3 ms·
I'd say the answer was "yes" to "Can Google Help Translate," but decisively "no" to "Can Google Translate a Classic Novel?" The interesting thing to me is that
by sevensor 10y ago
I'd say the answer was "yes" to "Can Google Help Translate," but decisively "no" to "Can Google Translate a Classic Novel?" The interesting thing to me is that Google can supply reliable translations of stock phrases, which helps the translator identify them. More unusual constructions stand out because the translation is nonsensical in context.
- cfmcdonald 10y agoNot according to the author of the article: "No, Google Translate was in no way useful to my translation of the 1956 Argentine novel Zama: let's get that out of the way first thing."
- lucozade 10y agoBut that's just poor English on the part of the author. The question she was really answering was "Did Google Help Translate a Classic Novel?". To which the answer, in her case, was no. My guess is that that may be because she is fluent in Spanish and English and is a professional translator. For the rest of us mortals who do occasionally attempt to read classic works in their original language, the answer to the headline is often "Yes, though not particularly well, but better than me".