Search results for 'tag:Colons tag:Translation' matching tags 'Colons' and 'Translation'

Google translation

Cool Breeze — Wed, 21 May 2008 08:49:40 GMT

Google now offers a free translation service as part of its search engine. I'll give you an example of an English to Finnish translation. This is the original English text:

The author, N. Taiwo, employs a very unique approach that uncovers the root causes (underlying factors) that produce or erode respect between people. The result is a powerful revelation that offers a profound look into human behavior and thought processes that will reshape the reader's thinking.

The concept of Respect is presented in a whole new light and perspective, and a strong case is made about the role Respect plays in shaping and fostering success in life. Parents, couples, young adults and professionals stand to benefit greatly from this innovative and intriguing self-empowerment book on respect.

The Finnish translation comes next. Perfectly correct Finnish is in black, slightly incorrect but intelligible is in green, badly incorrect but more or less intelligible is in blue, and unintelligible "Finnish" is in red.

Kirjailija, N. Taiwo, tyÃ¶llistÃ¤Ã¤ hyvin ainutlaatuinen lÃ¤hestymistapa, joka paljastaa, ettÃ¤ juuri syitÃ¤ (taustalla olevat tekijÃ¤t), jotka tuottavat tai heikentÃ¤isi kunnioitusta ihmisten vÃ¤lillÃ¤. Tuloksena on tehokas paljastuksen, joka tarjoaa syvÃ¤n tutkia ihmisten kÃ¤yttÃ¤ytymistÃ¤ ja ajattelin prosesseja, jotka muuttavat lukijalle: n ajattelua.

KÃ¤site Kunnioitus on esitetty kokonaisuudessaan uudessa valossa ja nÃ¤kÃ¶kulma, ja vahva tapaus on tehty noin roolin kunnioittaminen soittaa muotoiluun ja edistÃ¤Ã¤ menestystÃ¤ elÃ¤mÃ¤ssÃ¤. Vanhemmat, pariskunnat, nuoret aikuiset ja ammattilaiset stand hyÃ¶dyttÃ¤Ã¤ suuresti tÃ¤tÃ¤ innovatiivista ja nauttimisen omanarvontunnon kirjan osalta.

Many of the mistakes are errors in inflections. I cannot think of a reason for some errors, such as lukijalle: n ajattelua. I have no idea what has made the programme resort to a colon followed by an n! The programme hasn't even tried to translate stand in the last sentence. My initial intention was to try to "translate" the Finnish version back into equally poor English but I decided to relinquish the idea due to the completely different natures of the two languages. It is an impossible task as there are so few inflections in English. Even a very bad English version I would produce would inevitably be far better than the Finnish the machine offers. Despite some correct words, the Finnish is unintelligible and the reader will have no conception of what the writer is trying to get across.

I trust that programmes like this will improve with time, though. No doubt people at Google are aware of the standard of the "translations" but think that the poor quality doesn't matter. They may be right. No one can take a translator like this seriously now. Anyone can send in their suggested improvements if they want to. These improvements don't cost Google a penny and yet their product becomes better. Enough small imrovements over a long period of time may mean translations that are intelligible even though they are a far cry from perfect.

Cheers, CB

At the doctor's

Hela — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:46:18 GMT

Dear teachers,

Hereâs a text I tried to translate. I have proposed many translations for several French sentences; would you please tell me which ones fit best? And I would be grateful if you could tell me if the words between parentheses should be added to the translation.

I thank you very much for your patience. TEXT:â Bonjour, jeune homme. Quâest-ce qui ne va pas?- Eh bien ! docteur, je me sens fatiguÃ© depuis une quinzaine de jours et je ne dors pas trÃ¨s bien.- Quâest-ce que vous faites, monsieur ? Vous Ãªtes Ã©tudiant ?- Oui, docteur, et je suis en pleine prÃ©paration dâexamen.- Ah ! un peu de surmenage sans doute. Otez votre chemise, je vais vous ausculter. Respirez fort... Vous avez quel Ã¢ge ?- Je vais avoir 19 ans.- ArrÃªtez de respirer... Vous ne sortez pas trop le soir ?- Oh non ! docteur, je nâai pas le temps !- Toussez... Vous fumez ?- Oui, un paquet de cigarettes par jour, Ã peu prÃ¨s.- Plus ou moins ?- Eh bien ! quelquefois un peu plus dâun paquet; mais je nâavale pas la fumÃ©e.-Câest trop pour votre Ã¢ge, croyez-moi. Vous devriez rÃ©duire au moins de moitiÃ©. Et mÃªme si vous pouviez arrÃªter de fumer Ã§a serait trÃ¨s bien. Votre pouls est un peu lent. Vous faites beaucoup de sport ?- Oui, en temps ordinaire. De la natation et du volley.- Montez sur la balance... 60 kg. Câest peu. Vous avez bon appÃ©tit?- Non, on ne peut pas dire Ã§a. Â» TRANSLATION :Â« Good morning, young man. (1) What seems to be the matter / (2) Whatâs the matter / (3) Whatâs wrong?â

