.KEYWORD celte1099
.FLYINGHEAD LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
.TITLE Fun with translators
.DEPT
.SUMMARY In a previous Letters to the Editor column, we translated a portion of the column into French to satisfy a French reader. This month, one of our readers pokes fun at our translation and translation software in general. Merci!
.EDNOTE A couple of months ago, our Letters to the Editor column featured a disturbed Frenchman who told us that we were violating French law because we didn’t post our publication in French.
Well, our fearless leader, Editor-in-Chief David Gewirtz took it upon himself (using AltaVista’s translating software) to actually post a few words in French. One of our readers was kind enough to send us an interesting translation of David’s comments
.H1 Fun with translators
But did you translate your French text back to English to make sure nothing was lost? It’s pretty funny. Here’s what it turns out to be, when translated back into English:
.QUOTE Well, not. In fact, 1994 Toubon law to conceive to announce, state that all to announce, while to be able in other language, to also have in French. But made, not in France and not to aim French specific rabble. In fact, a rather idiotic lawsuit to bring by French defense group language and French future language against Georgie Lorraine technology, Georgie institute French technology campus, to throw except court in arriere in 1998.
.QUOTE We welcome has readers of all the countries but our contents will be in English. A certain day, we will study a certain form of software automates translation, but up to that point, you obtain English. If we executons the software of translation, we will simply do it for all the languages available, not simply French because the French government complains most extremely.
I’m thinking that automated translation still has a way to go.
Chris Cooney
.H2 Managing Editor Denise Amrich responds
That’s awesome! Thank you for sending that
to us. I suspected that these translators are only good enough to get the general gist across…
What fun…most extremely!
Denise
.H2 More translations from Chris Cooney
I’m glad you enjoyed that. Here is the other thing I played with. I took: "See Spot. See Spot run. Spot is a good dog."
Took it to French and then back to English and got: "See The Spot. See the spot to carry out. The spot is a good dog."
Then I started over, went to German and back to English: "See to point. See to point running. Point is a good dog."
Spanish? "See The Point. See the point to execute itself. The point is a good dog."
I’m afraid the true BabelFish are still a few years off.
Chris
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.H1 Product availability and resources
If you would like to see David’s original response in French, see our Letters to the Editor column from August 1999 at: http://www.windowscepower.com/issues/issue199908/ceeditorial0899001.html
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