Monday, July 19, 2010

Lost in Translation: 葡萄乾編年史*


While few Americans speak a foreign language, people from other countries do, and often that language is English.

And one of the things these polyglots enjoy doing with their English skills (apparently) is reading blogs.

Unfortunately, either through shyness, or because English is easier to read than to write, they leave their comments in their native language. Insatiably curious woman that I am, I run these comments through Babel fish.

Here's Babel Fish's interpretation of a comment on my Glad(well) You Asked post:

Good likes your tribe standard, just got off work, must go to rest!!! Breaking off

Thanks for stopping by, try to get some sleep....

On When a Man's Home Really Is His Castle:

Certainly must maintain the full fine yo, refuels!!! Anticipated you publish new article!

Thanks--stop by anytime!

AND

The knowledge may teach, the wisdom is not actually good. Each person must become him.

Everyone has a right to his own opinion....


And to Fiction Friday's excursion into computer analysis of writing style:

Love is one kind of invention, needs to improve unceasingly. Is only, this kind of invention and other inventions are dissimilar, it does not have the patent, momentarily will be robbed by the human.

If there were only a Metaphor Fish....

*This is what comes back if you run "Raisin Chronicles" through Babel Fish (into traditional Chinese). If you then translate it into English again, it comes out "Raisin Annals."

That works.

9 comments:

  1. Much better than what I have found in translation of comments. I usually get an ad for male enhancement.

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  2. I never thought about running those chinese comments through a translator. How funny.

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  3. My comments are usually translated into "You are obviously insane" or "You are really an ass-hat".

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  4. I'm with Jeanie - mine are for male enhancement or some sort of skin ailment cure. Nothing fun like yours.

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  5. I love that you did this. Those comments drive me nuts. I usually delete them. I just assumed they were obscene.

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  6. It is so nice to know that there is a place on the internet where we can inquire about things we don't understand and get an answer that makes even less sense.
    :)
    Makes my day!

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  7. Oh that was funny! I don't very many comments in chinese but now I am just itchin' to get one! The intrigue! - G

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  8. The only foreign-language comments I've ever had have been full of links - at which point I'm afraid I delete without reading. Your approach is far more entertaining.

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  9. LOL, I am getting them all the time on my InsNOutsofE and one person said 'practice what you preach', lol, and it was about moving my site to TMI, I was like WTF...

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