Obviously, in Italian they used the word Pasqua for Easter, but the translator couldn't seem to get past the 'PAS' of Pasqua and it translated it as 'Passover' throughout their blurb! It was only luck that one of their managers asked me if I would proof read the promo.... and after I'd stopped laughing I got the job!!! :laughs:

So if you have to use Babelfish or any other system - beware... they're really NOT very good!

Sorry - forgot to add this....

I miei pattini sono troppo stretti stanno danneggiando i miei piedi
[I]My skates are very tight they are damaging my feet[/I]

Google
Le mie scarpe sono troppo stretti sono male i miei piedi
[I]My shoes are too tight my feet are evil/bad [/I]

Hmm.. all much of a muchness really Nielo - lets take the Babblefish translation of "My shoes are too tight they are hurting my feet” first.

If I literally translate "I miei pattini sono troppo stretti stanno danneggiando i miei piedi" back into English I would understand it as "My skates are very tight they stay damaging my feet"

Now, if I do the same with the Gobblydigook translation of "Le mie scarpe sono troppo stretti sono male i miei piedi" back into literal English translation I would understand it as "My shoes they too tight they are hurt my feet".

OK, you can get the gist of what is going on, but to rely on any of these automatic translators is something I hope people wont do - for two reasons.

1.They are uselss as teaching/learning aids
2.They make you lazy.

Lordy Carole - you type FAST!! :bigergrin:

Thanks Carol B for such a succinct explanation. In our house one of us thinks and one of us talks. So if we translate from English to Italian or vice versa the thinker produces a better result. Having said this, when an English friend wrote a book about Darwin, he received a letter from an Italian accademic who was writing a book on the same subject. The "thinker" translated the letter but being intelligent, asked an Italian friend to read the original letter and the translation into English. We discovered that what had been missed was the "vinegar" the letter contained. There was much more in the wording/nuances which had been missed.
So if it matters use an expert.

As Carole B said, electronic translators are highly inaccurate. They may give you some idea of what is being said, but they do not replace a qualified translator. At the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters in Australia we had an old joke, which I think I already mentioned to you, about the English expression: "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" being translated electronically into several languages one after the other. The meaning and the words were changing as fast as the languages until they got a final version in Russian which read "The vodka is good, but the meat is off"......

I think the trouble with these automatic translations is that unless you already know the answer, you won't know if the translation is good or not.

Julian is right that we can become lazy. I once taught maths to a group of adults who had no basic mental arithmetic skills and used calculators. Quite often they would hit a wrong button and come up with a wildly incorrect answer. Because they didn’t have the basic knowledge to know 20 x 5 will not be 40 and they must have done something wrong, they just accepted whatever the calculator told them because a calculator can't be wrong.

Given that these sites are inaccurate and misleading, are they any use at all?

[quote]By Nielo: ".... Given that these sites are inaccurate and misleading, are they any use at all?[/quote]

No, not really. They're about as useful as a chocolate tea pot!

Somebody must be using them or they wouldn’t be there!

Certainly they are widely used... You only have to read the English translation of the signs at the Santa Maria Novella parking in Florence next to the toilet door!!!!!!!!! I assure you it is a better option to read the Italian version..... Hilarious!!!!

I'd use the Internet translation tools to give me the gist of something that I couldn't work out for myself. It sometimes helps to reverse the offered translation to get a feel for its correctness.

I did once pick a small hotel in France specifically because the English version of its website was so comically incorrect. My stay was excellent.

If you're amused by that sort of thing, there's always [URL="http://engrishfunny.com/"]Engrish Funny: Engrish Pictures That Is Your Funny Engrish[/URL]

You may try Google Translate but actually you cannot trust online translators as the meaning of words, phrases, sentences will be different.

Also, some texts have a higher level of difficulty than others and that is what electronic translation can't do. If you have a fair idea of the target language, you can use the electronic translator to give you a draft, but you have to compare the two texts and you will soon find all the mistakes. It is great fun, though.....

