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Google Translate, Pushkin, and human cognition
Thread poster: Susan Welsh
Susan Welsh
Susan Welsh  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 15:09
Russian to English
+ ...
Jan 31, 2018

I found this article on "The Shallowness of Google Translate" interesting: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/01/the-shallowness-of-google-translate/551570/

It's very easy to bash GT, although it is a useful tool and getting better all the time (DEEPL is even better for German and a few other languages). But t... See more
I found this article on "The Shallowness of Google Translate" interesting: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/01/the-shallowness-of-google-translate/551570/

It's very easy to bash GT, although it is a useful tool and getting better all the time (DEEPL is even better for German and a few other languages). But this article is thoughtful and impassioned, from a guy who translated "Evgeny Onegin" in years past. With reference to that project, he concludes his article: "When, one day, a translation engine crafts an artistic novel in verse in English, using precise rhyming iambic tetrameter rich in wit, pathos, and sonic verve, then I’ll know it’s time for me to tip my hat and bow out." ▲ Collapse
 
Max Deryagin
Max Deryagin  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 00:09
Member (2013)
English to Russian
- Jan 31, 2018

Susan Welsh wrote:

I found this article on "The Shallowness of Google Translate" interesting: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/01/the-shallowness-of-google-translate/551570/

It's very easy to bash GT, although it is a useful tool and getting better all the time (DEEPL is even better for German and a few other languages). But this article is thoughtful and impassioned, from a guy who translated "Evgeny Onegin" in years past. With reference to that project, he concludes his article: "When, one day, a translation engine crafts an artistic novel in verse in English, using precise rhyming iambic tetrameter rich in wit, pathos, and sonic verve, then I’ll know it’s time for me to tip my hat and bow out."


Thanks for sharing the article — it's quite an interesting read!
 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 21:09
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
No need to go that far... Jan 31, 2018

It doesn't have to get to a level to use precise rhyming iambic tetrameter rich in wit, pathos, and sonic verve. Simply a longer sentence or a sentence with idiomatic expression will be enough to confuse it, at least in my language pair. It still manages some sort of accuracy on common individual words and short phrases, or small and simple sentences - the kind of sentences used by 2-3 year olds.
 
Susan Welsh
Susan Welsh  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 15:09
Russian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
please move to Machine Translation forum Feb 1, 2018

This topic was also posted by another person to the MT forum - https://www.proz.com/forum/machine_translation_mt/322534-a_devastating_critique_of_machine_translation.html - where its placement makes more sense. I didn't know this PEMT forum existed, and posted it here by mistake.

Please post future comments to that fo... See more
This topic was also posted by another person to the MT forum - https://www.proz.com/forum/machine_translation_mt/322534-a_devastating_critique_of_machine_translation.html - where its placement makes more sense. I didn't know this PEMT forum existed, and posted it here by mistake.

Please post future comments to that forum, as it makes more sense there than here, where there is no moderator and where the heading is "art of translation." PEMT is not exactly an art.

I tried to delete this post, but was unable.

Susan ▲ Collapse
 


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Google Translate, Pushkin, and human cognition







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