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New York Times: "A must read if you're wondering to let a human do your everyday translations!"
The Washington Post: "A revelation that will have a tremendous impact on human history."
Albert Einstein: "Even if I'm dead, I can still feel that someone manipulated one of my famous quotes drastically!"
The whole translation process took 6 days, from 3rd May to 9th May.
TranslatorHack 2010 event details can be found here.
Each of the translations have the following versions.
- The short version only shows the final result of the 18 translations.
- The long version shows the full history of the translations, along with the author of them.
- The long commented version is the same as the long one, but has some comments from both the authors[1] and me.
(This versions aren't commented yet though, they'll be in a while 
)
- The Google Translate short version, the same as the short one, but made with Google Translate.
- The Google Translate long version, the same as the long one, but made with Google Translate.
Each of the versions are hidden by spoilers for suspense 
.
Language order:
Dario ff (Spanish) --> Crazy Photon (English) --> Evert (Dutch) --> weapon_S (English) --> Johan Halmén (Finnish) --> jhuuskon (English) --> GullRaDriel (French) --> Goalie Ca (English) --> Vanneto (German) --> lambik (English) --> Slartibartfast (Hebrew) --> type568 (English) --> kenmasters1976 (Spanish) --> Oscar Giner (English) --> Jonatan Hedborg (Swedish) --> gnolam (English) --> Marco Radaelli (Italian) --> FMC (English)
Translations!
Sentence #1:
Original:
Hello John, what can we do for you today?
Short version:
Hi John, how can I help you today?
Long version:
Spanish:
Hola John, qué podemos hacer por ti hoy?
English:
Hello John, what can we do for you today?
Dutch:
Dag John. Hoe kunnen we je vandaag van dienst zijn?
English:
Hello John, how can we be of service to you today?
Finnish:
Terve, John, miten voimme olla avuksesi tänään?
English:
Hi John, how can we be of service today?
French:
Bonjour John, comment pouvons nous nous rendre utiles aujourd'hui ?
English:
Hi john, how may we help you today?
German:
Hallo John, wie können wir dir heute helfen?
English:
Hello John, how can we help you today?
Hebrew:
שלום ג'ון, כיצד נוכל לעזור לך היום?
English:
Hello Jhon, how can we help you today?
Spanish:
Hola Jhon, ¿en qué podemos ayudarlo el día de hoy?
English:
Hello Jhon, how can we help you today?
Swedish:
Hej Jhon, vad kan jag hjälpa dig med idag?
English:
Hi Jhon, what can I help you with today?
Italian:
Ciao Jhon, in cosa posso aiutarti oggi?
English:
Hi John, how can I help you today?
Long commented version:
Spanish:
Hola John, qué podemos hacer por ti hoy?
English:
Hello John, what can we do for you today?
Dutch:
Dag John. Hoe kunnen we je vandaag van dienst zijn?
English:
Hello John, how can we be of service to you today?
Finnish:
Terve, John, miten voimme olla avuksesi tänään?
English:
Hi John, how can we be of service today?
French:
Bonjour John, comment pouvons nous nous rendre utiles aujourd'hui ?
English:
Hi john, how may we help you today?
German:
Hallo John, wie können wir dir heute helfen?
English:
Hello John, how can we help you today?
Hebrew:
שלום ג'ון, כיצד נוכל לעזור לך היום?
English:
Hello Jhon, how can we help you today?
Spanish:
Hola Jhon, ¿en qué podemos ayudarlo el día de hoy?
English:
Hello Jhon, how can we help you today?
Swedish:
Hej Jhon, vad kan jag hjälpa dig med idag?
English:
Hi Jhon, what can I help you with today?
Italian:
Ciao Jhon, in cosa posso aiutarti oggi?
English:
Hi John, how can I help you today?
Google Translate short version:
Hello John, what can we do for you today?
Google Translate long version:
Spanish:
Hola Juan, ¿qué podemos hacer por usted hoy?
English:
Hi John, what can we do for you today?
Dutch:
Hallo John, wat kunnen we doen voor u vandaag?
English:
Hi John, what can we do for you today?
Finnish:
Hei John, mitä voimme tehdä sinulle tänään?
English:
Hey John, what can we do for you today?
French:
Hey John, que pouvons-nous faire pour vous aujourd'hui?
English:
Hey John, what can we do for you today?
German:
Hey John, was können wir heute für Sie tun?
English:
Hey John, what can we do for you today?
Hebrew:
היי ג 'ון, מה אנחנו יכולים לעשות בשבילך היום?
English:
Hey John, what can we do for you today?
Spanish:
Hey John, ¿qué podemos hacer por usted hoy?
English:
Hey John, what can we do for you today?
Swedish:
Hej John, vad kan vi göra för dig idag?
English:
Hello John, what can we do for you today?
Italian:
Ciao John, che cosa possiamo fare per voi oggi?
English:
Hello John, what can we do for you today?
Sentence #2:
Original:
I've told you I hate blue T-Shirts, and yet, you insist in wearing them!
Short version:
I told you I don't like the blue sweater, but you packed it anyway.
Long version:
Spanish:
Te he dicho que odio las camisetas azules, y aún así, insistis en llevarlas puestas!
English:
I have told you that I hate blue shirts, and even so, you insist on wearing them!
Dutch:
Ik heb je gezegd dat ik niet van blauwe overhemden hou en toch wil je ze per se blijven dragen!
English:
I have told you I don't like blue sweaters, and yet you insist on continuing to wear them.
Finnish:
Olen kertonut sinulle, etten pidä sinisistä collegepaidoista, ja kuitenkin sinä vaadit saada pitää sellaisia edelleen.
English:
I've told you before I don't like blue sweatshirts yet you insist on getting to still wear them.
French:
Je t'ai déjà dit que je n'aimais pas les pulls bleus mais tu persistes à m'amener à en porter !
English:
I already told you I dont like the blue sweatshirt but you insist on packing it anyways.
German:
Ich sagte schon das ich dieses blaue Pullover nicht mag aber du hast es trotzdem verpackt.
English:
I already told you that I don't like this blue sweater, but you packed it anyway.
Hebrew:
כבר אמרתי לך שאני לא אוהב את הסוודר הכחול הזה, אבל ארזת אותו בכל זאת.
English:
I told you I dislike this blue sweater, yet you packed it anyways.
Spanish:
Te dije que no me gusta este sueter azul, aún así lo empacaste.
English:
I told you I don't like this blue shirt, but you packaged it anyway.
Swedish:
Jag har sagt till dig att jag inte gillar den blåa tröjan, men du packade ner den ändå.
English:
I have told you that I don't like the blue sweater, but you packed it anyway.
Italian:
Ti ho detto che non mi piace il golf blu, ma l'hai messo in valigia ugualmente.
English:
I told you I don't like the blue sweater, but you packed it anyway.
Long commented version:
Spanish:
Te he dicho que odio las camisetas azules, y aún así, insistis en llevarlas puestas!
English:
I have told you that I hate blue shirts, and even so, you insist on wearing them!
Dutch:
Ik heb je gezegd dat ik niet van blauwe overhemden hou en toch wil je ze per se blijven dragen!
English:
I have told you I don't like blue sweaters, and yet you insist on continuing to wear them.
