Tell me about "translators..for computers..

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

I can be such a blockhead... After weloming him to our forum,I commented to a new forumite that I loved his european "accent"... I was informed by my good friend Ron Steenwijk that the man was using a translator.. thats why the phrasing looked so cute in print... I sold a steel to a man in Germany a few years back and his typing looked similar... cute/funny... what is this anyway???

I am still living in the 70's... someone needs to slap me into reality ... I need to get OUT more!! bob

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

If you were still living in the 70's, you wouldn't be stuck at your computer all day. Yes, Bob, you do need to get out more...

There are web sites that do rudimentary translations of text from one language to another. I use them now and then when I get an email in a foreign language. They aren't very good. I think there are commercial programs that do a somewhat better job.

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Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com
System Administrator
My Blog

Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

My wife is a professional translater for English/Spanish/French... the translation programs are bad, very bad. They are just barely a little better than nothing. Some of her clients have used translation programs to translate English into Spanish, they'll email it to her to fix and it's really a mess.

Here is some perfect Spanish, written by my wife, a native Spanish-speaker, translated from my website story, "Remembering Curly Chalker":

El grupo y yo estabamos de gira por Nashville para la Fanfair 1979. Habíamos entrado y salido varias veces de Music City anteriormente; el líder y vocalista de nuestro grupo así como el bajista eran hermanos y eran amigos de Faron Young, Marty Stuart y Lester Flatt. Mientras estuvimos en la ciudad, nos hospedamos en el Country Hall of fame Motor Inn, sólamente a unos pasos del Opry en donde se llevaba a cabo una entrega de premios. El grupo y yo fuimos al lobby del hotel para escuchar al grupo que estaba tocando en ese momento, y !Qué grupo!. Nunca supe quienes eran el baterista y el bajista, (lo siento chicos) todo lo que vi fue a Curly Chalker tocando el steel. No podía creerlo estaba en el mismo lugar con la persona a la que había estado escuchando por tanto tiempo y leído sobre él desde que era niño. Por supuesto, el grupo era increíble; con sólo bajo, batería y Curly (después me enteré que todos sus amigos le llamaban "Curls") en el steel, ellos hicieron más música que un grupo de 5 integrantes.

Here's the English version she translated from:

The band I was on the road with was in Nashville for fanfair 1979. We'd been in and out of Music City a few times before; our bandleader/lead vocalist and the bass player were brothers and happened to be friends with Faron Young, Marty Stuart and Lester Flatt. While in town, we stayed at the Country Hall of fame Motor Inn, just down the street from the Opry where an awards show was going on. The band and I went into the hotels' lounge to check-out the band, and what a band. I never knew who the drummer and bass player were, (sorry guys) all I saw was Curly Chalker playing steel. I couldn't believe I was in the same room with the guy I'd been listening to and reading about since I was a kid. Of course the band was unbelievable; with only bass, drums and Curly (later I learned that all his friends called him "Curls") on steel, they put out more music than most 5-pieces.

Here's what Altavista's translater gives you when translating the above Spanish into English, compare it with the English I wrote. How close are they? You can see that like b0b says, most of the time you can get a rough idea of what's being said, but some of it makes no sense at all.

The estabamos group and I of tour by Nashville for Fanfair 1979. We had entered and left several times Music City previously; the leader and vocalista of our group as well as the bear were brothers and were friends of Faron Young, Marty Stuart and Lester Flatt. While we were in the city, we stayed in the Country Hall of fame Motor Inn, only to passages of the Opry in where a delivery of prizes was carried out. The group and I went to the lobby of the hotel to listen the group that were touching then, and!Qué group. I never knew who were the drummer and the bear, (I feel boys) everything what I saw went to Curly Chalker touching steel. He could not believe it was in the same place with the person to whom it had been listening to therefore time and read on him since he was young. Of course, the group was incredible; just by low, battery and Curly (later I found out that all their friends called "Curls to him") in steel, they made more music than a group of 5 members.

Pretty bizarre...

How do you like the translater program translating "sorry guys" into "I feel boys"??? Yikes!

It also translated "bassist" into "bear", "bass" into "low", "playing" into "touching", "drums" into "battery". These are some of the literal translations of the Spanish words but make no sense in English.

[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 11 June 2005 at 09:19 AM.]

Frank Huysveld · From: Belgium

hello

i go my best to do to learn .
but i have sometimes problems to tell
what i mean.
is like steelguitar play.first must you learn crawl,to step,to run .and thats is with a language corectley same.
oke i busy much on transelator ,but this beter of nothing.
for much people like my .is not good but its helpt.

frank

Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

Frank, we are glad to have you here, no matter how you do it.

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

Yes Frank... Very glad you are here!!

bob

Hook Moore · From: South Charleston,West Virginia

You are doing great Frank

Hook

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www.HookMoore.com

Marty Pollard · Posted 11 Jun 2005 7:47 am

Are you REALLY Frank, or are you my friend BJ Bailey?

Steve Robinson · Posted 11 Jun 2005 7:51 am

Here's something interesting to do with those on-line translators. Choose one that can go both directions. Write a paragraph in english and pass it both ways through the translator several times until it stops changing and see what your english looks like now.

Charlie McDonald · From: out of the blue

Here's a good phrase to try, per Jim:

'Do not feel the bears!'

(Low, Battery, and Curly;the Three Stooges?)

Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

One of my favorites from my paragraph above is where the translater program translated the Spanish into:

"He could not believe it was in the same place with the person to whom it had been listening to therefore time and read on him since he was young."

For

"I couldn't believe I was in the same room with the guy I'd been listening to and reading about since I was a kid."

Like b0b said, these programs give you some idea of it and are better than nothing, but if you are going to write someone who doesn't speak your language and you use a translater program to convert it to their language, don't be surprised if they don't quite understand everything.

[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 12 June 2005 at 03:56 PM.]

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