MT: Google Translator

Google Translate is a service provided by Google Inc  to translate a section of text, or a webpage, into another language. The service limits the number of paragraphs, or range of technical terms, that will be translated. It is also possible to enter searches in a source language that are first translated to a destination language allowing you to browse and interpret results from the selected destination language in the source language.

Google Translate, like other automatic translation tools, has its limitations. While it can help the reader to understand the general content of a foreign language text, it does not always deliver accurate translations. Some languages produce better results than others.

Text 1

Mississippi tornado kills 10

Thousands left without power as state governor describes scenes of ‘utter obliteration’

A deadly tornado swept through the US state of Mississippi yesterday, killing at least 10 people including three children.

The state governor, Haley Barbour, described scenes of “utter obliteration” after the high winds tore roofs off buildings and flipped cars. Thousands of people were without electricity, and downed power lines and trees blocked roads.

Tornadoes were also reported in Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama, and the severe weather continued to move north-east today as winds tore down trees in Georgia.

Essie Hendrix, manager of the Peebles department store in hard-hit Yazoo City, Mississippi, said she and other employees were inside with about 15 customers when the tornado struck.

“It was like a rumbling and a roaring and stuff was falling,” she said. “It sounded like it was going to suck us out of there. It lasted about two minutes, but it felt like it lasted an hour.” No one in the store was injured.

In Choctaw County, the victims included children aged three months, nine and 14. Authorities were going house-to-house in areas with the worst damage to check for any injured.

Jim Pollard, a spokesman for the American Medical Response ambulance service, said four patients from Yazoo County were airlifted and around 20 others were taken to hospitals. At least four people were in critical condition.

MT

Mississippi tornado mata a 10

Miles quedaron sin electricidad como gobernador del estado se describen escenas de la “destrucción total”
Un tornado mortal se extendió por el estado de Mississippi EE.UU. ayer, matando al menos a 10 personas, entre ellas tres niños.
El gobernador del estado, Haley Barbour, describieron escenas de “destrucción total” después de los fuertes vientos arrancaron techos de edificios y volcó automóviles. Miles de personas se quedaron sin electricidad, y derribó líneas eléctricas y árboles bloquearon las carreteras.
Los tornados fueron reportados en Luisiana, Arkansas y Alabama, y el mal tiempo continuó moviéndose al noreste de hoy cuando los vientos derribaron árboles en Georgia.
Essie Hendrix, gerente de la tienda por departamentos en Peebles más afectadas Yazoo City, Mississippi, dijo que ella y otros empleados estaban en el interior con unos 15 clientes cuando el tornado golpeó.
“Fue como un rugido y un estruendo y cosas estaba cayendo”, dijo. “Sonó como si nos iba a chupar de allí. Duró unos dos minutos, pero se sentía como que duró una hora.” Nadie en la tienda resultó herido.
En el condado de Choctaw, entre las víctimas había niños de tres meses, nueve y 14. Las autoridades iban de casa en casa en las zonas con los peores daños a comprobar que no existen heridos.
Jim Pollard, un portavoz del servicio de ambulancias American Medical Response, dijo que cuatro pacientes del condado de Yazoo fueron transportados en avión y alrededor de otras 20 personas fueron llevadas a hospitales. Al menos cuatro personas se encontraban en estado crítico.

Text 2

Las 22 gafas de sol que desearás esta temporada

Las gafas de sol son uno de los accesorios clave del verano, no sólo desde el punto de vista estrictamente práctico, que también, sino por el componente estético que las marcas se esfuerzan en acentuar en cada colección.

Esta temporada, al fin podemos afirmar que ha acabado la poco elegante tendencia de estampar los maxilogos para dejar paso a una silueta retro, con lentes bastante grandes y patillas estrechas que destilan elegancia y feminidad. Las gafas se han convertido en un objeto que se colecciona, de ahí que las firmas tiendan a apostar por la atemporalidad como base de las líneas maestras de sus colecciones.

Para que no te pierdas entre la amplísima oferta que empieza a atestar las tiendas, hemos hecho el trabajo de selección y aquí está el resultado: 22 gafas bellas, prácticas, elegantes pero con un twist para que este verano todas las miradas se depositen en ti.Las gafas de sol son uno de los accesorios clave del verano, no sólo desde el punto de vista estrictamente práctico, que también, sino por el componente estético que las marcas se esfuerzan en acentuar en cada colección.

Esta temporada, al fin podemos afirmar que ha acabado la poco elegante tendencia de estampar los maxilogos para dejar paso a una silueta retro, con lentes bastante grandes y patillas estrechas que destilan elegancia y feminidad. Las gafas se han convertido en un objeto que se colecciona, de ahí que las firmas tiendan a apostar por la atemporalidad como base de las líneas maestras de sus colecciones.

Para que no te pierdas entre la amplísima oferta que empieza a atestar las tiendas, hemos hecho el trabajo de selección y aquí está el resultado: 22 gafas bellas, prácticas, elegantes pero con un twist para que este verano todas las miradas se depositen en ti.

MT

The 22 sunglasses you’ll want this season

Sunglasses are a key accessory of the summer, not only from a strictly practical point of view, also, but for the aesthetic component brands strive to emphasize in each collection.

This season, we can finally claim to have finished the nifty little stamp the maxilogos tendency to make way for a retro silhouette, with fairly large lenses and pin narrow exude elegance and femininity. The glasses have become an object that collects, which is why firms tend to opt for the timeless as the basis for the broad lines of their collections.

For you do not miss from a vast range begins to crowd the stores, we made the selection work and here is the result: 22 glasses beautiful, practical, elegant but with a twist to this summer, all eyes are placed in you .

Text 3

Beautiful blood orange beverage

Blood oranges have their own perfumed unique flavour alongside their striking, vivid, scarlet interiors. There is something endlessly charming about the fact each one is different in shade and intensity; some are coloured with just the faintest shade of pastel peach while others are shot through with the deepest of sanguine crimsons.

Some of you may remember a recipe I did a while back on my own blog for a Clementine cosmopolitan – the short, punchy fresh drink is one of my favourites and perfectly set up for little twists and plays depending on what you’ve got in the fridge or what’s in season.

I was cooking dinner for a blood orange fanatic so it seemed only fitting to incorporate them somehow and this blood orange cosmopolitan made a deliciously, tasty and stylish tipple.

MT

Hermosa sangre de bebidas de naranja

Naranjas de sangre tienen su propio sabor único al lado de sus perfumados sorprendente, los interiores vividos, escarlata. Hay algo infinitamente encantadora sobre el hecho de que cada uno es diferente en la sombra y la intensidad, algunos son de color con tan sólo la más mínima sombra de melocotón pastel mientras que otras son atravesadas por el más profundo de carmines sanguíneo.

Algunos de ustedes pueden recordar una receta que hice hace un tiempo en mi propio blog para un cosmopolita Clementine – el trago corto, frescos pegada es uno de mis favoritos y perfectamente establecido para giros poco y juega en función de lo que tienes en el nevera o lo que está en temporada.

Yo estaba cocinando la cena para un fanático de naranja de sangre por lo que muy apropiado para incorporarlos de alguna manera y esta cosmopolita de naranja sanguina hizo una deliciosa, bebida sabrosa y elegante.