Finnish:
Olen kertonut sinulle, etten pidä sinisistä collegepaidoista, ja kuitenkin sinä vaadit saada pitää sellaisia edelleen.
English:
I've told you before I don't like blue sweatshirts yet you insist on getting to still wear them.
French:
Je t'ai déjà dit que je n'aimais pas les pulls bleus mais tu persistes à m'amener à en porter !
English:
I already told you I dont like the blue sweatshirt but you insist on packing it anyways.
German:
Ich sagte schon das ich dieses blaue Pullover nicht mag aber du hast es trotzdem verpackt.
English:
I already told you that I don't like this blue sweater, but you packed it anyway.
Hebrew:
כבר אמרתי לך שאני לא אוהב את הסוודר הכחול הזה, אבל ארזת אותו בכל זאת.
English:
I told you I dislike this blue sweater, yet you packed it anyways.
Spanish:
Te dije que no me gusta este sueter azul, aún así lo empacaste.
English:
I told you I don't like this blue shirt, but you packaged it anyway.
Swedish:
Jag har sagt till dig att jag inte gillar den blåa tröjan, men du packade ner den ändå.
English:
I have told you that I don't like the blue sweater, but you packed it anyway.
Italian:
Ti ho detto che non mi piace il golf blu, ma l'hai messo in valigia ugualmente.
English:
I told you I don't like the blue sweater, but you packed it anyway.
Google Translate short version:
I told you I like the blue shirt, but want to use it!
Google Translate long version:
Spanish:
Ya te he dicho que odio las camisetas azules y, sin embargo, usted insiste en usar ellos!
English:
I told you I hate the blue shirts, however, you insist on wearing them!
Dutch:
Ik zei toch dat ik een hekel aan de blauwe shirts, u echter aandringen op het dragen van hen!
English:
I told you I hate the blue shirts, however, you insist on wearing them!
Finnish:
Sanoinhan vihaan sinisiä paitoja kuitenkin pidätte kiinni käyttänyt niitä!
English:
I told you I hate the blue shirts, however, you insist on using them!
French:
Je vous ai dit que je déteste les chemises bleues, toutefois, vous tenez à les utiliser!
English:
I told you I hate the blue shirts, however, you want to use them!
German:
Ich sagte dir, ich hasse den blauen Hemden, aber Sie wollen sie zu nutzen!
English:
I told you, I hate the blue shirts, but you want to use it!
Hebrew:
אמרתי לך, אני שונאת את חולצות כחולות, אבל אתה רוצה להשתמש בו!
English:
I told you, I hate the blue shirts, but you want to use it!
Spanish:
Te lo dije, me gusta la camisa azul, pero quiere usarlo!
English:
I told you, I like the blue shirt, but want to use it!
Swedish:
Jag sa ju att jag gillar den blå skjorta, men vill använda det!
English:
I told you I like the blue shirt, but want to use it!
Italian:
Ti ho detto che mi piace la maglia azzurra, ma si vuole usarlo!
English:
I told you I like the blue shirt, but want to use it!
Sentence #3:
Original:
Even if the results of the experiment turned out to be wrong, we can't deny that it was fun while it lasted.
Short version:
Although it was an embarassing situation we can't say it wasn't funny.
Long version:
Spanish:
Aunque los resultados del experimento fueran erroneos, no podemos negar que fue divertido mientras duró.
English:
Even though the results of the experiment were erroneous, we can't deny that it was fun while it lasted.
Dutch:
Hoewel de uitkomst van het experiment onjuist was kunnen we niet ontkennen dat het leuk was zolang het duurde.
English:
Even though the result of the experiment was flawed, we cannot deny it was fun while it lasted.
Finnish:
Vaikka kokeen tulos oli virheellinen, emme voi kieltää, että se olisi ollut hauskaa niin kauan kuin se kesti.
English:
Even though the result of the experiment was erroneus, we can't say it hadn't been fun while it lasted.
French:
Même si les résultats de l'expérience sont faux, nous ne pouvons pas dire que cela n'a pas été amusant.
English:
Even if the experience was negative, we couldn't say that it wasn't fun.
German:
Obwohl die Erfahrung negativ war, können wir nicht sagen dass es nicht lustig war
English:
Although it was a bad situation, we can't say it wasn't funny.
Hebrew:
למרות שזה היה מצב רע, אנחנו לא יכולים להגיד שזה לא היה מצחיק.
English:
Even though it was a bad situation, we can't say it wasn't funny.
Spanish:
A pesar de que fue una situación incómoda, no podemos decir que no fue divertida.
English:
Even though it was an uncomfortable situation, we cannot say it wasn't fun.
Swedish:
Trots att det var en obekväm situation kan vi inte säga att det inte var roligt.
English:
Even though it was an uncomfortable situation we can't say it wasn't fun.
Italian:
Sebbene fosse una situazione imbarazzante, non possiamo dire che non sia stata divertente.
English:
Although it was an embarassing situation we can't say it wasn't funny.
Long commented version:
Spanish:
Aunque los resultados del experimento fueran erroneos, no podemos negar que fue divertido mientras duró.
English:
Even though the results of the experiment were erroneous, we can't deny that it was fun while it lasted.
Dutch:
Hoewel de uitkomst van het experiment onjuist was kunnen we niet ontkennen dat het leuk was zolang het duurde.
English:
Even though the result of the experiment was flawed, we cannot deny it was fun while it lasted.
Finnish:
Vaikka kokeen tulos oli virheellinen, emme voi kieltää, että se olisi ollut hauskaa niin kauan kuin se kesti.
English:
Even though the result of the experiment was erroneus, we can't say it hadn't been fun while it lasted.
French:
Même si les résultats de l'expérience sont faux, nous ne pouvons pas dire que cela n'a pas été amusant.
English:
Even if the experience was negative, we couldn't say that it wasn't fun.
German:
Obwohl die Erfahrung negativ war, können wir nicht sagen dass es nicht lustig war
English:
Although it was a bad situation, we can't say it wasn't funny.
Hebrew:
למרות שזה היה מצב רע, אנחנו לא יכולים להגיד שזה לא היה מצחיק.
English:
Even though it was a bad situation, we can't say it wasn't funny.
Spanish:
A pesar de que fue una situación incómoda, no podemos decir que no fue divertida.
English:
Even though it was an uncomfortable situation, we cannot say it wasn't fun.
Swedish:
Trots att det var en obekväm situation kan vi inte säga att det inte var roligt.
English:
Even though it was an uncomfortable situation we can't say it wasn't fun.
Italian:
Sebbene fosse una situazione imbarazzante, non possiamo dire che non sia stata divertente.
English:
Although it was an embarassing situation we can't say it wasn't funny.
Google Translate short version:
Although the results of this experiment has proved this wrong, we can not deny that it was fun when it lasted.
Google Translate long version:
Spanish:
Aunque los resultados del experimento resultó ser incorrecto, no podemos negar que fue divertido mientras duró.
English:
Although the results of the experiment turned out to be wrong, we can not deny it was fun while it lasted.
Dutch:
Hoewel de resultaten van het experiment bleek onjuist te zijn, kunnen we niet ontkennen dat het was leuk zolang het duurde.
English:
Although the results of the experiment proved to be wrong, we can not deny that it was fun while it lasted.
