| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Off topic: Witty response for client who ran your translation through Google Translate Thread poster: Mirja Maletzki
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pcovs
Denmark
Local time: 13:54
English to Danish
| I would refuse to comment on this | May 21, 2011 |
When presented with a clearcut case of MT of this (lacking) quality, I politely but firmly refuse to spend any time whatsoever commenting on it, because it makes absolutely no sense and is a complete waste of my time.
Don't be rude, but explain the client in no uncertain terms that the "BT" has nothing to do with real life language, and as such there would be no point in you commenting on it. You should put in a couple of examples of what you mean, so that the client understands tha... See more When presented with a clearcut case of MT of this (lacking) quality, I politely but firmly refuse to spend any time whatsoever commenting on it, because it makes absolutely no sense and is a complete waste of my time.
Don't be rude, but explain the client in no uncertain terms that the "BT" has nothing to do with real life language, and as such there would be no point in you commenting on it. You should put in a couple of examples of what you mean, so that the client understands that this is not just you being difficult or wanting to get off easy, but that it is really not a true reflection of your work.
Good luck.
[Edited at 2011-05-21 18:18 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Russell Jones 
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:54
Italian to English
Krzysztof Kajetanowicz wrote:
"Google Translate is the going joke in the translation world. It just doesn't do the job. It's like having a German play cricket."
Really! Have you tried it recently? Henry (Dotterer) has been urging us to consider it recently. In the hands of the uninitiated it is a time-bomb but for a linguist it is a major time-saver - in some language pairs anyway!
| | | | | I agree with Russell | May 21, 2011 |
I put part of my wife's thesis through google translate (German-English) and I was amazed at how good it came out. I think this might have a lot to do with the language pair though.
As for the original poster's issue, you could put the Korean original through google translate (into English) and then send it to him and ask him what he thinks (on the condition that it comes out bad).
I would be careful though. He might put your witty response into google translate and then you w... See more I put part of my wife's thesis through google translate (German-English) and I was amazed at how good it came out. I think this might have a lot to do with the language pair though.
As for the original poster's issue, you could put the Korean original through google translate (into English) and then send it to him and ask him what he thinks (on the condition that it comes out bad).
I would be careful though. He might put your witty response into google translate and then you will be in real trouble.
Thanks for posting this though, hilarious! ▲ Collapse
| | | | #JuliaC#
Local time: 13:54
German to Italian
+ ...
| Ehi... wait a minute | May 21, 2011 |
I agree that google translate may sometimes sort out to be a successfull translator. But, in this case, we're talking about a human person who spent his/her time working on a project. And then, she has been indirectly compared to a machine... If this is the condition...nothing's worth the effort. I mean, if somebody tells me to do a translation and then tells me "But Google translate says something else".... Well... my witty response is... "I'm not google, I simply translate... and if you don't ... See more I agree that google translate may sometimes sort out to be a successfull translator. But, in this case, we're talking about a human person who spent his/her time working on a project. And then, she has been indirectly compared to a machine... If this is the condition...nothing's worth the effort. I mean, if somebody tells me to do a translation and then tells me "But Google translate says something else".... Well... my witty response is... "I'm not google, I simply translate... and if you don't like it... have a nice relationships with your google tranlator's mate" ▲ Collapse
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Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 12:54
| This has been bothering me ever since you posted! | May 22, 2011 |
The underlying issue here seems to be that your client does not "trust" your translation, and this may be because operating manuals have been - and continue to be badly translated.
(Let us assume you have done a good, thorough job, and the client has no reason to doubt the quality of your work.)
It seems that your client does not understand German. Could this be the reason for his lack of confidence - and resorting to a very unreliable method of checking it?
The... See more The underlying issue here seems to be that your client does not "trust" your translation, and this may be because operating manuals have been - and continue to be badly translated.
(Let us assume you have done a good, thorough job, and the client has no reason to doubt the quality of your work.)
It seems that your client does not understand German. Could this be the reason for his lack of confidence - and resorting to a very unreliable method of checking it?
The fact: You were contracted to do a Korean to German translation.
It is reasonable to request that queries be restricted to these two languages. It is your use of German, and only this (in relation to the Korean ST) that can be questioned.
If the client wants a Korean to English, or German to English translation, this falls beyond the scope of your contracted job.
