Google translate

[chris]

Google translate can be helpful but I've noticed that it usually translates using the formal. Is there some way that it can be programmed to write in formal or informal? Is it the only free translation program?

 

[fifs2]

Google translate can be helpful but I've noticed that it usually translates using the formal. Is there some way that it can be programmed to write in formal or informal? Is it the only free translation program?

Chris, as Google itself pays millions of dollars per year to human translators you can imagine that no MT (machine translation) has not yet evolved enough to handle all types or all style of content. It does handle very structured language structures so more and more SW and Help or IT documentation is being processed but MT engines BUT it is still corrected by qualified translators to make it ready for market. I know this since my industry is indeed translation (or localization which is translation for the tech industry) so we work for Google, Oracle, etc using MT engines but use more sophisticated engines like Systrans which are fedwith huge dictionaries to make the results more effective.
There are lots of free translation tools..just google "free machine translation" and you can get access to them...but the results are much the same and sad to say Google is pretty good in comparison to many.

 

[Rease]

While it is not good for full phrases and verb conjugation, I find that wordreference.com is by far the best translation website. It always includes various words marked by the countries that use them. It also has a forum, so a lot of times when you have casual slang you need translated, you can just do a quick search and a forum post will pop up.

 

[rrptownley]

I use a mix of wordreference (especially the forums for turn of phrase and word play) and spanishdict as it has multiple translate engines that you can compare. This solves all my needs for business letters and presentations.

 

[chris]

Chris, as Google itself pays millions of dollars per year to human translators you can imagine that no MT (machine translation) has not yet evolved enough to handle all types or all style of content. It does handle very structured language structures so more and more SW and Help or IT documentation is being processed but MT engines BUT it is still corrected by qualified translators to make it ready for market. I know this since my industry is indeed translation (or localization which is translation for the tech industry) so we work for Google, Oracle, etc using MT engines but use more sophisticated engines like Systrans which are fedwith huge dictionaries to make the results more effective.
There are lots of free translation tools..just google "free machine translation" and you can get access to them...but the results are much the same and sad to say Google is pretty good in comparison to many.

Surely there is the technology available to distinguish between formal and informal. This is basic to Spanish and I should think that Google could improve on this. I don't expect the translation to be perfect.

 

[va2ba]

Surely there is the technology available to distinguish between formal and informal. This is basic to Spanish and I should think that Google could improve on this. I don't expect the translation to be perfect.

Just because you think it should be easy for google to do, doesn't mean that it is. I would much rather have it translate the formal, and know that it is the formal rather than take my chances and accidentally use an informal translation when I needed the formal one.

 

[xibeca]

Chris, as Google itself pays millions of dollars per year to human translators

Yeah right.

 

[Alex_H]

As the type of man who generally doesn't like to know how his sausages were made I have no idea how I came across this but after reading it I definitely think some translations I've been give back over the last few months have been pivoted through farsi - http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...tures/how-google-translate-works-2353594.html

 

[fifs2]

Yeah right.

If you're in the localization industry and have a contract with them you'd know exactly how many millions they spend per language..in more than 200 languages but then my company works for them and I'm a friend of the VP of procurement..

 

[Johnny]

How come I don't get the google translate option when I right click when using Firefox ? Almost as irritating as the mosquitoes.