MAIN MISTAKES MADE BY MT:

MT usually makes mistakes when it translates two different languages. So, it is always necessary to supervise the work by a person. In these cases, the common mistakes are the following ones:

• Pronouns and articles: This might be due to the differences in rules between both languages. Spanish needs articles, but as English does not have articles, the translator would sometimes not use them. 
• Verb tenses: Many times, MTs have problems when dealing with a verb tense. It mistakes the imperfect with the past perfect; the conditionals, the subjunctive, the active or passive form, etc. 
• Abbreviation: It is important to change the abbreviation for the readers to understand.
• Reference and Gender: It cannot translate words with the correct gender or number because in English both nouns and adjectives do not have gender nor number inflexion. 
• Word meanings: There are many problems with the lexicon. When a word has more than one meaning, it cannot choose the correct one taking into account the context. That is the work of the translator, to decide between the many meanings the one that fits best.
• More mistakes could be mentioned: word order, punctuation, cultural items transmission, expressions, etc.

Sources:

• Wikipedia, La Enciclopedia Libre from http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Translate
• Traductor Google from http://translate.google.es/#
• The Guardian, the world’s leading liberal voice from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/25/mississippi-tornado-deaths
• Revista Vogue from http://www.vogue.es/articulos/sun-glasses/5311
• Hello Magazine from http://blogs.hellomagazine.com/culinaryblog/2010/04/a-beautiful-blood-orange-beverage.html

First Review: Machine Translation

FIRST TEXT (From English to Spanish) A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

ORIGINAL VERSION:

Michael Joseph Jackson’s story was a quintessentially American tale of celebrity and excess that took him from musical boy wonder to global pop superstar to sad figure haunted by lawsuits, paparazzi and failed plastic surgery.

At the height of his career, he was indisputably the biggest star in the world; he has sold more than 750 million albums. He spent a lifetime surprising people, in recent years largely because of a surreal personal life, lurid legal scandals, serial plastic surgeries and erratic public behavior that have turned him — on his very best days — into the butt of late-night talk-show jokes and tabloid headlines. He died at age 50 in Los Angeles on June 25, 2009. Mr. Jackson’s death itself became an enormous spectacle. On television and on the Internet, tens of millions of people worldwide watched a memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

TRANSLATION BY REVERSO:

La historia de Jackson de Michael Joseph era un cuento fundamentalmente americano de celebridad y exceso que lo tomó de la maravilla de muchacho musical a la superestrella de pequeña explosión global a la figura(al número) triste atormentada(frecuentada) por pleitos, paparazzi y falló la cirugía plástica.

A la altura de su carrera, él era irrefutablemente la estrella más grande en el mundo; él ha vendido más de 750 millones de álbumes. Él gastó(pasó) una vida que sorprende a la gente, en los últimos años en gran parte debido a una vida privada surrealista, escándalos espeluznantes legales, cirugías sucesivas plásticas y el comportamiento errático público que lo ha girado - durante sus días muy mejores – en el extremo de bromas de programa de entrevistas nocturnas y titulares () tabloides. Él murió a la edad de 50 años en Los Angeles el 25 de junio de 2009. La muerte de Jackson de Sr. sí mismo se hizo un enorme espectáculo. Por televisión y sobre la Internet, decenas de los millones de personas por todo el mundo miraron un funeral en el Centro de Grapas en Los Angeles.

MACHINE TRANSLATION ERRORS:

1. Word Order

• Michael Joseph Jackson’s story/La historia de Jackson de Michael Joseph. It seems that the translator has had a problem with the artist’s middle name “Joseph” and with the Saxon genitive and has placed the words in the wrong order.
• Mr. Jackson’s death/La muerte de Jackson de Sr. We can see the same kind of error here, where the Saxon genitive refers to Mr. Jackson, but the machine does not know where to place the Mr when translating the text to Spanish.
• Lurid legal scandals/Escándalos espeluznantes legales. Here, the translator has placed the adjective in a place that does not sound natural to a Spanish tongue. It should have written “espeluznantes escándalos legales” or even “escándalos legales espeluznantes” instead.
• Serial plastic surgeries/Cirugías sucesivas plásticas. We find the exact same word order problem here, where the adjective “sucesivas” should go before or after “cirugías plásticas”, but never in the middle.

2. Verbal mistakes

• Was/era. The machine translates the verb “was” into Spanish as “era”, this is, it puts it in “pretérito imperfecto”, when it should be in “pretérito perfecto simple”, because though English language does not make a difference between these verbs, Spanish language does.
• Took/tomó. In the context of the text we are analysing, the verb “take” should not be translated as “tomar”, but as “llevar” or “transformar”. This problem is very common regarding machine translation, because polysemic words have more than one meaning and the machine is unable to identify the meaning and, thus, the required word.
• Failed plastic surgery/falló la cirugía plástica. In this case, the computer has translated the adjective “failed” into a verb, as if it were the past tense of “fail”, without noticing it is really an adjective in this sense.
• Became/se hizo. It would sound better if the verb “become” was translated as “convertir”.
• Watched/miraron. “Mirar” and “ver” are verbs which have similar meanings, but not exactly the same. Each if them is used for a particular context, and here it should be “ver”. No miras un funeral, lo ves.

3. Vocabulary problems

• Pop/explosión. Instead of the musical genre, curiously, the word “pop” has been translated as an explosion.
• Lawsuits/pleitos. This translation is not completely wrong, but it would be more natural to put it as “demanda judicial” than as “pleito” or “juicio”.
• At the height of his career/a la altura de su carrera. “At the height” is an expression that cannot be translated word by word or literally. It means at the peak of something, at the highest point of something.
• Erratic/errático. “Erratic” in the text refers to Jackson’s temperament, so the best way to put it would probably be “imprevisible” or “voluble”, not as “errático”, which sounds much more formal and not everybody would get the meaning.
• Into the butt of/en el extremo de: “Into the butt of something” in English is an idiomatic expression meaning “el blanco de algo”, but here it translates “butt” as extremo, just as it could have put any other meaning of the word: tonel, colilla, trasero…
• Plastic surgeries/cirugías plásticas: In Spanish, people do not pluralize the word “cirugía”. To pluralize it, we would use “operaciones quirúrgicas”, not “cirugías”.

4. Article Placement

• From musical boy wonder to global pop superstar/de la maravilla de muchacho musical a la superestrella. Here, the translator has included articles in a sentence that does not need them, as it is a set expression with no need of articles. It should be “de maravilla de muchacho a superestrella”.
• He died at the age of 50/Él murió a la edad de 50 años. While in English the subject is necessary, in Spanish we can omit it because using the article once and again would sound quite repetitive. Thus, we would simply say: “Murió a la edad de 50 años”.
• The Internet/la Internet. The machine has translated the article “the” as feminine, which is absolutely wrong in this case, because the word “Internet” in Spanish is used with no article preceding it.
• Tens of millions of people/Decenas de los millones de personas. Here, as in English, millions of people should go without article, as it is indeterminated. Therefore, the correct thing would be “decenas de millones de personas”.
• Watched a memorial service/miraron un funeral. Although the English article “a” would be, theoretically at least, be translated into Spanish as “un”, it does not sound okay to a native Spanish speaker, for we know whose memorial service it is, and should therefore be “el funeral”.