Finnish:
Vaikka kokeilun tuloksiin osoittautui vääräksi, emme voi kieltää, että se oli hauskaa, kun se kesti.
English:
Although the results of the experiment turned out to be wrong, we can not deny that it was fun when it lasted.
French:
Bien que les résultats de l'expérience s'est avérée être fausse, nous ne pouvons pas nier que c'était amusant quand il a duré.
English:
Although the results of the experiment proved to be false, we can not deny that it was fun when it lasted.
German:
Obwohl die Ergebnisse des Experiments erwies sich als falsch, wir können nicht leugnen, dass es Spaß machte, wenn es dauerte.
English:
Although the results of the experiment proved to be wrong, we can not deny that it was fun when it lasted.
Hebrew:
למרות תוצאות הניסוי הוכיח שהוא טועה, אנחנו לא יכולים להכחיש כי זה היה כיף כשזה נמשך.
English:
Although the experiment results proved him wrong, we can not deny that it was fun when it lasted.
Spanish:
Aunque los resultados del experimento demostró que estaba equivocado, no podemos negar que fue muy divertido cuando duró.
English:
Although the results of the experiment proved him wrong, we can not deny that it was fun when it lasted.
Swedish:
Även om resultaten av försöket visade honom fel, kan vi inte förneka att det var kul när det varade.
English:
Although the results of the experiment showed him wrong, we can not deny that it was fun when it lasted.
Italian:
Anche se i risultati di questo esperimento lo ha dimostrato sbagliato, non possiamo negare che è stato divertente quando è durato.
English:
Although the results of this experiment has proved this wrong, we can not deny that it was fun when it lasted.
Sentence #4:
Original:
People that are very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
Short version:
People with certain specific traits are sometimes able to play key roles in society and have great impact on humanity's history.
Long version:
Spanish:
La gente que es muy rara puede meterse en posiciones sensibles y tener un impacto tremendo en la historia.
English:
People that are very weird may get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact in history.
Dutch:
Zeer vreemde mensen kunnen een belangrijke positie krijgen en een enorme invloed op de geschiedenis hebben.
English:
It is possible for very strange persona to obtain an important position and have an enormous impact on history.
Finnish:
Erittäin erikoisten persoonien on mahdollista saavuttaa merkittävä asema ja heillä voi olla valtava vaikutus historiaan.
English:
It is possible for very special personalities to achieve significant positions and have enormous influence on history.
French:
Il est possible pour des personnes dotées d'une personnalité particulière d'atteindre des positions clefs et d'avoir une grande
influence sur l'histoire.
English:
It is possible for people with a certain personality to attain key positions and have a great influence on history.
German:
Es ist möglich für Menschen mit einer bestimmten Persönlichkeit um Schlüsselpositionen zu erreichen und einen großes Einfluss
auf die Geschichte zu haben.
English:
It is possible for a person with a certain personality to assume a keyposition and have a big impact on history.
Hebrew:
זה אפשרי עבור אדם עם אישיות מסויימת לתפוס עמדת מפתח ושתהיה לו השפעה גדולה על ההיסטוריה.
English:
People with specific personal qualities are sometimes capable to take key positions in society, and to have great influence on
human history.
Spanish:
Personas con cualidades específicas a veces son capaces de tomar posiciones clave en la sociedad y tener gran influencia en la
historia de la humanidad.
English:
People with specific qualities are sometimes capable of taking key positions in society and having a big influence in the
history of the humanity.
Swedish:
Personer med vissa specifika egenskaper är ibland kapabla att inta nyckelpositioner i samhället och har stor påverkan på
mänsklighetens historia.
English:
People with certain specific qualities are sometimes capable of taking key positions in society, and have a great effect on
human history.
Italian:
Le persone con certe qualità specifiche talvolta sono capaci di ricoprire ruoli chiave nella società e avere un grande effetto
sulla storia dell'umanità.
English:
People with certain specific traits are sometimes able to play key roles in society and have great impact on humanity's history.
Long commented version:
Spanish:
La gente que es muy rara puede meterse en posiciones sensibles y tener un impacto tremendo en la historia.
English:
People that are very weird may get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact in history.
Dutch:
Zeer vreemde mensen kunnen een belangrijke positie krijgen en een enorme invloed op de geschiedenis hebben.
English:
It is possible for very strange persona to obtain an important position and have an enormous impact on history.
Finnish:
Erittäin erikoisten persoonien on mahdollista saavuttaa merkittävä asema ja heillä voi olla valtava vaikutus historiaan.
English:
It is possible for very special personalities to achieve significant positions and have enormous influence on history.
French:
Il est possible pour des personnes dotées d'une personnalité particulière d'atteindre des positions clefs et d'avoir une grande
influence sur l'histoire.
English:
It is possible for people with a certain personality to attain key positions and have a great influence on history.
German:
Es ist möglich für Menschen mit einer bestimmten Persönlichkeit um Schlüsselpositionen zu erreichen und einen großes Einfluss
auf die Geschichte zu haben.
English:
It is possible for a person with a certain personality to assume a keyposition and have a big impact on history.
Hebrew:
זה אפשרי עבור אדם עם אישיות מסויימת לתפוס עמדת מפתח ושתהיה לו השפעה גדולה על ההיסטוריה.
English:
People with specific personal qualities are sometimes capable to take key positions in society, and to have great influence on
human history.
Spanish:
Personas con cualidades específicas a veces son capaces de tomar posiciones clave en la sociedad y tener gran influencia en la
historia de la humanidad.
English:
People with specific qualities are sometimes capable of taking key positions in society and having a big influence in the
history of the humanity.
Swedish:
Personer med vissa specifika egenskaper är ibland kapabla att inta nyckelpositioner i samhället och har stor påverkan på
mänsklighetens historia.
English:
People with certain specific qualities are sometimes capable of taking key positions in society, and have a great effect on
human history.
Italian:
Le persone con certe qualità specifiche talvolta sono capaci di ricoprire ruoli chiave nella società e avere un grande effetto
sulla storia dell'umanità.
English:
People with certain specific traits are sometimes able to play key roles in society and have great impact on humanity's history.
Google Translate short version:
People are very strange positions in sensitive and have a tremendous impact on history.
Google Translate long version:
Spanish:
Las personas que son muy extrañas pueden entrar en puestos sensibles y tienen un impacto tremendo en la historia.
English:
People are very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
Dutch:
Mensen zijn heel raar kan krijgen in kwetsbare posities en een enorme impact hebben op de geschiedenis.
English:
People are very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
Finnish:
Ihmiset ovat hyvin outo voi päästä herkkiä kantoja ja on valtava vaikutus historiaan.
English:
People are very weird can get sensitive positions and have a huge impact on history.
French:
Les gens sont très bizarres peuvent obtenir les postes sensibles et ont un impact énorme sur l'histoire.
English:
People are very weird can get sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
German:
Die Menschen sind sehr seltsam kann bedeutende Positionen kommen und haben einen enormen Einfluss auf die Geschichte.
English:
The people are very strange to come sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
Hebrew:
אנשים הם מאוד מוזר לבוא תפקידים רגישים ויש להם השפעה עצומה על ההיסטוריה.
English:
People are very strange to sensitive positions and have tremendous impact on history.
