A Warehouse Disturbs Completely
LOST IN TRANSLATION
A Hilarious Application of
the Systran® Translation Software
by Carl Tashian
"What happens when an English phrase is translated (by computer) back and forth between 5 different languages?
The authors of the Systran translation software probably never intended this application of their program. As of September 2003, translation software is almost good enough to turn grammatically correct, slang-free text from one language into grammatically incorrect, barely readable approximations in another. But the software is not equipped for 10 consecutive translations of the same piece of text. The resulting half-English, half-foreign, and totally non sequitur response bears almost no resemblance to the original."
Remember the old game of "Telephone"? Something is lost, and sometimes something is gained.
Try it for yourself!
Copyright © 2000-03 Carl Tashian
Original English Text:
A Cellar Full of Noise
Translated to French: Une cave complètement de bruit
Translated back to English:
A cellar completely of noise
Translated to German: Ein Keller vollständig der Geräusche
Translated back to English:
A cellar completely the noises
Translated to Italian: Una cantina completamente i disturbi
Translated back to English:
A wine cellar completely disturbs
Translated to Portuguese: Uma adega de vinho perturba completamente
Translated back to English:
A wine cellar disturbs full
Translated to Spanish: Una bodega disturba por completo
Translated back to English:
A warehouse disturbs completely
What!? You don't remember
Brian Epstein's autobiography,
A Warehouse Disturbs Completely?
A Hilarious Application of
the Systran® Translation Software
by Carl Tashian
"What happens when an English phrase is translated (by computer) back and forth between 5 different languages?
The authors of the Systran translation software probably never intended this application of their program. As of September 2003, translation software is almost good enough to turn grammatically correct, slang-free text from one language into grammatically incorrect, barely readable approximations in another. But the software is not equipped for 10 consecutive translations of the same piece of text. The resulting half-English, half-foreign, and totally non sequitur response bears almost no resemblance to the original."
Remember the old game of "Telephone"? Something is lost, and sometimes something is gained.
Try it for yourself!
Copyright © 2000-03 Carl Tashian
Original English Text:
A Cellar Full of Noise
Translated to French: Une cave complètement de bruit
Translated back to English:
A cellar completely of noise
Translated to German: Ein Keller vollständig der Geräusche
Translated back to English:
A cellar completely the noises
Translated to Italian: Una cantina completamente i disturbi
Translated back to English:
A wine cellar completely disturbs
Translated to Portuguese: Uma adega de vinho perturba completamente
Translated back to English:
A wine cellar disturbs full
Translated to Spanish: Una bodega disturba por completo
Translated back to English:
A warehouse disturbs completely
What!? You don't remember
Brian Epstein's autobiography,
A Warehouse Disturbs Completely?