5. Gender Agreement

• Mr. Jackson’s death itself/la muerte de Jackson de Sr. sí mismo. The machine has not found the reference connection between “death” and “itself” and has translated “sí mismo” as masculine. The pronoun “itself”, however, refers to “death”, so in Spanish it should go in feminine, as “muerte” is feminine. So the correct way of writing this would be “la muerte de Jackson en sí misma”.

6. Prepositions

• On television and on the Internet/Por televisión y sobre la Internet. In Spanish, we say “en Internet”, not “sobre”. Probably we would translate the preposition “on” as “sobre” in other contexts and other meanings of the word, but not in this one.

7. Proper Names

Proper names should never be translated to Spanish word by word, for they would lose their sense.

• The Staples Center is, thus, to be translated as El Staples Center, or maybe El Centro Staples, but that is all. By no means should we write El Centro de Grapas, logically.

MY TRANSLATION:

La historia de Michael Joseph Jackson fue un cuento esencialmente americano de celebridad y exceso que le llevó de niño prodigio musical a superestrella del pop, y de superestrella a una triste figura atormentada por demandas judiciales, paparazzi y cirugía plástica fallida.

En la cima de su carrera, era indiscutiblemente la mayor estrella del mundo; ha vendido más de 750 millones de álbumes. Se pasó la vida sorprendiendo a la gente, en los últimos años en gran parte debido a una vida privada surrealista, a escándalos legales espeluznantes, constantes operaciones de cirugía y a una conducta pública imprevisible que le convirtieron -en sus mejores días- en el blanco de chistes en programas de entrevistas nocturnos y titulares de tabloides. Murió a la edad de 5o en Los Ángeles el 25 de junio de 2009. La muerte de Jackson en sí se convirtió en un enorme espectáculo. Por la tele y en Internet, decenas de millones de personas en todo el mundo vieron el funeral en el Staples Center de Los Ángeles.

SECOND TEXT (From English to Spanish)  A RECIPE

ORIGINAL VERSION:

BASIC APPLE PIE RECIPE

8 servings

This is my mom’s recipe for apple pie (I’ve even successfully made it a few times!) You can make the crust or you can use a premade one.

CRUST (recipe makes one double crust):

2 1/2 cups white flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold butter, broken into small pieces
5 tbsp. cold vegetable shortening
8 tbsp. ice water

• Measure the flour, sugar and salt together. Stir to combine.
• Add the chilled butter pieces and shortening to the bowl. Cut them in with a pastry cutter or knife. Don’t over mix them.
• Add the ice water. Mix until the dough holds together (add a bit more water, if necessary).
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead it together, then divide in half.
• Flatten each half into a disk, wrap in saran wrap and chill for at least half an hour.
• Roll out one of the disks on a lightly floured surface until you have a circle that’s about 12 inches in diameter.
• Put the circle in a 9″ pie plate, trimming any extra dough from the edges with a sharp knife (parents only). Return it to the refrigerator until you are ready to make the pie.
• Add filling (see below)
• Roll out the second ball of dough and cover top. Use a fork or your fingers to pinch the edges together. Cut a couple slits in the top.

TRANSLATION BY REVERSO:

RECETA DE PASTEL DE MANZANAS de lenguaje BASIC

8 porciones

¡Esto es la receta de mi mamá para el pastel de manzanas (aún satisfactoriamente lo he hecho unas veces!) Usted puede hacer la corteza o usted puede usar uno prehecho.

La CORTEZA (la receta hace una doble corteza):

2 tazas 1/2 harina blanca
2 azúcar tbsp.
1/4 tsp. sal
1/2 mantequilla de frío de taza, rota en pequeños pedazos
5 mantequilla tbsp. fría de verduras
8 agua tbsp. de hielo

• Medir la harina, el azúcar y la sal juntos. Movimiento para combinarse.
• Añadir los pedazos de mantequilla enfriados y acortando al tazón. Córtelos en con un cortador de pastel o el cuchillo. No haga sobre los mezclan.
• Añadir el agua de hielo. La mezcla hasta () la masa sostiene juntos (añada un poco más () agua, si fuera necesario).
• Girar la masa en un ligeramente floured la superficie, amáselo juntos, luego parta() por la mitad.
• Aplanar cada mitad en un disco, el abrigo en el abrigo de saran y el enfriamiento durante al menos media hora.
• Estirar uno de los discos sobre un ligeramente floured la superficie hasta que usted tenga un círculo esto es aproximadamente 12 pulgadas en el diámetro.
• Poner el círculo en los 9 ” el plato(la placa) de tarta, ajustando cualquier masa suplementaria de los bordes con un cuchillo agudo (padres sólo). Devuélvalo al refrigerador hasta que usted esté listo a hacer la tarta.
• Añadir el relleno (mirar debajo).
• Estirar la segunda pelota de masa y cubrir la cima. Use un tenedor o sus dedos para pellizcar los bordes juntos. Corte una pareja corta en la cima.

MACHINE TRANSLATION ERRORS:

1. Word Order

• I’ve even successfully made it a few times! / aún satisfactoriamente lo he hecho unas veces! I think that the problem here lies on the original sentence. It should be: Even I have successfully made it a few times! That is why the placement of the adverb sounds a little bit funny when translated.

2.  Verbal Mistakes

• Broken into small pieces / rota en pequeños pedazos. Referring to butter pieces, we would never say that butter is “broken” in Spanish, so we would rather use “cortada” or “partida” or “troceada”.
• Move to combine / Movimiento para combinarse. Here, the verb “move” hads been translated into Spanish as a noun, when in this case it intends to indicate an order in imperative. So it should be “mover” para combinar. And, rather than “combinar”, mezclar would be better.
• Shortening to the bowl / acortando al tazón. Here, instead of translating “shortening” as “manteca”, the translator has put the verb “shorten”, that is, “acortar”,  in gerund.
• The dough holds together / la masa sostiene juntos. The verb “holds” in Spanish should not go in present, but in subjunctive, which in English is the same but in Spanish should be “sostenga”. Moreover, “hold together” is a phrasal verb which I would put in Spanish as “solidificar”.
• A circle that’s about 12 inches / un círculo esto es aproximadamente 12 pulgadas. In this case, instead of putting “that” as a relative clause, it has translated it as the connector “esto es”.
• Chill for at least half an hour / El enfriamiento durante al menos media hora. Once again, “chill” has been translated as a noun instead of as an imperative verb.
• Return it to the refrigerator / Devuélvalo al refrigerador. “Return” in this sense would be better translated as “volver a meter”.
• Pinch the edges together / pellizcar los bordes juntos. The verb “pinch” alone means “pellizco”, but when it comes to a recipe, it means “juntar”.

3. Vocabulary Problems

• Ice water / agua helada. I would translate it as agua fría.
• Wrap in a saran wrap / el abrigo en el abrigo. The machine  translator doesn’t know that “saran wrap” is a trademark for a plastic film to wrap food. And, again, it has not noticed that “wrap” is a verb in this context, not a noun. Moreover, wrap in this sense is related to cuisine, not to clothing.
• Sharp knife / cuchillo agudo. “Sharp” in this sense should be translated as “afilado”.
• Top / cima. Again, in this sense “top” doesn’t refer to the peak of a mountain, but to a pie, so I would put it as “superficie”.
• Couple slits / pareja corta. “Couple” here refers to “a pair of something” and slits are cuts. So the correct form would be “un par de cortes”.