Spanish:
La gente es muy extraña a las posiciones sensibles y tener un impacto tremendo en la historia.
English:
People are very strange to sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
Swedish:
Folk är väldigt främmande för känsliga befattningar och har en enorm inverkan på historien.
English:
People are very strange to sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
Italian:
La gente è molto strano in posizioni delicate e hanno un impatto tremendo sulla storia.
English:
People are very strange positions in sensitive and have a tremendous impact on history.
Sentence #5:
Original:
My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.
Short version:
My destiny shows the existence of a higher will which proves his wisdom through elements which our feeble mind cannot comprehend.
Long version:
Spanish:
Mi religión consite en una humilde admiración del espíritu superior ilimitado que se revela a sí mismo en pequeños detalles que somos capaces de percibir con nuestra fragil y débil mente.
English:
My religion consists on a humble admiration of the boundless superior spirit that reveals itself in small details that we are able to perceive with our fragile and weak mind.
Dutch:
Mijn geloof behelst de eerbiedige bewondering van een grenzeloos superieure geest die zich kenbaar maakt in de kleine details die wij met onze kwetsbare en zwakke geest kunnen waarnemen.
English:
My faith encompasses the reverent adoration of a boundlessly superior intellect that manifests itself in the little details that we with our fragile and weak mind are able to observe.
Finnish:
Uskooni liittyy kunnioitettava palvonta äärettömän ylivertaista älyä kohtaan, joka vahvistaa olemassaolonsa pienissä yksityiskohdissa, joita me kykenemme hauraan ja heikon mielemme avulla havainnoimaan.
English:
My religion involves worship of an infinitely superior intellect that confirms its existence in small details that we can observe with our frail minds.
French:
Ma religion inclut le culte d'une intelligence infiniment supérieure qui confirme son existence dans les petits détails que nos frêles consciences nous permettent d'observer.
English:
My religion includes the worship of an infinitely superior intelligence that confirms its existance in the small details that our frail consciences allow us to observe.
German:
Meine Religion beinhaltet die Verehrung eines unendlich überlegenen Intelligenz, die seine Existenz in den kleinen Details bestätigt, die unseres zerbrechliches Gewissen beobachten kann.
English:
My religion encompasses the veneration of an infinitely superior intellect that makes its existence known in minute details that our fragile mind can observe.
Hebrew:
הדת שלי כוללת בתוכה את הוקרתו של אינטלקט עליון אשר הופך את קיומו לידוע באמצעות פרטים זעירים אשר מוחנו השביר יכול להבחין בהם
English:
My faith includes recognition of higher intellect which turned it's existence in to knowledge using careful elements which our fragile mind is capable to understand.
Spanish:
Mi fé incluye el reconocer la existencia de un intelecto superior que dio a conocer su sabiduría usando cuidadosamente elementos que nuestra frágil mente fuera capaz de comprender.
English:
My faith includes recognising the existence of a superior intellect who unveiled his wisdom carefully using elements which our fragile mind were able to understand.
Swedish:
Min tro innebär att jag erkänner existensen av ett större intellekt som visar prov på sin vishet genom element som vårat bräckliga sinne är kapabla att förstå.
English:
My faith means I acknowledge the existence of a greater intellect that shows proof of its wisdom through elements that our fragile mind is capable of understanding.
Italian:
Il mio destino significa che riconosco l'esistenza di un intelletto più grande che mostra prova della sua saggezza attraverso elementi che la nostra fragile mente è capace di comprendere.
English:
My destiny shows the existence of a higher will which proves his wisdom through elements which our feeble mind cannot comprehend.
Long commented version:
Spanish:
Mi religión consite en una humilde admiración del espíritu superior ilimitado que se revela a sí mismo en pequeños detalles que somos capaces de percibir con nuestra fragil y débil mente.
English:
My religion consists on a humble admiration of the boundless superior spirit that reveals itself in small details that we are able to perceive with our fragile and weak mind.
Dutch:
Mijn geloof behelst de eerbiedige bewondering van een grenzeloos superieure geest die zich kenbaar maakt in de kleine details die wij met onze kwetsbare en zwakke geest kunnen waarnemen.
English:
My faith encompasses the reverent adoration of a boundlessly superior intellect that manifests itself in the little details that we with our fragile and weak mind are able to observe.
Finnish:
Uskooni liittyy kunnioitettava palvonta äärettömän ylivertaista älyä kohtaan, joka vahvistaa olemassaolonsa pienissä yksityiskohdissa, joita me kykenemme hauraan ja heikon mielemme avulla havainnoimaan.
English:
My religion involves worship of an infinitely superior intellect that confirms its existence in small details that we can observe with our frail minds.
French:
Ma religion inclut le culte d'une intelligence infiniment supérieure qui confirme son existence dans les petits détails que nos
frêles consciences nous permettent d'observer.
English:
My religion includes the worship of an infinitely superior intelligence that confirms its existance in the small details that
our frail consciences allow us to observe.
German:
Meine Religion beinhaltet die Verehrung eines unendlich überlegenen Intelligenz, die seine Existenz in den kleinen Details
bestätigt, die unseres zerbrechliches Gewissen beobachten kann.
English:
My religion encompasses the veneration of an infinitely superior intellect that makes its existence known in minute details that our fragile mind can observe.
Hebrew:
הדת שלי כוללת בתוכה את הוקרתו של אינטלקט עליון אשר הופך את קיומו לידוע באמצעות פרטים זעירים אשר מוחנו השביר יכול להבחין בהם
English:
My faith includes recognition of higher intellect which turned it's existence in to knowledge using careful elements which our fragile mind is capable to understand.
Spanish:
Mi fé incluye el reconocer la existencia de un intelecto superior que dio a conocer su sabiduría usando cuidadosamente elementos que nuestra frágil mente fuera capaz de comprender.
English:
My faith includes recognising the existence of a superior intellect who unveiled his wisdom carefully using elements which our fragile mind were able to understand.
Swedish:
Min tro innebär att jag erkänner existensen av ett större intellekt som visar prov på sin vishet genom element som vårat bräckliga sinne är kapabla att förstå.
English:
My faith means I acknowledge the existence of a greater intellect that shows proof of its wisdom through elements that our fragile mind is capable of understanding.
Italian:
Il mio destino significa che riconosco l'esistenza di un intelletto più grande che mostra prova della sua saggezza attraverso elementi che la nostra fragile mente è capace di comprendere.
English:
My destiny shows the existence of a higher will which proves his wisdom through elements which our feeble mind cannot comprehend.
Google Translate short version:
My religion consists of a humble admiration is boundless humor that reveals the smallest details, see the memory of our fragile and weak.
Google Translate long version:
Spanish:
Mi religión consiste en una humilde admiración del ilimitado espíritu superior que se revela en los detalles leves que podemos percibir con nuestra frágil y débil mente.
English:
My religion consists of a humble admiration of the boundless superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we can perceive with our frail and feeble mind.
Dutch:
Mijn godsdienst bestaat uit een bescheiden bewondering van de grenzeloze superieure geest die zich openbaart in de kleine details die we kunnen waarnemen met onze zwakke en zwakke geest.
English:
My religion consists of a humble admiration of the boundless superior spirit that reveals itself in small details we can perceive with our frail and weak minded.
