Online translators

Does anyone use a translator to talk to opponents who do not speak English? I tried using http://freetranslation.imtranslator.net/ to talk to an Italian guy but I'm not sure it worked well as he didn't answer!

You should warn him that you are using a translator. Try translating what you said in Italian back to english-sometimes the translation tools make some humorous mistakes.

Good idea. I might accidentally say something really offensive!

I put Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" into Japanese and back using Google Translate, for an extreme example of how imprecise automatic translators are:

Yellow branches in the woods two roads
And sorry I could not move both
And there stood a long time, but a traveler
I looked down one as far as possible
The place to turn to the undergrowth.
Then, just as fair, it took another
A claim and perhaps more
Wanted because it was worn grass.
So like, passing through it
They were actually wearing the same as
That morning equally lay both
Has stepped on the foot was black leaves.
Oh, I keep the first for another day!
However, the method knows how to lead the way
Whether I come back I have ever doubted.
I sighed, saying this should be
Somewhere ages and ages hence:



Two roads, branching in the woods and I -
I have to travel less
That was all the difference

Originally posted by EinZweiDrei
I put Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" into Japanese and back using Google Translate, for an extreme example of how imprecise automatic translators are:

Yellow branches in the woods two roads
And sorry I could not move both
And there stood a long time, but a traveler
I looked down one as far as possible
The place to turn to the undergrowth.
Th ...[text shortened]... Two roads, branching in the woods and I -
I have to travel less
That was all the difference

autotranslating via a third language is like hitting a hammer with another hammer, and hoping it'll fly accross a room and accidentally hit a nail fully in with one perfect hit.

that's not how hammers were meant to be used.

using autotranslating as they were meant to be used, produces surprisingly understandable results. especially with languages that are so similar as english & italian. some things get lost in translation, but that happens even with human translations. english to japanese is a whole another story, but that's just because english is such a weird language filled with random exceptions. 🙂 (which also makes english learning material for japanese almost useless)

Originally posted by EinZweiDrei
I put Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" into Japanese and back using Google Translate, for an extreme example of how imprecise automatic translators are:

Yellow branches in the woods two roads
And sorry I could not move both
And there stood a long time, but a traveler
I looked down one as far as possible
The place to turn to the undergrowth.
Th ...[text shortened]... Two roads, branching in the woods and I -
I have to travel less
That was all the difference

Not really all that bad

Tried again using http://translate.google.com/#
This seems much better than the translator I used before.
Here's the original English in for comparison.

Original English:

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Translated into Japanese and then back again using http://translate.google.com/#

Two roads, branching in the amber forest
And sorry I could not move both
And there stood a long time, but a traveler
I look down and the only one possible
To turn the weed anywhere.
Then, just as fair, it took another
And having perhaps the better claim
It is worn so that the grass is wanted.
It's as if a passing
Actually wore them as much as
That morning equally lay both
Has had trodden black leaves step.
Oh, I keep the first for another day!
However, the method knows how to lead the way
Whether I come back I have ever doubted.
I sighed, saying this should be
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads, branching in the woods and I -
I have to travel less
And that was all the difference.


Sorry I put this in the wrong forum. Happened to be in 'Only Chess' when I thought of it.