6 ms·

Show HN: Lost in translations – a fun app of recursive translations

24 points by Amanjeev 11y ago

midgetjones 11y ago
That's pretty cool :) Maybe you could spin the waiting time by showing the intermediary translations as they go?
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  Thanks! Indeed. I am also working on allowing users to select the intermediate translations steps and the language of choice they want to begin with (per API).
amatix 11y ago
"My hovercraft is full of eels" http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/277 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/2... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Hungarian_Phrasebook https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Hungarian_Phrasebook & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6D1YI-41ao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6D1YI-41ao
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  You get a special medal for using something from Monty Python.
- MiguelSR 11y ago
  My first try: "I'm not going to buy this Album, you will be disqualified." Then I saw this post, haha.
methou 11y ago
Using text: "Hello, i'm trying out this translation madness, I'm hoping these text won't lost." Afterwards, it has corrected my grammar: Good Day, I am trying this translation Madness, I hope that these Texts will not lose. http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/788 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/7...
imdsm 11y ago
The following goes through and comes out the end unchanged: "We are all Human beings. The Earth is our home. It is our World. We have to learn to share, before it's too late."
- metasean 11y ago
  If Amanjeev runs out of free quota, here's the link - http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1319 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1...
  - Amanjeev 11y ago
    This thing of saving the translations paid off. So at least I wasn't as bad in predicting but I still failed to estimate the free quota's limitations.
- gattilorenz 11y ago
  Interestingly enough, the Italian translation is somewhat incorrect, as it says "before it _was_ too late".
  - sepharoth213 11y ago
    I believe that's due to the comma in the original sentence that makes its meaning ambiguous: We have to learn to share, before it's too late. Could be either: We have to learn to share before it's too late. or We have to learn to share, before, it's too late. with the latter being 'it was' and the former being 'it is.' Interesting that it manages to get all the way back to the original sentence in any case.
stn 11y ago
I tried some popular quotes, there is an example: "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." was transformed to: Every time you log on to the website of the Majority, it is Time to stop and think.
rmxt 11y ago
I think this could use some non-Indo-European languages in the language chain for fun. Also, looks like all past translations are available through URL modification: http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1000 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1... by changing 1000 to 999, 1001, etc.
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  Thanks. Yes I want to add the ability to have users decide the intermediate languages. And yes the past translations are available. Thats how i wanted it to be.
Amanjeev 11y ago
Note: It seems like I am about to run out of the free quota (I see the usage as 754K characters already). I grossly underestimated. Edit: If I run out of the quota, which it looks like I will, you can use your own API key locally by using this package: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/ulit/ https://pypi.python.org/pypi/ulit/. A neat feature is that you can use Google translate API as well but it is not nearly as much fun. Update: I ran out of the quota but have emailed Yandex if I can pay a few bucks to keep it running. It seems to have under 50 mil characters, you pay about $15.
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  Another update: I think the quota will be reset at midnight moscow time (it is Sept 30th today). So, hopefully in about three hours the quota should be reset and the app shall be usable again.
metasean 11y ago
Seems like an entertaining, tech-enhanced, multi-lingual, solitary version of telephone [1]. FWIW: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" becomes "In veloce Marrone volpe Pull lazy cane" [2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers [2] http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1246 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1...
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  >>Seems like an entertaining, tech-enhanced, multi-lingual, solitary version of telephone [1]. Everyone within the family I have mentioned this idea to has called it that.
0942v8653 11y ago
Reminds me of http://ackuna.com/badtranslator http://ackuna.com/badtranslator which was way better back when you could still use Bing and Google Translate.
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  Interesting. I tried googling this before I started making this app but could not find any. I guess my google-fu is not good enough.
Timucin 11y ago
I managed to get "Sorry, language not supported by Yandex" error somehow. Is the app hitting to the API limits?
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  Yes. That is a the quota limit. Unfortunately, I never thought I'd run out since I never thought anyone would want to use it this much. 'Tis just a small experiment I did not invest much time in. Sorry.
Kiro 11y ago
Same problem as http://translationparty.com/ http://translationparty.com/, running out of API quota. Sad since it's a funny idea. Here's how Translation Party is supposed to work: https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/forcebewithyou-1.png https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/forcebe... (similar to Lost in translations).
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  Sadly, Yandex has a limit for characters in their free API. A thing I noticed is that there is no free version of Google translate but that is not as much fun as well.
pvdebbe 11y ago
Isn't this more about repeated iterations than recursive calls to itself?
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  I guess you are correct. I was trying to really find a decent phrase but I guess I failed.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
Amanjeev 11y ago
Question: Would anyone be interested in the translations (as a plain-text dump) ?
okize 11y ago
That's funny, I wrote a hubot script that does something similar a little while ago: https://github.com/okize/hubot-garble https://github.com/okize/hubot-garble
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  Neat! We should join forces: Here is mine https://github.com/amanjeev/ulit https://github.com/amanjeev/ulit
  - okize 11y ago
    That looks great! This doesn't really qualify as multiple discovery but it is funny how common it is for disparate people to have the same idea simultaneously.
    - Amanjeev 11y ago
      I was always sure I am not the only one with this idea but somehow never could find a similar web project via Google searches and never looked on Github. So, my bad.

24 points by Amanjeev 11y ago

midgetjones 11y ago

That's pretty cool :) Maybe you could spin the waiting time by showing the intermediary translations as they go?