Finnish:
My Religion koostuu nöyrä ihailua rajaton erinomainen henki, joka paljastaa itsensä pieniin yksityiskohtiin voimme havaita meidän hauras ja heikko ajattelevia.
English:
My Religion consists of a humble admiration of boundless good spirit who reveals himself in small details, we can see our frail and weak-minded.
French:
Ma religion consiste en une humble admiration sans bornes de bon esprit qui se révèle dans les petits détails, nous pouvons voir notre frêle et faible d'esprit.
English:
My religion consists of a humble admiration's boundless good spirit that reveals itself in small details, we can see our frail and feeble mind.
German:
Meine Religion besteht aus einer bescheidenen Bewunderung ist grenzenlos gute Geist, der sich offenbart in kleinen Details, können wir sehen unserem gebrechlichen und schwachen Verstand.
English:
My religion consists of a humble admiration is boundless good spirit that reveals itself in small details, we see our frail and feeble mind.
Hebrew:
הדת שלי מורכבת הערצה צנוע הוא ברוח טובה ללא גבול, כי מתגלה בפרטים הקטנים, אנו רואים את הנפש שברירי וחלוש שלנו.
English:
My religion consists of a humble admiration is boundless good humor that reveals the small details, we see the mind of our frail and feeble.
Spanish:
Mi religión consiste en una humilde admiración sin límites es el humor bueno que revela los pequeños detalles, vemos la mente de nuestra frágil y débil.
English:
My religion consists of a humble admiration is boundless good humor that reveals the little details, see the mind of our frail and feeble.
Swedish:
Min religion består av en ödmjuk beundran är gränslös humor som avslöjar de små detaljerna, se minnet av våra bräckliga och svaga.
English:
My religion consists of a humble admiration is boundless humor that reveals the little details, see the memory of our fragile and weak.
Italian:
La mia religione consiste in una umile ammirazione è sconfinata umorismo che rivela i piccoli dettagli, vedere la memoria della nostra fragile e debole.
English:
My religion consists of a humble admiration is boundless humor that reveals the smallest details, see the memory of our fragile and weak.
I'll get on doing the commented versions in a while... This thread took a while to make, and I'd like you to help me point out some stuff and comment on your translations.
Credits
The translators for the whole event were: gnolam, Oscar Giner, Evert, Goalie Ca, kenmasters1976, type568, FMC,Vanneto, Slartibartfast, lambik, Dario ff, Crazy Photon, weapon_S, Johan Halmén, Marco Radaelli, GullRaDriel, Jonatan Hedborg and jhuuskon.
Some participants were left out because another translator of their same language couldn't be found. They are:
Fishcake, Jakub Wasilewski and Arvidsson.
Neil Black and Mokkan helped checking the initial sentences.David McCallum proposed two of the initial sentences.
Bamccaig helped with some recommendations for the experiment's purity.
Original idea by Jakub Wasilewski.
Extras!
Possibly the most horrible thing that happened to me was my PM inbox... I swear that I had over 6 or 7 new messages each time I
came back home. And I don't longer see my older messages unrelated with this without having to scroll back:
{"name":"601297","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/5\/e\/5e51ef8fdd69abcfd28b1cfbc66786cb.jpg","w":1065,"h":658,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/5\/e\/5e51ef8fdd69abcfd28b1cfbc66786cb"}
Also, if you're wondering who came up with the last sentence, it's an Albert Einstein's quote. 
And don't worry, this thread isn't under surveillance by the CIA, type568 already explained to the government that the whole nuclear-minded deal was just a joke, hopefully...
I already contacted the people over at ConveyThis!, the Bad Translator creators about this experiment, and they haven't answered back yet. I'll spam them a bit more, and hopefully they might come by and leave us a comment.
So, if you all don't mind, I'll chill out a bit for now. Creating this whole thread took a LOT of time.
References
- These comments
are the ones the author will make in this thread that they want to point out. Probably for excusing themselves.
Halmén, you goddamn rantaruotsalainen, you translated sentences 4 and 5 wrong and now it looks like the contextual changes of those sentences were my fault!
Heh, we Italians messed up the starting point of the fifth sentence, but i also noticed the French made a couple of changes too (on other sentences)
[edit]Also Google beat us on sentences 1 and 3 
Oh Christ, I sense some context-debate fights coming in...
Also, I added the Google Translator versions.
EDIT: Also, can anyone explain me what's this whole deal about shirt, sweater, sweatshirt? 
Just had a quick look. Interesting.
#1 fared more or less as I would have expected it did. Meaning preserved, when you allow for the difference in modes of expression between languages.
#2 is interesting. I wasn't actually sure whether "shirt" was meant to refer to a T-shirt or not. I ended up interpreting it as the thing with buttons down the front, which is both my first association and what my dictionary told me it was (although I know "shirt" is also used as short for "T-shirt"). Anyway, that seems to have sortof stuck.
#3 Not sure what happened here! Going to have to take a look at that one.
#4 is interesting, it did better than I would have expected it to. I actually think the original sentence is a bit odd ("people that are very weird" is a bit vague, "get into sensitive positions" likewise; I think I understand what is meant but I would never express it like that). The meaning seems to have been preserved well.
#5 Well... no surprise that went a bit bonkers. Was the original quote in English or in German?
I'll be looking things over in more detail later.
Actually, I like the final #4 better than the original quote.
To expand on #1, I didn't do a literal word-for-word translation there, but I re-expressed it into one of the equivalent ways of saying the same thing. That then led to a variation of the English expression on the next iteration, and so results diverged.
(EDIT)
In #2, an "overhemd" is not the same thing as a sweater! A sweater is a "trui". Or "sweater".
(EDIT)
The interesting thing though is that for most sentences the meaning was kept even if the wording is different. See, understanding what is being said helps!
They're also all correct English, which must help.
Actually, I like the final #4 better than the original quote.
Yes, I also think it's much better worded and clearer than what we started with.
Ok... who wants to start spamming the web with this? 
People that are very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.
I just glimpsed at it.
#2. Basically the only error was that at some point it changed from wearing to packing.
#3. Although it was an embarassing situation we can't say it wasn't funny.
This translation wasn't that bad... and it kinda fits...
People are very strange positions in sensitive and have a tremendous impact on history.
"People are very sensitive in strange positions and have a tremendous impact on history" would be funnier.
#5. It changed a lot but I guess it wasn't that bad considering that it was a complicated phrase.
Google didn't do it as bad as I expected, yet I think our translations make more sense.
My comments:
1st: I decided to do a more literal translation, though I was doubting between that and what I though was a better translation: "what can we do for you today?", which is actually the original sentence 
2nd: "empacaste" was a weird work I had to look for in a dictionary to make sure . We use "empaquetaste".
5th: The sentence just didn't make much sense. I specially had a hard time trying to figure out how to translate "dio a conocer" without changing the meaning, when I didn't really understood what does it try to say
2nd: "empacaste" was a weird work I had to look for in a dictionary to make sure . We use "empaquetaste".
Yeah, I thought that was the word you said you had problems with. While "empaquetaste" is also correct, practically no one uses it here... not for clothing, at least.