Nel complesso trovo il babelfish il meglio del più difettoso se conoscete che cosa significo. La maggior parte di loro sono poveri graziosi tuttavia

[quote=PAS 55;102586]On the whole I find babelfish the best of defective if you know what I mean. The majority of they is poor graceful however
[/quote]

Courtesy of Babelfish, PAS :no:

[quote=Charles Phillips;102591]Courtesy of Babelfish, PAS :no:[/quote]

Lo avete ottenuto in uno

Non sarebbe divertimento per avere un intero filetto nell'italiano di Bablefish? Pensi appena alle occasioni comprendere male uno un altro ed avere una buona lotta!:laughs::laughs:

[quote=Nielo;102601]Non sarebbe divertimento per avere un intero filetto nell'italiano di Bablefish? Pensi appena alle occasioni comprendere male uno un altro ed avere una buona lotta!:laughs::laughs:[/quote]

Lord, I wonder if everyone else will get the gist of that Nielo - all Hell would break loose - even though it would be fun. :bigergrin:

[quote=Nielo;102601]Non sarebbe divertimento per avere un intero filetto nell'italiano di Bablefish? Pensi appena alle occasioni comprendere male uno un altro ed avere una buona lotta!:laughs::laughs:[/quote]

Oh we have no need to make use of such things as Babelfish to misunderstand and fall out over even the [I]smallest[/I] word. Or to become the butt of jokes in other places, or even to fall foul of the 'powers that be' here on IM!

We manage to do that all by ourselves :yes:

Chill out Carole - things really have moved on - we all need a bit of stress relief and some banter now and again - and at the end of the day if someone somewhere is talking about someone, then they are leaving someone else alone. It aint all bad to have a few misunderstandings now and again if it all works out in the end - you know that. :smile:

Hmm - let me see how that translates with Babblefish -

[I]Raffreddi fuori Carole - cose realmente hanno passato - noi tutto il bisogno una punta di distensione della tensione e di una certa beffa ogni tanto - ed alla conclusione del giorno se qualcuno in qualche luogo stia parlando di qualcuno, quindi stanno lasciando qualcun'altro solo. Male del [B]aint[/B] interamente per avere alcuni malintesi ogni tanto se tutto risolve alla fine - voi conosce quello[/I]

Hahaha - it seems there is no word in Italian for 'aint' - but overall, it's still an awful translation isn't it? :laughs:

[quote=juliancoll;102635]Chill out Carole - things really have moved on - we all need a bit of stress relief and some banter now and again - and at the end of the day if someone somewhere is talking about someone, then they are leaving someone else alone. It aint all bad to have a few misunderstandings now and again if it all works out in the end - you know that. :smile:

Hmm - let me see how that translates with Babblefish -

[I]Raffreddi fuori Carole - cose realmente hanno passato - noi tutto il bisogno una punta di distensione della tensione e di una certa beffa ogni tanto - ed alla conclusione del giorno se qualcuno in qualche luogo stia parlando di qualcuno, quindi stanno lasciando qualcun'altro solo. Male del [B]aint[/B] interamente per avere alcuni malintesi ogni tanto se tutto risolve alla fine - voi conosce quello[/I]

Hahaha - it seems there is no word in Italian for 'aint' - but overall, it's still an awful translation isn't it? :laughs:[/quote]

and translated back into English(?) -

It cools Carole outside - things really have passed - we all the need a tip of distension of the tension and a sure prank from time to time - and to the conclusion of the day if someone in some place is speaking about someone, therefore are leaving qualcun' other solo. Badly of the aint entire for having some misunderstandings from time to time if all you at the end resolve - it knows that one

Wonderful
.

It could develop into a new language like predictive texting, Sure beats Esperanto
:laughs::laughs:

[quote=Nielo;102640]It could develop into a new language like predictive texting, Sure beats Esperanto
:laughs::laughs:[/quote]

What well known English phrase was 'babelled' and 'de-babelled' to give

"Disappeared round the bend"?