4.  Article Placement

• Cup cold water / mantequilla de frío de taza. Here, the lack of  prepositions in the list of ingredients leads the machine to a confusion of order and prepositions. It should be “una taza de mantequilla fría”.
• Don’t overmix them / No haga sobre los mezclan. Here, the machine has taken “over” as a preposition apart, without knowing that it accompanies the verb, meaning “no los mezcle demasiado”.
• Until the dough holds together / hasta () la masa sostiene. I have put those parentheses to indicate there’s a lack of something after the preposition “hasta”; a “que” is missing so that the sentence makes sense, as it is in subjunctive.
• Until you are ready to / hasta que usted esté listo a. Curiously enough, the personal pronoun has been very well translated into the courtesy pronoun “usted”; however, in the same way that “ready” is followed by “to”, the word “listo” in Spanish is followed by “para”, not by “a”.

5.  Gender Agreement

• Knead it together / amáselo junto. Knead here refers to the dough, which is feminine in Spanish. Therefore, it should be “amásela junta”.
• Divide it in half  / pártalo por la mitad. In the same way, here it should be “pártala”, in feminine, referring to the dough once again.

6.  Untranslated Items

• Basic Apple Pie Recipe /  receta de pastel de manzanas de lenguaje BASIC. It seems that it doesn’t know how to translate the adjective “basic”, which is rather strange.
• The items tbsp and tsp have not been translated by the machine, probably because they are shortenings, meaning “tablespoonful” and “teaspoonful“.
• The machine didn’t know how to translate the verb floured either, because it is a verb made up by the noun “flour” and doesn’t exist as a verb, though it is commonly used in everyday colloquial language.

MY TRANSLATION:

RECETA BÁSICA PARA PASTEL DE MANZANA

8 raciones

Esta es la receta de mi madre para hacer pastel de manzana (¡yo misma he logrado hacerla con éxito un par de veces!). Puedes hacer la pasta tú mism@ o puedes usar una prehecha.

LA PASTA (La receta da indicaciones para hacer una pasta doble):

2,5 tazas de harina blanca
2 cucharadas grandes de azúcar
1/4 de cucharadita de sal
1/2 taza de mantequilla fría, troceada en pequeños pedazos
5 cucharadas grandes de manteca vegetal fría
8 cucharadas grandes de agua fría

• Medir la harina, el azúcar y la sal. Remover para mezclar.
• Añadir los trozos de mantequilla fría y la manteca en la fuente. Cortarlos con un cortador de masa o un cuchillo. No mezclar demasiado.
• Añadir el agua fría. Mezclar hasta que la masa este sólida (añadir un poquito más de agua si es necesario).
• Hacer que la masa se vuelva una superficie ligeramente harinosa, amasarla y cortarla por la mitad.
• Aplanar cada mitad en forma de disco, envolver en filme adherente y dejar enfriar durante media hora.
• Extender con rodillo uno de los discos en una superficie ligeramente cubierta de harina hasta obtener un círculo de dos centímetros y medio de diámetro.
• Poner el círculo en un plato de tarta de unos 23 centímetros, cortando la masa que sobra por los lados con un cuchillo afilado (sólo padres). Volver a meter en en frigorífico hasta que se esté preparado para hacer el pastel.
• Añadir relleno (ver abajo).
• Extender la segunda bola de masa y cubrir la parte de arriba. Usar un tenedor o los dedos para juntar los bordes. Hacer un par de cortes en la superficie.

THIRD TEXT (From Spanish to English) A LITERARY TEXT

ORIGINAL VERSION:

Hubo una vez una joven muy bella que no tenía padres, sino madrastra, una viuda impertinente con dos hijas a cual más fea. Era ella quien hacía los trabajos más duros de la casa y como sus vestidos estaban siempre tan manchados de ceniza, todos la llamaban Cenicienta.

Un día el Rey de aquel país anunció que iba a dar una gran fiesta a la que invitaba a todas las jóvenes casaderas del reino.

- Tú Cenicienta, no irás -dijo la madrastra-. Te quedarás en casa fregando el suelo y preparando la cena para cuando volvamos.

Llegó el día del baile y Cenicienta apesadumbrada vio partir a sus hermanastras hacia el Palacio Real. Cuando se encontró sola en la cocina no pudo reprimir sus sollozos.

- ¿Por qué seré tan desgraciada? -exclamó-. De pronto se le apareció su Hada Madrina.

- No te preocupes -exclamó el Hada-. Tu también podrás ir al baile, pero con una condición, que cuando el reloj de Palacio dé las doce campanadas tendrás que regresar sin falta. Y tocándola con su varita mágica la transformó en una maravillosa joven.

TRANSLATION BY TRADUKKA:

There was once a beautiful young woman who had no parents, but () stepmother, a widow with two daughters impertinent each more ugly. It was she who was the toughest jobs of the house as his clothes were always so stained () ash, everybody called her Cinderella.
One day the King of that country announced it would give a great feast, inviting all the young maidens of the kingdom.
- You Cinderella will not go, “said the stepmother. You’ll be at home scrubbing the floor and preparing dinner for when we return.
The day of dancing and was sorry Cinderella from her stepsisters to the Royal Palace. When she was alone in the kitchen could not suppress her sobs.
- Why should I be so unhappy? “He cried. Suddenly it appeared her Fairy Godmother.
- Do not worry, “said the Fairy. You too can go to the ball, but with one proviso, that when the clock struck twelve Palace will have to return without fail. And by touching it with his magic wand transformed () into a wonderful young man.

MACHINE TRANSLATION ERRORS:

1. Word Order

• Una viuda impertinente con dos hijas a cual más fea / with two daughters impertinent each more ugly. Here, the adjective “impertinent” should describe the stepmother, and not the daughters.
• De pronto, se le apareció su hada madrina / suddenly, it appeared her Fairy Godmother: It is clear that the sentence is ordered in the wrong way, and the object has been put twice because of that “it”, which should be “her fairy godmother”, without capital letters, by the way.

2. Verbal Mistakes

• Era ella quien hacía los trabajos más duros / it was she who was the toughest job: The verb “hacer” has been translated as the verb “to be”, which makes no sense.
• Fregando / scrubbing. “Fregar” should be translated as mop or wash, but “scrub” rather refers to washing with a brush.
• Reprimir / supress. For desires and impulses, the word here should be “repress”, rather than “supress”, which refers to a rebellion or to a yawn.

3. Vocabulary Problems

• Viuda / widow. Rather than “widow”, we should put “widower”.
• Condición / proviso. “Proviso” is a rather rare word in English, which could be substitued by “condition”, that sounds more natural.
• Baile / dancing. In English, “baile” is translated as “ball” in literary contexts of that time.

4. Prepositions

• Manchados de / stained. The verb “stain” here should be followed by the prepositions “in” or “with”, as the translator probably has taken the word as an adjective rather than as a verb.

5. Gender

• Era ella quien / it was she who. Instead of  ”she”, we should put “her”, in the accusative case.
• Ella / He. The machine sometimes confuses the masculine and feminine gender.
• Seemingly, the Spanish word “joven” does not specify if it is a man or a woman, so the machine translates it as “man“.

6. Articles

• Sino madrastra / but () stepmother. In Spanish, it is possible to write madrastra without an article when it is undetermined, but in English, it isn’t. We have to put the article “a” before the noun “stepmother”.