5th: The sentence just didn't make much sense. I specially had a hard time trying to figure out how to translate "dio a conocer" without changing the meaning, when I didn't really understood what does it try to say
That was a complicated phrase, yet I think we did quite well in the translation chain. We definitely did better (a lot better) than Google on this one.
Although it was an embarassing situation we can't say it wasn't funny.
Oh, by the way. Yes, it was fun.
Halmén, you goddamn rantaruotsalainen, you translated sentences 4 and 5 wrong and now it looks like the contextual changes of those sentences were my fault!
Um... I read the English sentence before my Finnish translation and the English translation you did and I still don't see a contextual change.
Btw, how many non-Indo-European languages do we have here? Finnish is one.
#4 was actually tricky. "People can get and have". You can translate that almost word by word into any indo-European language, I guess. But not into Finnish. There's no "have" verb in Finnish. Instead of saying "I have a headache" we say "By me is a headache".
T-shirt => Sweater.. Awesome..
Guess next time we'll end up with underpants => fur coat..
Append:
Even if the results of the experiment turned out to be wrong, we can't deny that it was fun while it lasted. => Although it was an embarassing situation we can't say it wasn't funny.
I say:Although it IS an embarrassing situation, we can't say type568 won't enter his chain reaction finally..
Append:
No. It is over. The machines have taken over.
underpants => fur coat
Well, I guess you could call them so, too.
Ok, now it will be fun to hunt down all the bad guys. According to jhuuskon, I'm one of them.
I blame the Germans!
Append:
Dario.. Hebrew is screwed up. If you could host it somewhere, and link there, or put it as an image, or I don't know what.. Cos' it's not Hebrew here, it's meaningless symbols.
Neil Black and Mokkan helped checking the initial sentences.
Maybe they should be fired for #2 and #4 then! People insist on things, not insist in things, and #4 already sounds like it's been through google translate a few times.
Maybe they should be fired for #2 and #4 then!
Still, I did the first translation to Spanish, so Crazy Photon corrected them(insist on).
Ok, now it will be fun to hunt down all the bad guys.
I'll hunt down all the people that apparently don't have different words for sweater and shirt. 
Notice that it didn't happen once, it happened twice. It was like T-shirt, shirt, sweater, sweatshirt, sweater, shirt, sweater...
EDIT:
Dario.. Hebrew is screwed up. If you could host it somewhere, and link there, or put it as an image, or I don't know what.. Cos' it's not Hebrew here, it's meaningless symbols.
Yeah, I guessed so. I don't really know how is Hebrew formed, or written or anything, so if you can provide a legible image, I'll put it there.
{"name":"601304","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/f\/f\/ff796e458681b7bf5f7b409258b54e1e.png","w":337,"h":124,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/f\/f\/ff796e458681b7bf5f7b409258b54e1e"}
{"name":"601301","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/3\/3\/3323de39329b53f1913b5091ea442954.png","w":502,"h":115,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/3\/3\/3323de39329b53f1913b5091ea442954"}
{"name":"601300","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/c\/7\/c7ffd9cd3c822cf218d34269b40945c9.png","w":505,"h":121,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/c\/7\/c7ffd9cd3c822cf218d34269b40945c9"}
{"name":"601302","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/8\/3\/833b766e2c252149932fe8677d6c54cb.png","w":898,"h":151,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/8\/3\/833b766e2c252149932fe8677d6c54cb"}
{"name":"601303","src":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/9\/c\/9cbab9c33a0bbd3c4d37aa31f387c420.png","w":1132,"h":127,"tn":"\/\/djungxnpq2nug.cloudfront.net\/image\/cache\/9\/c\/9cbab9c33a0bbd3c4d37aa31f387c420"}
Wait... That's how it looks in your browser Lenny? Is the order well there?
How exactly isn't it working type568? It doesn't show up, wrong symbols show up, or the order is wrong?
Wait... That's how it looks in your browser Lenny? Is the order well there?
That was from Opera on Vista, but it looks the same with FF on Ubuntu, so I guess it's correct (I'm not familiar with Hebrew).
It seems to show up OK for me as well. At least, taking it and feeding it into Google Translate and translating to English produces something that looks close. Back to Hebrew produces similar output too. It might have to do with your browser. The page appears to be UTF-8 encoded.
Fun! I just realized I messed up we/I on the first sentence, but otherwise I think it went pretty well.
Hmm, LennyLenn's post certainly shows Hebrew..
And the first post also does. It looks fixed now.
Very interesting results. I think it's great that so many people came together to work on this.
Maybe they should be fired for #2 and #4 then! People insist on things, not insist in things, and #4 already sounds like it's been through google translate a few times.
While #4 is an odd sentence, it does seem correctly written! But you're right, I don't know how I missed the error in #2. Oops!
While #4 is an odd sentence, it does seem correctly written!
It's more appropriate to use who instead of that when referring to people, but it's not grammatically incorrect.
People that are very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
I'd probably phrase it more like this to create the desired (as I assume) emphasis:
Even a weird (strange, different, odd?) person can obtain a sensitive position and make a tremendous impact on history.
As it is written, it sounds as if only "weird people" can hold a sensitive position.
So, who wins?. I'd say humans won, as expected. Google Translate works fine with simple sentences; it did surprisingly well on the third one but messed all others, except the first one.
This proves that translating is one of those things that machines can't do. Where's the so called AI when it's needed?.
We messed some sentences too, but even so, you can make some sense out of the resulting sentences (unlike Google's). So, if we won, when do I get my prize?.
[EDIT:] It's easier to see Google's mess like this:
Your Task - Translate this:
1. Hello John, what can we do for you today?
2. I told you I like the blue shirt, but want to use it!
3. Although the results of this experiment has proved this wrong, we can not deny that it was fun when it lasted.
4. People are very strange positions in sensitive and have a tremendous impact on history.
5. My religion consists of a humble admiration is boundless humor that reveals the smallest details, see the memory of our fragile and weak.
This proves that translating is one of those things that machines can't do.
This just proves that humans can't yet build machines to perfectly translate languages (and indeed, some languages just can't communicate ideas as effectively as others, so data is lost). Humans are machines.
I meant machines as in computers.
Ok, as our next activity, we'll translate like l33t h4x0rs.
I meant machines as in computers.
There's theoretically nothing stopping a sufficiently large and complicated computer from translating languages as well or perhaps better than humans can. Unfortunately, humans do not currently possess the potential to build such a thing.
Unfortunately, humans do not currently possess the potential to build such a thing.
Well we need to build computers to build such a thing .
There's theoretically nothing stopping a sufficiently large and complicated computer from translating languages as well or perhaps better than humans can. Unfortunately, humans do not currently possess the potential to build such a thing.
Of course computers are just "force multipliers" for the human intellect, but there are still things that are easier to do with a computer (anything with a set of strict logical rules), and some things that are harder to do with a computer (fuzzier things that involve pattern recognition, tasks relating to social and/or emotional elements etc). It's impossible to tell if we will ever solve these problems and make computers equivalent to humans at these tasks. It's not just a matter of throwing more computing power at the problem...
There's theoretically nothing stopping a sufficiently large and complicated computer from translating languages as well or perhaps better than humans can. Unfortunately, humans do not currently possess the potential to build such a thing.
I meant "one of those things that machines can't do" as in "as of now", but to be honest, I have my doubts about if such things as AI or GoodTranslator will ever happen. I'll have to see to believe... unless that's not expected to happen until 30th century.