Amanjeev 11y ago
Thanks! Indeed. I am also working on allowing users to select the intermediate translations steps and the language of choice they want to begin with (per API).

amatix 11y ago

"My hovercraft is full of eels" http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/277 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/2... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Hungarian_Phrasebook https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Hungarian_Phrasebook & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6D1YI-41ao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6D1YI-41ao

Amanjeev 11y ago
You get a special medal for using something from Monty Python.
MiguelSR 11y ago
My first try: "I'm not going to buy this Album, you will be disqualified." Then I saw this post, haha.

methou 11y ago

Using text: "Hello, i'm trying out this translation madness, I'm hoping these text won't lost." Afterwards, it has corrected my grammar: Good Day, I am trying this translation Madness, I hope that these Texts will not lose. http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/788 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/7...

imdsm 11y ago

The following goes through and comes out the end unchanged: "We are all Human beings. The Earth is our home. It is our World. We have to learn to share, before it's too late."

metasean 11y ago
If Amanjeev runs out of free quota, here's the link - http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1319 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1...
- Amanjeev 11y ago
  This thing of saving the translations paid off. So at least I wasn't as bad in predicting but I still failed to estimate the free quota's limitations.
gattilorenz 11y ago
Interestingly enough, the Italian translation is somewhat incorrect, as it says "before it _was_ too late".
- sepharoth213 11y ago
  I believe that's due to the comma in the original sentence that makes its meaning ambiguous: We have to learn to share, before it's too late. Could be either: We have to learn to share before it's too late. or We have to learn to share, before, it's too late. with the latter being 'it was' and the former being 'it is.' Interesting that it manages to get all the way back to the original sentence in any case.

stn 11y ago

I tried some popular quotes, there is an example: "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." was transformed to: Every time you log on to the website of the Majority, it is Time to stop and think.

rmxt 11y ago

I think this could use some non-Indo-European languages in the language chain for fun. Also, looks like all past translations are available through URL modification: http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1000 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1... by changing 1000 to 999, 1001, etc.

Amanjeev 11y ago
Thanks. Yes I want to add the ability to have users decide the intermediate languages. And yes the past translations are available. Thats how i wanted it to be.

Amanjeev 11y ago

Note: It seems like I am about to run out of the free quota (I see the usage as 754K characters already). I grossly underestimated. Edit: If I run out of the quota, which it looks like I will, you can use your own API key locally by using this package: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/ulit/ https://pypi.python.org/pypi/ulit/. A neat feature is that you can use Google translate API as well but it is not nearly as much fun. Update: I ran out of the quota but have emailed Yandex if I can pay a few bucks to keep it running. It seems to have under 50 mil characters, you pay about $15.

Amanjeev 11y ago
Another update: I think the quota will be reset at midnight moscow time (it is Sept 30th today). So, hopefully in about three hours the quota should be reset and the app shall be usable again.

metasean 11y ago

Seems like an entertaining, tech-enhanced, multi-lingual, solitary version of telephone [1]. FWIW: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" becomes "In veloce Marrone volpe Pull lazy cane" [2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers [2] http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1246 http://lost-in-translations.amanjeev.com/lost-translations/1...

Amanjeev 11y ago
>>Seems like an entertaining, tech-enhanced, multi-lingual, solitary version of telephone [1]. Everyone within the family I have mentioned this idea to has called it that.

0942v8653 11y ago

Reminds me of http://ackuna.com/badtranslator http://ackuna.com/badtranslator which was way better back when you could still use Bing and Google Translate.

Amanjeev 11y ago
Interesting. I tried googling this before I started making this app but could not find any. I guess my google-fu is not good enough.

Timucin 11y ago

I managed to get "Sorry, language not supported by Yandex" error somehow. Is the app hitting to the API limits?

Amanjeev 11y ago
Yes. That is a the quota limit. Unfortunately, I never thought I'd run out since I never thought anyone would want to use it this much. 'Tis just a small experiment I did not invest much time in. Sorry.

Kiro 11y ago

Same problem as http://translationparty.com/ http://translationparty.com/, running out of API quota. Sad since it's a funny idea. Here's how Translation Party is supposed to work: https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/forcebewithyou-1.png https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/forcebe... (similar to Lost in translations).

Amanjeev 11y ago
Sadly, Yandex has a limit for characters in their free API. A thing I noticed is that there is no free version of Google translate but that is not as much fun as well.

pvdebbe 11y ago

Isn't this more about repeated iterations than recursive calls to itself?

Amanjeev 11y ago
I guess you are correct. I was trying to really find a decent phrase but I guess I failed.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

Amanjeev 11y ago

Question: Would anyone be interested in the translations (as a plain-text dump) ?

okize 11y ago

That's funny, I wrote a hubot script that does something similar a little while ago: https://github.com/okize/hubot-garble https://github.com/okize/hubot-garble

Amanjeev 11y ago
Neat! We should join forces: Here is mine https://github.com/amanjeev/ulit https://github.com/amanjeev/ulit
- okize 11y ago
  That looks great! This doesn't really qualify as multiple discovery but it is funny how common it is for disparate people to have the same idea simultaneously.
  - Amanjeev 11y ago
    I was always sure I am not the only one with this idea but somehow never could find a similar web project via Google searches and never looked on Github. So, my bad.