âWell, Doctor, I have been feeling tired for the last/past fortnight/fifteen/a couple of days, and

(1) I havenât been sleeping well / (2) I donât sleep very well.ââ(1) What do you do (for a living) / (2) What is your occupation, sir? Are you a student?ââYes, Doctor, and (1) I am (right) in the middle of my exam revision/preparations / (2) at the moment/presently I am (busy) revising/preparing/getting ready for my exams.âOh!/Ah/Eh/Hum hum (?), (1) You must be a little overworked / (2) you must have overworked yourself / (3) A little overworked I suppose / (4) A little overwork, no doubt. (5) Take off your shirt, I will examine you / (6) Will you take off your shirt, please? I'm going to examine you. (7) Breathe deeply (please) / (8) Take a deep breath... How old are you?ââI am (1) going on (for) / (2) nearly nineteen / (3) I'm going to be 19.ââHold your breath / Stop breathing... (1) You donât go out too often at night/in the evening, do you? / (2) Do you often go out in the evening?ââOh, no, Doctor, I have no time / donât have time for that.ââCough, (please?)... Do you smoke?ââYes, about a pack of cigarettes / one packet a day.ââMore or less?â

âWell, sometimes a little/bit more than one pack / a packet; (but) I donât inhale (the smoke) (though).â [is it possible to have a semi colon before âbutâ?]

âThatâs/Itâs (far) too much for your age, believe me. You should (at least) cut it down (at least) by half (at least) [where should the adverb be placed?]. And if you could stop smoking altogether that would be great/excellent/a very good thing. Your pulse/heart beat is a little slow. Do you exercise a lot / practise a lot of sport?ââ (1) Yes, I usually/normally do. I swim and play volley ball. / (2) As a rule, yes. Swimming and volley ball.ââGet on / Step onto the scales (please)... 60 kilos. Itâs not much. Do you have a good appetite?ââNo, one/I canât say (that) I eat a lot / much.â

Hela

Re: Is this grammatically correct?

Avangi — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:07:56 GMT

Tbsukt wrote:
1) A new year is at the open with new joys and new opportunities. As they always say, carpe Diem, seize the day! Live each day to the fullest but never forget to save some time for both your bodies and souls to rest.

2) Your friendship and loyalty to one another inspires me. Cherish what you have, I trust you won't let anything or anyone come between you.

Any comments would be very appreciated

Thank you.

Hi.

You've created a new expression - "coined a new phrase!" It's perfectly clear what you mean by "at the open", but I've never heard it. I hate to mess with your poetry. Perhaps, "A new year presents/offers a new opening for new joys and new opportunities." (Too many "new's"?) "A new year is wide open for new joys and new opportunities." [You'll just have to find something else that works for you.]

You'll probably need quotes around "carpe Diem." I really don't know what's supposed to be capitalized there, or what the correct form is for setting off the translation.

In the imperative the subject is understood to be "you", but is it singular or plural? "Bodies and souls" catches me off guard. I would have expected singular.

2. Compound subject needs the plural verb. I think you have three sentences here, unless you want to use a semi-colon.

Regards, - A.

Re: Translation into English 19/02

Hela — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 10:12:04 GMT

In French you would leave a space between a word and a semi-colon, a colon, a question mark and an exclamation mark.

By the way, there's another technical term in English for "suspention marks", what is it?

All the best

Typing punctuation in English

Guest — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 17:33:06 GMT

Hello!
I'm a French student and I have to write an essay in English. It is about translation (from English to French) and I have difficulties finding websites about the way you type punctuation in English. I know it is different from the way we type in French, but I can't find any explanations of the basic rules. Well, I've learnt a lot of grammar on that point, but I would like to know about typography; like we put a space before and after colons, semi-colons, exclamation marks, question marks, and you don't, and you used to put 2 spaces after a full stop but you don't do it anymore... this kind of things.
thank you very much for all you can teach me!
(don't forget to tell me your sources if can so that I can put them in the bibliography of my essay)