In other words, you have been second-guessed - and by, arguably, one of the worst "translators" in the world!
You need to restore your client's confidence in your translation.
By all means give him short examples of how misleading Google Translate can be, as others have suggested, but restrict it to the language pair you were contracted to translate.
Perhaps one more permutation could be this:
Put some of your Korean source text through the Google transcombobulator and have it spit out German. Feel free to choose all the "difficult bits". Choose, perhaps, three or four examples.
Table with two columns: 1 = Google output 2 = your lovely translation
Then you can annotate and explain to the client just where Google went wrong - and why Google is not a reliable checking method. Even if this explanation has to be made in English, it will go a long way to demonstrate to the client that you are 1) a professional, and 2) Google is most likely to be wrong.
We, as human translators (with imagination, intuition, cultural knowledge, technical know-how. and frequently, jolly good ideas!) absolutely have to avoid Google Translate becoming the final arbitrator in any quality assessment of any translation.
As others have mentioned, Google Translate and other MT has its place - as a tool to be used by those with the appropriate training and experience - and not as the final be-all and end-all of everything!
I love to laugh, to joke, and to play. Your case may well be an isolated one now, but this phenomenon could well spin out of control, and cause many translators many headaches,
I wish you every success in winning your client over by any and all professional and amicable means.
Let us know how you resolve this issue. Good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Gerard de Noord
France
Local time: 13:54
Member (2003)
English to Dutch
+ ...
| Google Proof | May 22, 2011 |
Mirja Maletzki wrote:
Now I am looking for a witty response for this client.
Wouldn't it be funny to ask your client to check all his Google Translate translations in Google Proof before sending them to you?
Cheers,
Gerard
[Edited at 2011-05-22 09:53 GMT]
| | | | Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 13:54
English to Dutch
+ ...
| | Why don't you run his email through GT a few times and send it back to him | May 22, 2011 |
Maybe if he sees how his own words are distorted by the tool he uses he'll change his mind?
BR
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| Yeah, great idea. | May 22, 2011 |
Stanislaw Czech wrote:
Maybe if he sees how his own words are distorted by the tool he uses he'll change his mind?
BR
S
And this should convince him how much GT is unreliable.
| | | | Krzysztof Kajetanowicz (X)
Poland
Local time: 13:54
English to Polish
+ ...
| proposed reply vs. opinion | May 22, 2011 |
Russell Jones wrote: Krzysztof Kajetanowicz wrote:
"Google Translate is the going joke in the translation world. It just doesn't do the job. It's like having a German play cricket."
Really! Have you tried it recently? Henry (Dotterer) has been urging us to consider it recently. In the hands of the uninitiated it is a time-bomb but for a linguist it is a major time-saver - in some language pairs anyway!
Well, I wasn't expressing my opinion on Google Translate. It was a witty (presumedly) reply to the client, don't care if true or not
| | | | | Let him run the original | May 22, 2011 |
If he's a native English speaker, ask him to run the original Korean text through Google Translate KR-EN and see the garbage it will almost certainly spit out (somehow GT is extra-awful for Asian languages). If that doesn't convince him, nothing will.
| | | | Celine Gras
France
Local time: 13:54
English to French
+ ...
| You could... | May 23, 2011 |
...direct your client to an online German>English dictionary and ask him to look up the word Achtung? He will then see that Achtung is translated as Caution and that "oops" never appears in the picture.
What do you think?
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kmtext
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:54
English
+ ...
| Don't try to be witty. | May 23, 2011 |
I agree with Allison.
Another point is that all this extra work of proving to your client is taking up a lot of your time and energy.
As other posters have said, I'd recommend suggesting that your client pay for a back translation - or at least a qualified second opinion on your translation, and also that he/she feed some of their own text through GT so they can see just how unreliable it can be.
| | | | Ania Heasley
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:54
English to Polish
+ ...
| You can always send him ... | May 23, 2011 |
... the link to this forum topic to give him a full picture
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Antipodean wrote: Run your translation through GT again and results may be different, sometimes unexplainable. For example, when I put "Einstellung - Datum" through GT, it gives:  If you put "Achtung" (without !), GT gives:  But if you include "!", GT gives:  If your client trusts GT then only GT can take away their trust.
Genious
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