MY TRANSLATION:

There once was a very beautiful woman who had no parents, but a stepmother, an impertinent widower who had two daughters, each one uglier than the other. It was her who did the hardest housework and, as her dresses were always so stained with ash, everybody called her Cinderella.

One day, the king of that country announced that he was going to give a party to which he would invite all the maiden ladies of the kingdom.

‘You, Cinderella, will not go’, said the stepmother. ‘You will stay at home mopping the floor and preparing the dinner for us when we come back’.

The day of the ball arrived and Cinderella, sad, watched her stepsisters set off to the Royal Palace. Once she was let alone in the kitchen, she could not help sobbing.

‘Why should I be so unfortunate?’, she cried. Suddenly, her fairy godmother appeared.

‘Don’t worry’, said the fairy. ‘You can go to the ball, too, but on one condition; when the palace clock strikes twelve, you will have to come back without fail’. And, touching her with her magic wand, she turned her into a wonderful young girl.

CONCLUSION: As a brief conclusion, we should note that there are noticeable differences when translating texts from very different gender. We have not found the same kind of mistakes in the translation of the newspaper article and in the recipe or in the literary text.

SOURCES:

*Michael Jackson. The New York Times.

Retrieved 13:28, April 19, 2010, from:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/michael_jackson/index.htm

*Basic Apple Pie Recipe. DLTK’S Growing Together.

Retrieved 17:10, April 19, 2010, from:

http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/recipe/apple_pie_recipe.htm

*La Cenicienta.

Retrieved 17:12, April 19, 2010, from:

http://adigital.pntic.mec.es/~sanagust/cenicienta.htm

*Reverso Online Translator

Retrieved 17:10, April 19, 2010, from:

http://www.reverso.net/text_translation.asp?lang=EN

*Tradukka Online Translator

Retrieved 17:10, April 19, 2010, from:

http://tradukka.com/

Machine Translator

FIRST TEXT

Original Text in English

- The Roman Coliseum –

The real name is Flavius amphitheatre but why does the whole world call it the Coliseum ?

Perhaps he got the name from the enormous statue of the Emperor Nero , “the colossus” 35 metres high, which stood right next to the amphitheatre and has now been completely destroyed.

Like modern sports stadiums, the gave Coliseum spectators efficient protection from the sun thanks to its ingenious roof covering, the “Velarium”. The Velarium was an enormous linen tarpaulin hung by a system of ropes, winches and wooden poles that girded the top of the outer wall. It took one hundred sailors from the Imperial fleet to move it. They moved in perfect synchrony to the beating of a drum.

After the VI century, with the Empire’s decline, the Coliseum fell into disuse and its walls housed confraternities, hospitals, hermits and even a cemetery. From the Middle Ages onwards, the Coliseum has been one of Rome’s and the world’s greatest marvels, attracting hoards of visitors.

Google Translator version

- El Coliseo romano -

El verdadero nombre es Flavius amphitheatre, pero ¿por qué todo el mundo lo llaman el Coliseo?

Tal vez recibió el nombre de la enorme estatua del emperador Nerón “, el” coloso de 35 metros de alto, que estaba justo al lado del anfiteatro y ahora ha sido completamente destruido.

Al igual que los estadios de los deportes modernos, el Coliseo dio protección eficaz espectadores del sol gracias a su ingenioso techo que cubre, el “velario”. El velario fue una enorme lona de lino pendía de un sistema de cuerdas, cabrestantes y postes de madera que rodeaban la parte superior de la pared exterior. Tomó cien marineros de la flota imperial para moverlo. Se movían en perfecta sincronía con el latido de un tambor.

A partir del siglo VI, con la caída del Imperio, el Coliseo cayó en desuso y sus paredes ubicado cofradías, hospitales, ermitas e incluso un cementerio. A partir de la Edad Media, el Coliseo es una de Roma y maravillas naturales más impresionantes del mundo, atrayendo hordas de visitantes.

My own version

- El Coliseo Romano –

Su verdadero nombre es Anfiteatro Flavio, pero ¿Por qué todo el mundo lo llama el Coliseo?

Tal vez recibió el nombre de la enorme estatua del emperador  Nerón, “El Coloso” de 35 metros de altura, que estaba justo al lado del anfiteatro y que está ahora completamente destruido.

Al igual que los estadios de deporte modernos, el Coliseo proporcionó protección eficaz del sol a los espectadores gracias a su ingenioso techo cubierto, el “Velario”. El Velario era una enorme lona de lino que colgaba de un sistema de cuerdas, cabestrantes y postes de madera que rodeaban la parte superior de la pared exterior. Se necesitaron cien marineros de la flota para moverlo y se movían en perfecta sincronía con ayuda del golpe de un tambor.

A partir del siglo VI, con el ocaso del Imperio, el Coliseo cayó en desuso, sus paredes con cofradías ubicadas, hospitales, ermitas e incluso un cementerio. A partir de la Edad Media, el Coliseo es una de las maravillas más grandes de Roma y del mundo, atrayendo así un gran número de visitantes.

SECOND TEXT

Original Text in English

There’s Very Little to Complain About in Yankees’ Start

In the first year of the new Yankee Stadium, every team in the majors had a flag atop the upper deck: a green one for  the Oakland    Athletics, a blue one for the Los Angeles Dodgers and so on, a subtle sign of welcome for the visitors.

Not this season. Now the flags are white, each one emblazoned with  a different championship year. The message is unmistakable. This is the home of champions again, and the crown fits the Yankees quite well.

The Yankees have won 9 of 12 games this season, spending a leisurely Sunday sweeping away the Texas Rangers, 5-2, behind Andy Pettitte. It is safe to say things have not been this serene around the franchise in decades.

“My memory can’t go that far,” said Mariano Rivera, who retired the side in the ninth. “But we just love to play the game that we know how to play. We have a tremendous bunch of guys here that want to play the game right — young players, veteran players, players that come from other teams. We feel comfortable, feel good, and that’s the reason why we have been doing good so far.”

Google Translator version

Hay muy pocas quejas en Inicio Yankees

En el primer año del nuevo Yankee Stadium, todos los equipos en las Grandes Ligas había una bandera encima de la cubierta superior: uno verde para los Atléticos de Oakland, una azul de los Dodgers de Los Ángeles y así sucesivamente, un signo sutil de bienvenida para los visitantes.

No esta temporada. Ahora las banderas son de color blanco, cada uno adornado con un año de campeonato diferente. El mensaje es inequívoco. Este es el hogar de los campeones de nuevo, y la corona se ajusta a los Yankees bastante bien.

Los Yanquis han ganado 9 de 12 partidos esta temporada, de pasar un tranquilo Domingo barriendo a los Rangers de Texas, 5-2, detrás de Andy Pettitte. Es seguro decir que las cosas no han sido tan sereno en torno a la franquicia en las últimas décadas.