[quote=Nielo;102640]It could develop into a new language like predictive texting, Sure beats Esperanto
[/quote]

You're [I]sooooo[/I] right Nielo....I've got a ton of 'ain'ts' laying around that we could use for a bit of fun - what could be worse than [B][I]TWO[/I][/B] Carole's on the loose with a truck load of 'ain'ts'' ? [IMG]http://www.traderscity.com/board/userpixthumbs7/6008-dump-truck-dumper-tipper-2.jpg[/IMG]
The mind boggles at the fun and chaos we could create!
[IMG]http://www.206club.net/images/smilies/ROTFL.gif[/IMG]

Oh, and as for being 'cool' folks - no probs.... if I get any cooler I'll freeze [IMG]http://cache.hyves-static.net/images/smilies/default/smiley_freezing.gif[/IMG]

[quote=alan h;102641]What well known English phrase was 'babelled' and 'de-babelled' to give

"Disappeared round the bend"?[/quote]

Around the twist?

[quote=Carole B;102642]You're [I]sooooo[/I] right Nielo....I've got a ton of 'ain'ts' laying around that we could use for a bit of fun - what could be worse than [B][I]TWO[/I][/B] Carole's on the loose with a truck load of 'ain'ts'' ? [IMG]http://www.traderscity.com/board/userpixthumbs7/6008-dump-truck-dumper-tipper-2.jpg[/IMG]
The mind boggles at the fun and chaos we could create!
[IMG]http://www.206club.net/images/smilies/ROTFL.gif[/IMG]

Oh, and as for being 'cool' folks - no probs.... if I get any cooler I'll freeze [IMG]http://cache.hyves-static.net/images/smilies/default/smiley_freezing.gif[/IMG]
[/quote]

Sorry you have lost me here can I have a translation please?:bigergrin:

[quote=juliancoll;102644]Around the twist?[/quote]

No

Out of sight, out of mind

.

Haha - would never have guessed that one correctly. Try this - following the same format.

"the absence does the heart more fascinated rise"

absence makes the heart grow fonder!

It surely does Garda. Here's another one.

"Nine times saves a point"

Here's a good one that I had to solve a short time ago...
I tried first with the reverse translation and got this
"we have transmitted a starter shaft yesterday"

from this... "gli abbiamo trasmesso un alberino ieri"

But to figure out what was said originally in English? :laughs::laughs::laughs:
Bet you can't!

[quote=juliancoll;102702]It surely does Garda. Here's another one.

"Nine times saves a point"[/quote]

Is it 'A stitch in time saves nine' ?

A stitch in time saves nine

How about

the alls they gush that l' extremity gushes

Correct CaroleB. I cant get yours though - well, not anything that makes sense anyway.

[quote=Nielo;102708]How about

the alls they gush that l' extremity gushes[/quote]

All's well that ends well?

Yup you got it Julian.

Carole would it be :

“We have sent a post yesterday"

Thank you all for a morning chuckle as a break from lesson prep!

It's interesting looking at English version web sites to guess whether they use an Italian translator, a madrelingua or rarely an internet tool. The local ski resort web site looks (largely) mother tongue, which is not surprising given the large UK ski firm with local staff, but a site baswed in town selling Italian products looks like the MD's nipote has been let loose with a dodgy dictionary. I went along with some sample edited pages to try and get some work there, but having understandable translations does not seem to be a priority for them.

[quote=sueflauto;102726]...having understandable translations does not seem to be a priority for them.[/quote]

Pity!

Here are some babblefish versions of some work I was doing the other day. Hopefully I won't be out of a job anytime soon :winki::

Italian source:

Il nuovo padiglione direzionale della segheria di XXX, a nord di YYY, si inserisce in un contesto di capannoni industriali con un corpo netto e preciso: un volume centrale completamente vetrato (la hall d’ingresso) e quattro corpi laterali, in pannelli alternati di legno e vetro, che si incastonano nel primo a formare una pulita pianta ad H, e delimitano due cortili, due calmi giardini secchi al di qua e al di là del foyer.
Il primo cortile è di accoglienza, il secondo più privato. Con il volume d’ingresso formano una sequenza trasparente, un asse di visibilità aperto sul paesaggio. Un altro asse perpendicolare al primo attraversa il corpo centrale longitudinalmente: il tutto sta sotto un ampio tetto piano, una grande lastra di legno come un cappello a tesa larga.

