Four problems arise in translation.
1 You translate your words and your new friends/acquaintances/shopkeepers don't understand you.
2 They understand and reply - but you don't understand the answer.
3 They understand and laugh and you wonder what you said wrongly.
4 They mutter to each other or make hostile remarks and you wonder what they are saying about you.
I dutifully learned to say goodbye and thank you in Korean and happily waved goodbye as I left restaurants and hotels. My efforts were not greeted by polite, appreciative thanks, but by hilarity. The smiled incredulously and equaled with laughter into their handkerchiefs, tears of laughter streaming down their faces as I left.
When I returned to Singapore I found out why. I asked a Japanese lady friend if she knew any Korean. She knew a little. I asked if she could explain why my attempts to say goodbye and thank you were greeted with hysterical laughter.
She smiled knowingly. Ah so. Japanese, and, Korean sta-ca-to. Eng -rish - ve-ry sing-song.
Ah - like the time a man from Cardiff tried to chat me up on the phone in a Welsh accent. When he said I was ve-ry pre-tea, instead of being pleased at the compliment, I could not stop laughing. I now know I could give a humorous speech in Korean or Japan and my accent alone would get them grinning.
So, what do I think of a live translation service as an alternative to the computer generated ones? As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier.
Any problems? What about people who deliberately send rude translations, or insult you for your efforts?
If somebody says something to you, or about you, and it's rude, you might want to know what they are saying. The trick in translation is you translate from your language into another, then use another source to translate back.
I once tried to do French, Spanish and German translations for a beauty product including a nail file. In French the automatic translators came up with the kind of nail you hit with a hammer (chou - the translation hadn't a clue), followed by portmanteau, clearly a file for carrying papers.
You might well want to allow the enquirer to ask for a translation of something rude. The large dictionaries manage to translate lots of words and phrases. They say ... pejorative or .... (vulgar).
I might legitimately ask - somebody is talking about me - saying .... what does this mean?
Instead of blocking, the site could just add some neutral explanation (eg 'The speaker/taxi driver/seller/passer by is insulting you using an exaggerated compliment, terms referring to acts/body parts/the speaker thinks you are stupid/naive' .... '
"A non-confrontational reply would be:
(I understand (language.
No need to be rude.
/Please don't make personal remarks.
Thanks, I'll take another taxi.
I don't expect personal remarks from the staff of ... )
You might want to know if your romantic interest who just swore undying love is telling his friends unromantic things about you. Or if the shopkeeper or hotel staff are not happy to oblige.
My former neighbour in Singapore was a young man studying to be a doctor who did National Service. He was taught all the terms for male and female body parts, both the technical terms and the 'street names' in assorted languages: English, Chinese (Mandarin), Cantonese, Malay, Tamil and more.
A male doctor in a clinic with pregnant women might want to know how to translate rude words for body parts or sexual activity into polite terms. The male patient at a clinic faced with a lady doctor might want to know the polite words to describe where he has the problem. As a translator, I might need another translator to help me translate new words in my own language. It could be quite educational!
More details of the site:
https://www.techinasia.com/linqapp-live-launch-real-time-human-translation/
Angela Lansbury B A, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.
1 You translate your words and your new friends/acquaintances/shopkeepers don't understand you.
2 They understand and reply - but you don't understand the answer.
3 They understand and laugh and you wonder what you said wrongly.
4 They mutter to each other or make hostile remarks and you wonder what they are saying about you.
I dutifully learned to say goodbye and thank you in Korean and happily waved goodbye as I left restaurants and hotels. My efforts were not greeted by polite, appreciative thanks, but by hilarity. The smiled incredulously and equaled with laughter into their handkerchiefs, tears of laughter streaming down their faces as I left.
When I returned to Singapore I found out why. I asked a Japanese lady friend if she knew any Korean. She knew a little. I asked if she could explain why my attempts to say goodbye and thank you were greeted with hysterical laughter.
She smiled knowingly. Ah so. Japanese, and, Korean sta-ca-to. Eng -rish - ve-ry sing-song.
Ah - like the time a man from Cardiff tried to chat me up on the phone in a Welsh accent. When he said I was ve-ry pre-tea, instead of being pleased at the compliment, I could not stop laughing. I now know I could give a humorous speech in Korean or Japan and my accent alone would get them grinning.
So, what do I think of a live translation service as an alternative to the computer generated ones? As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier.
Any problems? What about people who deliberately send rude translations, or insult you for your efforts?
If somebody says something to you, or about you, and it's rude, you might want to know what they are saying. The trick in translation is you translate from your language into another, then use another source to translate back.
I once tried to do French, Spanish and German translations for a beauty product including a nail file. In French the automatic translators came up with the kind of nail you hit with a hammer (chou - the translation hadn't a clue), followed by portmanteau, clearly a file for carrying papers.
You might well want to allow the enquirer to ask for a translation of something rude. The large dictionaries manage to translate lots of words and phrases. They say ... pejorative or .... (vulgar).
I might legitimately ask - somebody is talking about me - saying .... what does this mean?
Instead of blocking, the site could just add some neutral explanation (eg 'The speaker/taxi driver/seller/passer by is insulting you using an exaggerated compliment, terms referring to acts/body parts/the speaker thinks you are stupid/naive' .... '
"A non-confrontational reply would be:
(I understand (language.
No need to be rude.
/Please don't make personal remarks.
Thanks, I'll take another taxi.
I don't expect personal remarks from the staff of ... )
You might want to know if your romantic interest who just swore undying love is telling his friends unromantic things about you. Or if the shopkeeper or hotel staff are not happy to oblige.
My former neighbour in Singapore was a young man studying to be a doctor who did National Service. He was taught all the terms for male and female body parts, both the technical terms and the 'street names' in assorted languages: English, Chinese (Mandarin), Cantonese, Malay, Tamil and more.
A male doctor in a clinic with pregnant women might want to know how to translate rude words for body parts or sexual activity into polite terms. The male patient at a clinic faced with a lady doctor might want to know the polite words to describe where he has the problem. As a translator, I might need another translator to help me translate new words in my own language. It could be quite educational!
More details of the site:
https://www.techinasia.com/linqapp-live-launch-real-time-human-translation/
Angela Lansbury B A, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.
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