While #4 is an odd sentence, it does seem correctly written!
It's correct as far as grammar and spelling are concerned. However, "sensitive positions" is very vague. It wasn't until after all the translations when through that I realized that it was supposed to be referring to people who hold positions (jobs) where they deal with sensitive material/issues. It sounds originally as if it's talking about physically being in a position that makes you feel more sensitive.
The term tremendous is also ambiguous in that context. Is it supposed to mean wonderful or significant? I'm guessing the latter.
In Finland we watch foreign movies and TV series with original soundtrack and subtitles. Very often the translators (they are all human) do some extra when translating. In one episode of Friends Ross says something like "I wouldn't drink milk from your breast even if it had a picture of a lost kid on it". I remember the Finnish translation went like "...even if there was a sour cream recipy on it" because milk cartons in Finland usually have all kinds of recipies printed on them. I'd like to see some computer doing that kind of translations.
Strange thing is that I saw a re-run of that very same episode of Friends the other night and they had obviously done a new translation for the subtitles (probably another TV channel since previous time). This time the translator completely missed the point and mentioned the picture of a lost kid. I guess many Finns wouldn't know what that is all about. I wouldn't have, if I wouldn't have figured it out the first time because of the clever translation.
How come that nobody has blamed Obama, so far?
Just wanted to say good job to everyone involved. This little experiment was very interesting.
[edit] And I just got confirmation from the CIA that, "...we, the CIA, are not the least bit interested in the content of internet message boards, internet forums or other international forms of communications."
I guess that means everyone is in the clear... 
Honestly, who really cares though...
As it is written, it sounds as if only "weird people" can hold a sensitive position.
Not to me it doesn't. "can" just doesn't imply that to me. But maybe I'm just weird
In the 5th sentence it seems like type568 misread "ידוע" as "ידע" and "הופך" as "הפך", which really changed the meaning there, but only the second change had a lasting effect, and even that was gone by the time the Swedish translation ended. And in #1 "John" somehow turned into "Jhon", which almost lasted to the end.
Other than that, Hebrew had almost no lasting negative effect on our translation.
And yeah, it was a lot of fun
(And yeah, the Hebrew in the first post looks correct to me.)
I knew I would make an embarrassing mistake. Sorry, "overhemd" in Dutch is a "shirt" (or actually a "dress shirt"), not a "sweatshirt". I just completely looked over that word while rechecking the sentences.
Sentence #3 actually turned out better by Google than the initial sentence. I don't think results of an experiment can be "wrong". I didn't do anything to fix that, though.
As for sentence #2: "blijven" implies "contuining", although not that strong. Still I decided to translate it that way. Maybe, this is even the thing that distracted me...
In Finland we watch foreign movies and TV series with original soundtrack and subtitles. Very often the translators (they are all human) do some extra when translating. In one episode of Friends Ross says something like "I wouldn't drink milk from your breast even if it had a picture of a lost kid on it". I remember the Finnish translation went like "...even if there was a sour cream recipy on it" because milk cartons in Finland usually have all kinds of recipies printed on them. I'd like to see some computer doing that kind of translations.
Strange thing is that I saw a re-run of that very same episode of Friends the other night and they had obviously done a new translation for the subtitles (probably another TV channel since previous time). This time the translator completely missed the point and mentioned the picture of a lost kid. I guess many Finns wouldn't know what that is all about. I wouldn't have, if I wouldn't have figured it out the first time because of the clever translation.
I don't think I'd want them to do that kind of translation if I was the one watching. When I watch it I do so assuming it's the USA, in this case knowing it's New York. We don't have missing children on our milk cartons, but I know that they do in some places so I get the joke. I think it loses some of the joke using a sour cream recipe... Wouldn't it be better anyway for the foreigners to look it up and learn something instead of being mislead about the USA? 
If American jokes don't make sense to you then why watch the show?
I find it's really curious that the 3rd sentence changed from something wrong to an embarrassing situation... just like some of you now are admitting some of your mistakes, yet it was fun while it lasted.
And also, great job everyone. None of you cheated apparently, there were no problems with the PM chain, and we got finished this in a Sunday, the same day it started.
Not to me it doesn't. "can" just doesn't imply that to me
The sentence is ambiguous, but people may infer that. You may be more apt to infer exclusivity on a sentence such as:
Deaf people can apply for this grant.
Without context, translators may add or take away meaning based on their inferences. Inserting a qualifier (e.g., only, even) at the beginning of the sentence would help a lot.
And don't worry, this thread isn't under surveillance by the CIA, type568 already explained to the government that the whole nuclear-minded deal was just a joke, hopefully..
Dario, you've managed to be wrong here whole three times. At least, three times.
Without context, translators may add or take away meaning based on their inferences. Inserting a qualifier (e.g., only, even) at the beginning of the sentence would help a lot.
Point taken. Context in english is really important.
Point taken. Context in english is really important.
I'd say it does in pretty much all languages, except for programming ones.
And the interpreters, should keep all possible meanings when they interpret.
"...we, the CIA, are not the least bit interested in the content of internet message boards, internet forums or other international forms of communications."
That's what they want us to believe.
And in #1 "John" somehow turned into "Jhon", which almost lasted to the end.
When I did my translation, I thought about changing it to John as in the PM I received it was Jhon but then I thought "Who am I to change this guy's name?". It eventually (in the last translation) went back to John as in the original sentence.
Curiously, Google translated John as Juan in the first Spanish translation but kept it as John in the second. While Juan would be the Spanish equivalent to John, you really can't change a person's name just like that.
Sentence #3 actually turned out better by Google than the initial sentence.
Almost. "Although the results of this experiment has proved this wrong, we can not deny that it was fun while it lasted." would be better. But yes, as I said, Google did surprisingly well on this one. It was lucky...
Yay, the results are finally in!
I thought the sentences were a bit odd by the time they reached me.
We don't have missing children on our milk cartons, but I know that they do in some places so I get the joke. I think it loses some of the joke using a sour cream recipe... Wouldn't it be better anyway for the foreigners to look it up and learn something instead of being mislead [sic] about the USA? If American jokes don't make sense to you then why watch the show?
... it's a TV show, not a holy book whose every word must be kept pure. The translator's task is to stick as close to the source material as possible while still keeping it funny[1]. If the joke doesn't work in the local language/culture, you exchange it for something that does. Puns, for example, usually only make sense in their original language - if translated verbatim, they often make no sense whatsoever. So if you were a translator, would you subtitle a show with complete gibberish? Or would you switch out untranslatable puns for equivalents in the local tongue?
Johan's example is pretty much the same thing: the translator realized that the original joke would be incomprehensible to a large portion of the audience, so he exchanged it for an equivalent joke that they would get.
<Insert point about American remakes of British shows here>
References
- More generally: while still conveying the essence of the original work.
i also noticed the French made a couple of changes too (on other sentences)
That's because you fuck at French ^^
Anyway, that was kind of a nice community experience !
I expected the sentence to be changed a lot more due to the multitude of language we used.
The #5 is my preferred, and it looks like we fscked up #2 and #3 more than the others.
I am really impressed by the fact that the meaning hasn't changed THAT much from the start to the final translation.
