Babelfish translator

[a Silly Person]

The other night, while blasting away in the Playground, some out-of-towners came in to play. From the language they were "typing", we had no idea which country they originated from. The one guy seemed particularly interested in my nickname, but kept typing Sally. We were all having fun with speculating on what this guy was typing. Out of curiosity, I wrote down his last statement he made just before he left that evening so I could try it out on Babelfish.

I was shuffling through the mountain of paper on my desk last night and found that note that I had written from the other night. Since I had no idea which language this guy was using, I tried Portuguese, Spanish and Italian. What I got back in the translation took me by surprise. "Sally, I Love You" I tried the next language: "Sally, you I love" Apparently this guy thought that Silly and Sally were close enough and might mean the same thing, but, was it what's-his-face, or Babel Fish that finds me somewhat irresistible?

I emailed my Sister-in-law, who has worked as a Spanish translator before, about the Babelfish translator site and asked her to check out how accurate the translator was. She said that the verbs were not accurate.... well, I will just copy and paste what she sent back to me so I won't lose anything in the "translation".

For instance, it incorrectly translates verbs. It doesn't seem to identify the verb correctly for some reason. I typed in a very easy sentence, "I am pregnant." (NOT REALLY!!!) and it translated that sentence to, "Soy embarazada." The verb "soy" is a state-of-being verb that identifies permanent characteristics like gender or height (I am a girl. I am short.), etc. Obviously pregnancy is not, praise Jesus, a permanent characteristic. So the translation should have been, "Estoy embarazada." Also, when I typed in, "I would like to meet a movie star." it translated the verb "to meet" as "satisfacer". Now, the only translation I have ever heard for meeting someone is "conocer". So it should have been, "Deseo conocer a una estrella de cine." instead of "Deseo satisfacer a una estrella de cine." I only did a few sentences and a couple translated correctly, but the biggie was the pregnant one. That would certainly turn a few heads if you used the wrong verb on that one! LOL
I would also imagine that a service like babelfish would have difficulty translating sentences in which the speaker is trying to express a feeling that a computer won't pick up on. For example, to use the verbs "ser" and "estar" again, which are the state-of-being verbs. If the speaker is wanting to express that they are a happy person in general, meaning that more often than not they are a happy person, it would translate to "Soy feliz." But, if the speaker is just wanting to express that at this particular moment I am feeling happy, then the translation would change to "Estoy feliz." Does that make sense? So I guess that service would have the same flaws as any would in trying to translate directly word for word.

The main reason I posted this is just to show that you cannot take the translations as fact from babelfish or quite possibly any other translator service. The context in which a statement is made actually can change the entire meaning.

It is still fun to goof around with though... ;D

by the way, this is what that guy typed: Sally Te Amo [e-mail]
I am going out on a limb and attempting to translate this part all on my own: by typing in his email address after his statement I guess he is lonely too,


And NO, I have not begun corresponding with him......yet

[RedRock]

Ah yes, the supremacy of English made manifest once again!
No need for an English verb to indicate that pregnancy is not a permanent condition! We know that already! "I am pregnant." Yes, ok, but you won't be for more than 10 months! Duhhhh.
And "I am happy!" OK, that means now and not always, obviously, for NO ONE is always happy, or we can simply add an adverb ("I am happy NOW!"). Duhhhh again.
Those uh-silly uh-spanish uh-speakers!

As far as translators, you are correct in your warning, Silly. Context is important, but then again, with the spoken word as opposed to the written word, inflection and timing and important too! Ever see the movie with Gene Hackman, "The Conversation" ( imdb.com/title/tt0071360/ )?
Warning---spoiler!!!



where a recording at first sounds like "He'd (or He'll, I don't remember) kill us" sounds like a dire warning with the emphasis on the word kill and an exclamation at the end ("He'd KILL us!"), but by the end of the movie (after we learn what's really going on), the same recording now sounds like a rationalization for why the main characters are justifiying their actions to kill "him" first ("HE'D kill US"). Or at least, that's what I recall. Good flick.

[Lamron]

I know that several languages have extra being verbs that indicate the duration of a state. Greek has several. A lot of English is contextual and very hard for a computer to do XX=XX type translations. Translators like these are probably useless for conversational text, but I use it sometimes on non-English websites if I'm looking for a particular file or bit of info that's not available anywhere else. It helps enough to let you navigate a site.

[Rubble]

The beauty of English is also its flaw; it's so simple it's complicated. But once you get past the fact that several words have different meanings, it's pretty easy, compared to a language like German which has words for everything. A Belgian friend of mine can speak English quite fluently, and although he originally spoke Dutch he finds English easier than French or German.

[vinsanity]

I too have had this issue with Babblefish. It is fun to get an idea of what someone is saying to you, but it is rarely exactly on point.