Tuesday 24 April 2007

Machine translation. Don't you just love it...

If you've nothing better to do and speak the language of another country reasonably well, click on its flag in the my widget panel down there to the right and enjoy what happens to all these posts.

And then wonder what would happen if an official document -- a peace treaty, say, a writ -- were subjected to the same treatment, and cover your face with horror.

2 comments:

Chancelucky said...

Being American....it's scary enough to read what our President says in English. I would assume that translation even by machine would only improve it.

segue warning:

I am btw glad that they repealed limbo. My back was really beginning to hurt and that Harry Belafonte music they play in the background. A little bit definitely goes a long way so 1500 years of the doctrine of limbo was enough.

Charles Lambert said...

We should try it. We should type in some Bushisms, translate them and then bring them back into English and laugh hysterically at the results. And while we're about it, why not throw in some of Blair's one-liners. But maybe they're funny enough as they stand.

Apropos limbo, I'm glad you went there (I mean, to the dance reference, not the un-place itself). I thought about it but didn't quite have the courage. Maybe I should have done. As Roy Zimmerman tells his audience on the Haggard video: You're right, but wait for it...'