Good work from you Dario, yay for all the work you put in it !!
Can't say why, but I am happy ^^
Good work from you Dario, yay for all the work you put in it !!
Agreed. Only a high school pupil could've been that caring. Or perhaps an aged woman without children as well
Can't say why, but I am happy ^^
It's cos' of the #3.
Tehehehehe !
type568 have been mind translated ^^
I wot?:(
Or perhaps an aged woman without children as well
Well, I ain't a woman...
You're all just saying that because the logo is awesome. 
You're all just saying that because the logo is awesome.
That O looks like a sphincter.
can anyone explain me what's this whole deal about shirt, sweater, sweatshirt?
Well, depending on the type of "camiseta", it can either be considered a shirt or a T-shirt. T-shirt is the most common usage though, while shirt is mainly used in sports, so think I should have used the former instead. Mea culpa
I like the final #4 better than the original quote.
Indeed, I agree.
Still, I did the first translation to Spanish, so Crazy Photon corrected them (insist on).
Without context, translators may add or take away meaning based on their inferences.
That's true. That is why I translated with "may" instead of "can" in #4, since it is not so likely that weird people will actually get to be in a sensitive position.
Only a high school pupil could've been that caring.
Over here, most students would not.
that was kind of a nice community experience !
+1 to that.
Good work from you Dario, yay for all the work you put in it !!
Muchas gracias Darío, this was indeed a fun experiment and it shows that you have a lot of discipline to take care of this from the beginning to the end.
Congratulations to everyone!
Over here, most students would not.
Students & pupils are different creatures.
I'll say what was behind my words, no offense towards anyone. Dario has really done a nice job.
When one is going somewhere, where he hasn't been before, and is "full of that feeling", aka "feeling of doing something that matters"- his care towards the subject is raising.
e.g. most likely I wouldn't bother
& yes, probably that means that something inside me tells me it's child's play.. But it's still is very very nice.
append:
Muchas gracias Darío, this was indeed a fun experiment and it shows that you have a lot of discipline to take care of this from the beginning to the end.
+1
I find it's really curious that the 3rd sentence changed from something wrong to an embarrassing situation...
Probably a typo of some case, or accidentally typing one word while meaning another:
English:
*
Even though the result of the experiment was erroneus, we can't say it hadn't been fun while it lasted.
French:
*
Même si les résultats de l'expérience sont faux, nous ne pouvons pas dire que cela n'a pas été amusant.
Emphasis mine.
I knew I would make an embarrassing mistake.
Meh, don't worry about it.
As for sentence #2: "blijven" implies "contuining", although not that strong. Still I decided to translate it that way. Maybe, this is even the thing that distracted me...
I had a similar consideration going the other way. "You insist on wearing them" means you continue to wear them (despite arguments why you shouldn't). A more literal translation that I considered is "je staat erop ze te blijven dragen", but that sounded a bit strong. Whether it's more appropriate or not is up to interpretation (in the absence of additional context).
I guess it's well known that sentences (or stories) change their meaning (or swap one item for another, one character for another) in retellings, especially across language barriers, even if everyone tries to repeat what they heared faithfully. Still neat to see it in action!
I was surprised there weren't more gibberish coming out of the translations, but I guess people were more careful at what was said and what they were saying than compared to a simple game of telephone. Good job everyone! It was enjoyable to watch from the sidelines as well.
That's because you fuck at French ^^
I was considering the "back to english" translation
Etymology
From Old French experiment (French: expérience), from Latin experimentum.
Thought I just looked at it today, I can't see were I was wrong except for the time translation. (English used the past, and I used the present).
Evert, mind to give more explanations ?
FMC: I would have loved to tease you while eating an ice cream ^^
Thought I just looked at it today, I can't see were I was wrong except for the time translation. (English used the past, and I used the present).
Evert, mind to give more explanations ?
Experiment and experience were synonyms in English at one point in time, but not for centuries. Now they have completely different meanings. An experiment is always a test of some sort, yet an experience is anything anybody undergoes.
FMC: I would have loved to tease you while eating an ice cream ^^
Heh, i don't see why!
An experiment is always a test of some sort, yet an experience is anything anybody undergoes.
That's why. In French we would use the same word for both situations, as in the following examples:
-L'expérience a mal tourné, les composants chimiques n'étaient pas stables.
-Le parcours du combattant est très dur, comme j'ai pu en faire l'expérience durant ma préparation militaire.
In French we would use the same word for both situations
I stand corrected!
Interesting, in that case the post-French translation would always be ambiguous and would need some interpretation based on context (since and experience can't be "wrong" that might have been a way, but once "experience" slipped into the English it stayed there since it was part of the sentence at that point).
Now that's interesting. It seems the main problem is indeed the lack of context. Machines can translate well in some situations by not having a context(eg. sentence #1), but humans tend to change them. The thing is that everyone obviously tried to preserve the meaning. The main problem obviously was the ambiguous terms--where some languages have different ways to denominate the same thing, others have only 1 word. Or the same word that can be used for different purposes.
The problem with some of the translations was the "human factor" of guessing the context IMO. I knew everyone would be unsure of their performance without knowing the context. But you had to be under the same unfair circumstances as the Bad Translator.
Most of the mistakes in the translations were because of that, and I'm sure 10 different translators of the same language would have had different results without knowing the context.
That said, I wish I could put the care I put in this in my game now. So let's see if I can get some motivation flowing!
Well, I guess I suck at translating. I tried interpreting the meanings too much and I guess the originals sentences were nothing at all like I imagine. The experiment/experience thing was one of those moments. At the moment it never occurred to me that an experiment could be both fun and have negative results because i'm stuck in a lab I thought the sentence was just "telephoned" and i tried guessing the original. Maybe i should have trusted you guys more
edit: the other thing i screwed up was «à m'amener à en porter» which is a turn of phrase that i never heard before. I for some reason imagined that meant "to bring along to wear".
The problem with some of the translations was the "human factor" of guessing the context IMO.
Yes, like in sentence number 3. I'm the one who changed it from a bad situation to an uncomfortable situation 'cause I was trying to get a correct sentence while still keeping the same structure of the one I received. Since the sentence had already some changes from the original, my guessing was wrong.
Evert: great how a wrong quote can finally end to be something ever stronger in term of brain storming than the right answer itself. smootch ! :-)
These futur translators will use something like a neural network. Alice programs and others are perhaps a key to the better translator.
I would like to develop on the subject but I admit that I am not brain stuffed enough to be clear in my explanations.
Anyway if:
-it has a dynamic base of a bunch of dictionaries
-it has a translating oriented neural network based on a huge learning using a huge human feeding. Let's say it'll use a thousand translators for from each available language, each talking a different second language for mixing 'meaning' results.
-we have a million programmers and a thousand researchers in various high sci domains
It can be done !
Well, I also have thought to a system like seti@home which ask for a translation a day from each subscribers to feed the database.
Erm. Well, that's what I think the future will be.
PS: I perhaps was somewhat under piccology while writing that post, but neural networks are fascinating, ever more now we have class 1 computers at home.
Edit: plus I am now imagining that one day some could read that thread, like: "Hey, that's a fscking fascinating thread, see how it has nicely started, let's do it"
And make money with it ... piccolo, out of my minds !