Babelize it!

Rybka

Nit pick; pearl too!
Joined
Jan 6, 2002
Posts
2,449
We had a thread about this quite some time ago, but I don’t remember if this is the program we used:


The idea is to take a piece of verse or well known saying and translate it back and forth between English and several different languages. Try it and see what you get. :)

Original English Text:
I think that I shall never see
a poem as lovely as a tree.

Translated to Japanese:
私は私が決して木程に美しい詩を見ないと考える。

Translated back to English:
I think that you do not look at the poem where I never am beautiful in
about the tree.

Translated to Chinese:
我认为, 您不看诗我从未上午美好在大约结构树。

Translated back to English:
I believed that, you do not look at the poem I never morning happily
in approximately the structure tree.

Translated to French:
J'ai cru cela, vous ne regarde jamais le matin de la poésie I
heureusement dans approximativement l'arbre de structure.

Translated back to English:
I believed that, never looks at you the morning of poetry I
fortunately in roughly the tree of structure.

Translated to German:
Ich glaubte dem, betrachte Sie nie der Morgen von Poesie I
glücklicherweise ungefähr im Baum der Struktur.

Translated back to English:
I believed that, regard you never the morning of poetry I fortunately
approximately in the tree of the structure.

Translated to Italian:
Ho creduto quello, non li considero mai la mattina della poesia I
fortunatamente approssimativamente nell'albero della struttura.

Translated back to English:
I have believed that one, I never do not consider them the morning of
the poetry fortunately approximately in the tree of the structure.

Translated to Portuguese:
Eu acreditei esse, mim nunca não os considero a manhã da poesia
felizmente aproximadamente na árvore da estrutura.

Translated back to English:
I believed this, me never I do not consider them the morning of the
poetry happily approximately in the tree of the structure.

Translated to Spanish:
Creí esto, yo nunca que no los considero la mañana de la poesía
feliz aproximadamente en el árbol de la estructura.

Translated back to English:
I never believed this, that I approximately do not consider the
morning of the happy poetry in the tree of the structure.
 
Rybka
that was very very cool. Thank you for the fun...
du lac~
 
Amusing. I think it's a good way of writing post modern poetry and there will actually be critics that take the whole process seriously. :rolleyes:

But on a serious note, I think it proves a computer will never be able to substitute a human translator. Languages despite having gramatical rules don't have a mathmatical foundation and therefore can't be computed. A translator of poetry apart from being a translator, also needs to be a poet of some calibre as poetry is not so much translated as recreated in another language.
 
Back
Top