“Mi memoria no puede ir tan lejos”, dijo Mariano Rivera, quien se retiró la parte en la novena entrada. “Pero nos encanta jugar el juego que sabemos cómo jugar. Tenemos un montón enorme de chicos aquí que quieren jugar el juego de la derecha – los jugadores jóvenes, jugadores veteranos, (_) los jugadores que vienen de otros equipos. Nos sentimos cómodos, se sienten bien, y esa es la razón por la que hemos estado haciendo bien hasta ahora. “

My own version

Hay muy pocas quejas sobre el comienzo de los Yankees

En el primer año del nuevo Estadio de los Yankees, todos los equipos de las grandes ligas tenían una bandera en lo alto de la cubierta superior: Una verde para los Oakland Athletics, una azul para Los Angeles Dodgers etc., y un sutil signo de bienvenida para los visitantes.

Esta temporada, no. Ahora las banderas son de color blanco, cada una con un año de campeonato diferente. El mensaje es inconfundible. Ésta es otra vez la casa de los campeones, y la corona se ajusta bastante bien a los Yankees.

Los Yankees han ganado esta temporada 12 de 9 partidos, pansando un tranquilo Domingo barriendo a los Texas Rangers 5-2, detrás de Andy Pettitte. Se puede decir que las cosas no han sido tan serenas en torno a la franquicia de las últimas décadas.

“Mi memoria no llega tan lejos” dijo Mariano Rivera, quién se retiró a un lado en la novena entrada. “Pero nos encanta jugar al juego que sabemos como se juega. Aquí tenemos un enorme grupo de chicos que quieren jugar bien – jugadores jóvenes, jugadores veteranos, y los jugadores que vienen de otros equipos. Nos sentimos cómodos, bien, y esa es la razón por la que lo hemos estado haciendo bien hasta ahora”.

THIRD TEXT

Original text in English

The Shark  & The Mermaids

Required: Large pool

Players: Small to medium groups

How to play:

One person is chosen to be the shark and the others are mermaids. The Shark starts on the side of the pool close to the middle (the ladder) while the mermaids start at one end of the pool. When the shark says go, the mermaids must try to make it across the pool and back. Meanwhile the shark jumps in and starts to try and tag the mermaids. If a mermaid is tagged they are frozen and it is up to another mermaid to unfreeze them. The mermaids win if they each make it across the pool and back and are all touching the end of the pool. The Shark wins if everyone is tagged and frozen.

Rules:

* If you are frozen you cannot unfreeze anyone even if they are only an inch away.

* The shark may go under water.

* All the mermaids must have touched the opposite end of the pool before they can make their way back.

* Mermaids can communicate.

Google Translator version

El tiburón y Sirenas La

Requerido: Amplia piscina
Jugadores: pequeñas y medianas grupos

¿Cómo se juega:
Una persona es elegida para formar el tiburón y los otros son sirenas. El tiburón se inicia en el lado de la piscina cerca de la mitad (la escalera), mientras las sirenas comienzan a partir de un extremo de la piscina. Cuando el tiburón que me vaya, las sirenas que tratar de hacerlo a través de la piscina y la espalda. Mientras tanto, el tiburón salta y comienza a tratar de etiqueta de las sirenas. Si se marca una sirena que se congelan y corresponde a otra sirena para descongelar. Las sirenas ganar si cada uno de ellos que logran cruzar la piscina y la espalda y están tocando el extremo de la piscina. El tiburón gana si todos están etiquetados y congelados.

Reglas:

* Si se congelan no se puede descongelar cualquier persona incluso si son sólo una pulgada de distancia.
* El tiburón puede ir bajo el agua.
* Todas las sirenas que han tocado el extremo opuesto de la piscina antes de que puedan hacer su camino de regreso.
* (_) Sirenas se puede comunicar.

My own version

El tiburón y las sirenas

Se requiere: Piscina amplia

Jugadores:  Desde grupos pequeños a medianos

Cómo jugar:

Una persona es elegida para ser el tiburón y los demás las sirenas. El tiburón empieza en un lado de la piscina cerca de la mitad (la escalera), mientras que las sirenas empiezan desde un extremo de la piscina. Cuando el tiburón dice “¡ya!” las sirenas tienen que tratar de ir y volver y mientras tanto, el tiburón salta para poder cogerlas. Si una sirena es tocada, ésta misma se congela y le corresponde a otra sirena descongelarla. Las sirenas ganan si cada una de ellas hacen la ida y la vuelta y tocan el extremo de la piscina. El tiburón gana si todas las sirenas están cogidas y congeladas.

Reglas:

* Si te congelan no puedes descongelar a nadie aunque sea a una distancia corta.

* El tiburón puede ir bajo el agua.

* Todas las sirenas deben tocar el extremo del lado opuesto de la piscina antes de poder hacer el camino de regreso.

* Las sirenas pueden cominucarse entre sí.

MAIN MACHINE TRANSLATION ERRORS:

Using the machine translator, it can be appreciated that it makes several mistakes related to the lexicon and grammar.

1. Word Order: This has been one of the main errors MT has had when translating English into Spanish.

* protección eficaz espectadores del sol Here the sentence doesn’t make sense, MT translator does not know where to place del sol which in Spanish is before the subject. Apart from that, in order to give sense to the sentence we must add a preposition and also an article a los espectadores.

* sus paredes ubicado cofradías In this sentence MT has placed the adjective before the noun but in Spanish the adjective goes after the noun. Apart from that in order to give much sense to the sentence we should add a preposition sus paredes con cofradías ubicadas.

* No esta temporada In this example the MT is not totally wrong but Ésta temporada no fits better to the text.

2. Verb Tense: Many times, MTs have problems when dealing with a verb tense.

* pasar In the second text the MT has translated the verb spending as pasar and the correct form for the sentence  is the present continuous,  pasando.

* ganar In this sentence the MT has been confused with the verb win, it is wrong because we need the present simple ganan instead of the verb ganar.

* han tocado This is not really a bad translation but the text seems to refer to haber tocado so the MT’s example is wrong.

* puedan Here the infinitive poder fits better than the impreative.

3. Vocabulary: In most cases, the MT does not take into account that words can have more than one meaning.

* alto In this case the MT has confused high to an adjective and the text makes reference to a noun altura.

* latido The MT cannot choose the correct meaning taking into account the context. That is the work of the translator, to decide between the many meanings the one that fits best. So I have changed latido for golpe.

* hordas In this case, the meaning of this word does not make sense with the context as in Spanish it means a group which works with violence and without discipline. So I have changed hordas for un gran número.

* la parte Here we have a literal translation of the word side but it doesn’t make sense, so that it has been translated to lado.

* formar The MT has made a bad translation with the verb to be. It has translated as formar instead of the most obvious option ser.

4. Number & Gender: The MT cannot translate words with the correct gender or number because in English both nouns and adjectives do not have gender nor number inflexion.

* llaman Here it should have been llama as it gives much sense.

* adornado In this case, it has difficulties maintaining the concordance of subject-verb in gender. MT has translated adornado when it should be adornada.

* ellos We have the same problem here with it should be translated in feminine.

5. Pronouns & Articles:

* El At the beginning of the first text the context asks for a pronoun Su instead of an article El because it refers to the monument’s name.

* el The correct form would be preposition + article al.

* (_) In this case the MT has omitted the article Las which is needed in order to make sense.

6. Prepositions: There have been some errors when translating prepositions into Spanish.

* de The machine has not found the best preposition for the sentence blue one for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has translated as de instead of para.

* para In this case, we can omit the preposition as it’s not necessary.