Babelfish:
The new directional pavilion of the sawmill of XXX, to north of YYY, becomes part in a context of industrial sheds with and a clearly precise body: a volume completely centers them vetrato (hall of income) and the four lateral bodies, in alternated panels of wood and glass, than incastonano in the first one to form a clean plant to H, and delimits two courtyards, two calm garden buckets to here and to beyond the foyer. The first courtyard is of acceptance, according to more private. With the income volume they form a transparent sequence, an axis of visibility opened on the landscape. An other perpendicular axis to the first one crosses the body centers them longitudinally: all it is under a wide flat roof, a great slab of wood like a stiff hat to wide.

Google translate:
The new pavilion directional XXX of the sawmill, north of YYY, is part of an industrial body with a sharp and clear: a fully glazed central volume (the entry hall) and four body side panels alternating wood and glass, which is set in the first to form a clean plant to H, and surround two courtyards, two quiet gardens of the dry sides of the foyer.
The first courtyard is the host, the second largest private. With the volume of entry form a transparent sequence, a line of visibility on the open landscape. Another axis perpendicular to the first through the central lengthwise: everything is under a large flat roof, a large slab of wood as a large hat tense.

Human translation:
The XXX sawmill’s new executive pavilion, north of YYY, is set amongst other industrial buildings, and has a clean-cut, precise structure. The central body (entrance hall) has walls made entirely of glass, and four lateral constructions with alternating panels of wood and glass slot into the first to create a defined H-shaped building surrounding two courtyards: two tranquil oases on either side of the foyer.
The first courtyard is a greeting point, the second more private. Together with the entrance hall they form a transparent sequence, an axis of visibility opening on to the landscape. Another axis perpendicular to the first crosses the central body longitudinally: all under a large flat roof, a great sheet of wood sitting on the building like a wide-brimmed hat.

[quote=Carole B;102703]Here's a good one that I had to solve a short time ago...
I tried first with the reverse translation and got this
"we have transmitted a starter shaft yesterday"

from this... "gli abbiamo trasmesso un alberino ieri"

But to figure out what was said originally in English? :laughs::laughs::laughs:
Bet you can't![/quote]

Could it be: "We have sent (or transmitted) you a delivery statement (or invoice accompanying a merchandise) yesterday"?
I am only saying it because there is a word, "albarán" used in some regions of Spain which means a document associated with some delivery or invoice...... Could be from the same origin....
Perhaps a synonym of "bolla di consegna"? :veryconfused:

One translation I love, and I’m not making fun of it because it is correct but in English we read different things into the words is:

“The people are simple and easy to have relations with”

Now it could mean

“The people are unsophisticated and friendly”

Or

“The people are daft and easy to s***w”

[quote=Nielo;102713]Yup you got it Julian.

Carole would it be :

“We have sent a post yesterday"[/quote]

99.9% right Nielo... :yes:
"we sent you a post yesterday"

Babelxxxx just can't get it's head around the word 'post'...

Just checked my 1st OU assignment (30-50 words describing myself in Italian)s on "free translation.com" and apparently I'm brown and I am high........

I love playing around with this site: [url=http://text-to-speech.imtranslator.net/speech.asp]Text To Speech, TTS: English, Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, German, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese[/url]
It's great for pronunciation! If you look up to the toolbar there is also a translation tool....

Tina - that is the best thing since sliced bread! You've lifted my spirits - thank you!

Have you tried typing something in English and then using the Italian to "say it" - I was rolling on the floor with laughter - especially as I'd typed some very rude words. :bigergrin: :bigergrin:

If you really want a laugh put one of those pretentious paragraphs from art exhibition catalogues through a translator, loads of innocent fun!