13 Responses for "Why Do People Take Automatic Translators Seriously?"

1. Ms. S September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 1

   I think the problem is that most people who do that – present a Babelfish translation as if it was an *actual* translation – speak only one language, and therefore imagine other language are basically the same, except with different words, possibly in a different order.
   They believe there are 100% equivalents of all English expressions and phrases, and have no understanding of the true subtleties of of translating. So they think Babelfish translations are perfectly fine.
   You are right that a simple back-and-forth translation would show the problem, but I don’t think these people even bother.
   It’s actually a wide-spread problem, and probably on of the main reasons translators are so chronically underpaid. People just don’t appreciate the complexity of translation. They think it’s a simple mechanical process, when in truth it’s both a science and an art. It requires a true understanding of the text, it’s context, and in many cases, the culture it comes from. That’s something a machine can never have – but also something many people don’t realize is needed.

2. dvz September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 2

   Hey Guy,
   I think that you are missing the point… But, Yes, you are correct in stating that the translations should go back and forth from non translated to translation back to non translation..
   —————–
   I have lived for 12 years in a Spanish country. If I have a friend that wants to say something to me, she will type in a Spanish word, or sentence, or a complete paragraph… You are right, it never comes out perfect, but, it is close enough so that I understand what she is saying.
   I can do the same from English to Spanish.. She does understand what I am trying to say.
   In the States, you have the same problem and the people are speaking English to each othere.
   ie….. u go 2 stor an gt for canny brs an tu boddles of sda pop.
   It might not be correct, but, you can understand what the person is saying.
   Oh, by the way…. I am deaf and this is the only way that I can talk.
   I can not speak Spanish, but If I know what they are talking about, I can understand them..
   Without the Translator, I would be screwed.
   Have a nice day.

3. Byakuya September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 3

   I’ve used it to communicate with a girl who spoke only spanish. Without it we would’ve had no chance of communicating with each other, but with the automatic translator, I could get a pretty good idea of what she was trying to tell me. It’s useful for situations like that, but it shouldn’t be considered the end-all-be-all of language translation.

4. JDred79 September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 4

   Im thinking the online translation is more of a guide than an exact regergitaion of what the inquierer is asking about. You have to take the answers with the assupmtion taht your being guided not taught. to learn READ.

5. erlampo September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 5

   As a translator myself (the human kind), I am glad to see someone addressing this issue. It’s amazing that people who have no knowledge of a foreign language now think they are giving correct answers to the language-related questions of others. Occasionally a few words or even a whole phrase may come out more or less correctly, but the results are in most cases utter gibberish. Of course, for people who can’t distinguish between there and their, or your and you’re, that may not be a problem…..

6. JackSout September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 6

   I have asked myself this question, too. I think most people tend to think that all that changes from a language to another is the vocabulary. They overlook the fact that languages have different syntax, grammar and ways to express their realities.

7. calichic September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 7

   because they are stupid

8. Martha P September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 8

   You are absolutely right but if you try to make them understand that there is no comparison between a native translator an the web translator they even get upset and give you the thumbs down. The problem is that when people come here they want help and these other answers are just confusing them.

9. Need answers! September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 9

   Yes, I’ve translated something back and gotten a different word. And some people don’t realize that translators don’t translate grammar, and not everything is the same as English grammar.

10. Terry September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 10

    Because it is impossible to send a Greek or Aramaic translation lexicon though the web. Even scans do not a;ways work.
    Also, no matter how well cited, JCMs consistently say the lexicon is wrong or doesn’t exist. URLs are out there and fine if you cross check with lexicon in hand.

11. Kikkaz September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 11

    Automatic translators are kind of ‘robotic’ but they can help out though I don’t rely on them.
    In fairness, it’s not easy to directly translate meanings in context by using them, but they do give an ‘idea’ if you and receiver accept the handicap .
    I’ve used them on several occasions with what for me are difficult languages. Some resulted as imbarrassing, some enlightening.
    It’s easy to define them as rubbish when it comes to your mother language…at other times, they can be the only and closest you’ll get to expressing yourself!
    They just need to be perfected….!

12. yuja September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 12

    I swear to god, I have no idea why people do that. It really makes me mad. When people ask for a translation, I put a lot of work into making it as accurate and readable as I can. So it really bothers me that people think they can just copy-paste the solutions and– voila!– it’s done.
    It’s even worse because for languages drastically different from English– like Korean, which is my specialty– machine translation DOES NOT WORK. It may work well enough to be readable in languages such as Spanish, but try it with Korean and you will get some random nonsense that is nowhere even close to the original meaning.
    Seriously, people, if someone wants a translation and you don’t know the language, don’t bother answering. Don’t insult the asker by using a machine translator– if they had wanted an automatic translation, they would have done it themselves.
    For myself, if I ever use one, I use it as a dictionary– one word at a time. Even then, they’re not that accurate, so I tend to use true online dictionaries and avoid the translators as much as possible.

13. GrahamH September 12th, 2009 at 12:55 am 13

    Personally I have never used them or taken them seriously; I suppose the classic example is “hydraulic ram” translated as “aquatic male sheep”. My own example of how crazy these things can be was a site I looked at where the Spanish word “inglés” (English) had been translated as “groins” because the original Spanish author had written the word without the accent on the “e”, thus making it the plural of “ingle” – “groin”.