Finally, it should be of great importance mentioning that in some cases, the MT has introduced the relative pronoun que in una sirena que se congelan which it can be omitted. Apart from that, there is a sentence which needs the conjuction y because refering to the context the writer is giving several examples of players los jugadores jóvenes, jugadores veteranos, (_) los jugadores que vienen de otros equipos. and the machine has not been aware of it.

Sources:

• Funattic, game water. Retrieved, 18 April, 2010 from  http://www.funattic.com/game_water.htm#anchor12

• The New York Times.  Retrieved, 18 April, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/sports/baseball/19kepner.html?ref=sports

• Italy Guides. Roman Colosseum. Retrieved, 18 April, 2010 from http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/rome/ancient_roman_empire/roman_colosseum.htm

• Google Translate. 2010. Retrieved on April 25, 2010, from  http://translate.google.com/?hl=es#

MT

A scientific text:

Original Text

The new strain is of the species Cryptococcus gattii, an airborne fungus native to tropical and subtropical regions, including Papua NewGuinea,Australia, and parts of South America. An older strain of the fungus was frst detected in North America in British Columbia, Canada, in 1999.

No one knows how the species got to North America or how the fungus can thrive in a temperate region, experts say.

“The alarming thing is that it’s occurring in this region, it’s affecting healthy people, and geographically it’s been expanding,” said study co-author Edmond Byrnes, a graduate student at the Joseph Heitman Labat Duke University.

Google Translator’s Version

La nueva cepa es de la especie Cryptococcus gattii, un hongo en el aire nativo de las regiones tropicales y subtropicales, incluyendo Papua Nueva Guinea, Australia y partes de América del Sur. Una cepa del hongo mayores de esa edad se detectó primeras tribunas que en América del Norte en la Columbia Británica, Canadá, en 1999.
Nadie sabe cómo la especie llegó a América del Norte o cómo el hongo puede prosperar en una región templada, dicen los expertos.
“Lo alarmante es que eso esté ocurriendo en esta región, que está afectando a personas sanas, y se está expandiendo geográficamente sido”, dijo el coautor del estudio Edmond Byrnes, un estudiante graduado en el Joseph Heitman Labat la Universidad de Duke.

Lucy Translator’s Version

La nueva tensión es de la especie Cryptococcus gattii, un nativo de hongo del aire de regiones tropicales y subtropicales, incluyendoPapua New Guinea,Australia, y partes de Sudamérica. Una tensión más vieja del hongo era frst detectado en Norteamérica en British Columbia, Canadá, en 1999.
Nadie sabe cómo llegaba la especie a Norteamérica o cómo puede prosperar el hongo en una región templada, los expertos dicen.
“La cosa alarmante es que está ocurriendo en esta región, está afectando gente sana, y geográficamente” se ha estado “expandiendo”, decía el co author de estudioEdmond Byrnes, un universitario en la Universidad de Duque deJoseph Heitman Labat.

Human Translation

La nueva cepa es de la especie Cryptococus gatti, un hongo transportado por el aire originario de regiones tropicales y subtropicales, incluyendo Papua Nueva Guinea, Australia y partes de América del Sur. Una cepa más antigua del hongo fue detectada por primera vez en América del Norte, en Columbia Británica y Canadá en 1999. Nadie sabe cómo llegó la especie a América del Norte o cómo puede el hongo crecer en una región templada, dicen los expertos.

“Lo alarmante es que está teniendo lugar en esta región, que está afectando a personas sanas y que se ha estado expandiendo geográficamente,” dijo el co-autor del estudio Edmond Byrnes, un estudiante licenciado en el laboratorio Joseph Heitman de la Universidad de Duke.

Article from the yellow press:

Original Text 

Michael Lohan, the father of actress Lindsay Lohan, paid a visit to his daughter with police in tow this week.
Bringing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department with him, Michael said he feared the safety of his younger daughter Ali, who is currently staying with Lindsay.
“I went to the police department concerned about Ali’s welfare,” Michael Lohan told Hollyscoop.com.

“I wanted to check on Ali. I want to make sure she’s okay. She’s 16 and she doesn’t belong there. She’s a minor.”
Once inside the apartment, Ali assured her father she was alright, saying: “I’m fine, daddy, I’m fine.”

Google Translator’s Version

Michael Lohan, padre de la actriz Lindsay Lohan, realizó una visita a su hija a cuestas con la policía esta semana.
Llevar el Departamento del Sheriff del Condado de Los Angeles con él, Michael dijo que temía que la seguridad de su hija menor, Ali, quien se encuentra en casa de Lindsay.
“Fui a la policía preocupados por el bienestar de Alí”, dijo Michael Lohan Hollyscoop.com.
“Quería comprobar Ali. Quiero asegurarme de que está bien. Tiene 16 años y ella no pertenecía a ese lugar. Ella es menor de edad.”
Una vez dentro del apartamento, Ali aseguró a su padre que estaba bien, diciendo: “Estoy bien, papá, estoy bien.”

Lucy Translator’s Version

Michael Lohan, el padre de la actriz Lindsay Lohan, hacía una visita a su hija con policía de remolque esta semana.
Trayendo el Departamento del Gobernador de Condado de los Ángeles con él, Michaeldecía que temía la seguridad de su hija más joven Ali, que se está quedando actualmente con Lindsay.
“Iba al departamento de policía preocupado por el bienestar de Ali”, Michael Lohan decía Hollyscoop.com.
“Quería vigilar a Ali. Quiero asegurarme de que es|está correcta. Tiene 16 años y no es de allí. Es una menor de edad.”
Una vez dentro del apartamento, Ali aseguraba su padre que era bien, dicho: “Estoy bien, papá, estoy bien.”

Human Translation

Michael Lohan, padre de la actriz Lindsay Lohan, visitó a su hija acompañado por la policía esta semana.

Llevando el Departamento del Sheriff del Condado de los Ángeles con él, Michael dijo que temía por la seguridad de su hija menor Ali, quien está actualmente en casa de Lindsay.

“Fui al departamento de policía preocupado por el bienestar de Ali,” contó Michael Lohan a Hollyscoop.com.

“Quería vigilar a Ali. Quiero asegurarme de que está bien. Tiene 16 años y no pertenece a ese mundo. Es una menor.”

Una vez dentro del apartamento, Ali aseguró a su padre que estaba bien diciendo: “Estoy bien, papá, estoy bien.”

Literary Text:

Original Version by Juan Goytisolo

Introdujo la llave en la cerradura procurando no hacer ruido. La abuela tenía el sueño ligero y le molestaba la idea de despertarla. En la portería se había quitado las sandalias y se detuvo en el recibidor, al ver el cuarto de Ortega iluminado. Un rectángulo de luz seleccionaba en dos la entrada de la cueva y la mesita que servía de soporte al espejo. Imposible pasar por allí sin ser visto. Con las sandalias en la mano. Pipo avanzó por el pasillo y se detuvo ante el cuadrado luminoso sin atreverse a cruzar.

El profesor estaba inclinado sobre la mesa, mascullando por lo bajo algo ininteligible. En torno al cenicero había gran número de colillas y la atmósfera de la habitación era tan densa que parecía una neblina. La luz de la lámpara inventaba infinidad de arrugas en su rostro envejecido. Desde el pasillo, cobraba la apariencia de una máscara.

-No ha ido – percibió Pipo -, Mi amigo no lo vio por ningún lado.

La sorpresa le hizo adelantarse más de lo debido y Ortega le contempló lo mismo que a un fantasma. Estaba solo, más triste y desamparado que nunca y, al cambiar el brazo de posición, dibujó el ademán de abrazarlo, como si necesitase tocarlo para convencerse de que el mundo existía, que aquello era real, que no estaba soñando.

Google Translator’s Version

Put the key in the lock trying not to make noise. The grandmother was a light sleeper and was bothered by the idea of waking. In goal had taken off his shoes and stood in the hall, seeing the lighted room Ortega. A rectangle of light selected two of the cave entrance and the table that served as support in the mirror. Impossible to pass by unnoticed. With sandals in hand. Pipo walked down the aisle and stopped at the light square, not daring to cross.
The teacher was bending over the table, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. Around the ashtray had large numbers of cigarette butts and the atmosphere of the room was so thick it looked like a fog. The light from the lamp invented many wrinkles on your aging face. From the hall, took on the appearance of a mask.
“There has been – perceived Pipo – My friend did not see it anywhere.
The surprise him more than they anticipate and Ortega looked just like a ghost. He was alone, more sad and helpless than ever, changing the arm position, drew the gesture of embrace, as if he needed to touch it to convince the world that existed, that this was real, he was not dreaming.

Lucy Translator’s Version

He|She|It introduced the key in the lock trying not to do noise. The grandmother had the slight dream|sleep and upset the idea about arousing it|her for him|her. In the goal|porter’s lodge it|he|she had taken off the sandals and stopped in the hall, when seeing the illuminated quarter|room of Ortega. A rectangle of light selected in two the entry of the cave and the small table that acted as support to the mirror. Impossible to pass for there without being seen. With the sandals in the hand. Pipo advanced through the corridor and stopped in the face of the luminous square without daring to cross over.
The professor was inclined on the table, muttering for the under something unintelligible. About the ashtray there was great number of stubs and the atmosphere of the room was so dense that a mist seemed. The light of the lamp invented infinity of wrinkles in its|his|her|their aged face. From the corridor, he|she|it charged|gained the appearance of a mask.

-It|He|She has not gone -it|he|she perceived Pipo -, Wed friend did not see it for no side.
The surprise made him be advanced more of what had been owed and Ortega contemplated the same for him|her as to a ghost. It|He was alone, sadder and helpless that never and, when changing the arm of position, drew the gesture of embracing it, as if it|he|she needed to touch it to be convinced that the world existed, which that was real, that was not dreaming

Human Translation

He put the key into the lock trying not to make any noise. His grandmother was a light sleeper and he disliked the idea of waking her up. He had taken his sandals off in the porter’s lodge and stopped in the entrance hall when he saw Ortega’s room lit up. A rectangle of light divided the entrance of the cave in two and the bedside table which was good for standing the mirror. It was impossible to go past there without being seen. Sandals in hand, Pipo down the corridor and stopped in front of the lit up square without daring to cross.

The teacher was leaning over the table, muttering something unintelligible in low voice. There was a great number of cigarette butts round the ashtray and the air of the room was so dense that it seemed mist. The light from the lamp made up countless wrinkles in his aged face. From the corridor, his face became a mask.

“He hasn’t gone”  noticed Pipo, “my friend didn’t see him anywhere”.

Surprise made him step forward more than he should and Ortega gazed at him the same as at a ghost. He was alone, sadder and more unprotected than ever. When he changed the position of his arm, he made as if he wanted to embrace Pipo as if he needed to touch him in order to convince himself of the existence of the world, that that was real, that he was not dreaming.

Main problems found when translating from English into Spanish

The main problem that can be found when using the machine translator is that it makes several mistakes with the vocabulary. The machine is not able to translate the words accurately mainly because it does not take into account that words have several meanings depending on the context.

Refering to the first text, it can be appreciated that this problem emerges just at the beginning of the fragment when having to translate the word “airborne”. This word has two possible translations in this context: “transportado por el aire” or “aerotransportado”. I found more appropriate to use the first option in relation to the “fungus”. In contrast, the machine does not represent this idea of being carried by the air in the best way. Google translates it as “en el aire” and Lucy as “del aire”. Both versions seem to be slightly away from the original meaning.

The second problem is found just a word after in the same text. In this case, the translations offered by the tools have fallen into the problem of translating literarily. The word “native” has been translated as “nativo” in the case 0f Google Translate, and as “nativo de hongo” in the case of Lucy Translator. The first has translated “native” in the literal way while its best equivalent in Spanish would be “autóctono” or “originario” in this particular context. The second, however, does not only translate “native” literarily, but associates it to the “fungus” while the word is connected to “tropical and subtropical regions”, as it makes reference to the places where the fungus is native.

Furthermore, Lucy Translator does not translate the word “strain” as “cepa” (which the only possible translation for this word in the text) but as “tensión”. The translator instead of having into account all the possible meanings of the word “strain”, has opted for the first meaning which of course is not suitable in this context.

On the other hand, both translating systems have found important problems when translating the adjective “older”. Instead of taking into account that it does not only refer to “mayor” but also to “más atigüa”, both systems have translated it in the wrong way. Google has opted for “mayor de esa edad” and Lucy for “más vieja”. Both versions are not accurate enough.

Going further in the same text, it can be found that both Google and Lucy translate the verb “thrive” as “prosperar” and it is not wrong as that is one of the multiple meanings of the verb. However, as the text is referring to the fungus it would be more accurate to translate it as “grow” = “crecer”.

It is important to point out a serious mistake n the version made by the Lucy translator in relation to the general use of the word “thing”. While in this case the word should be translated by using the neutral article “lo”, Lucy translates it as “cosa” which is completely inappropriate in the text.

In the translation made by Google, one more example of literal translation can be found. The word “graduate” should be translated as “licenciado” and not as “graduado”.

In reference to the second text, we can also find several problems with the vocabulary. The expression “with police in tow” should be interpreted as “acompañado por la policía” and not in the literal sense of the word “tow” as “con la policía de remolque” in the case of the Lucy Translator.

Beside the verb “bring” is not translated correctly. In this particular context “llevando” suits better than “trayendo”.

The word “minor” also gives some problems to Lucy as the best way of translating it would be “menor” (as Google Translate does) and not as “más joven”.

On the other hand, Google does not translate the full compund word “police department”. Instead of only saying “policía” this has to be translated as “departamento de policía”.

Moreover, “alright” is translated by Lucy as “correcta” which is impossible in order to make reference to a person’s state. That is why here is more suitable to use “bien”.

The same tool has confused the meaning of the verb “to be”. As it has two possible interpretations depending on the context, “ser” or “estar”, Lucy has translated the verb as “ser” (“era”) when it should be “estar” (“estaba”).

Apart from the amount of vocabulary problems, both translation systems found several grammatical problems.

The most common mistake related to the grammar is the wrong use of verb tenses. In the case of the first text, “it’s been expanding” is not translated correctly in the case of Google. The past perfect should be translated as “se ha estado expandiendo”, while the machine interprets it as “se está expandiendo”, the continuous form in the present.

On the other hand, Lucy translates the past simple form “got” as a continuous past form “llegaba” while is should be translated as “llegó”.

There are also some problems with the tenses in the second text. For instance, Google translates “bringing” as “llevar”, the infinitive form, while the form of the verb is referring to “llevando”.

In the case of the Lucy translator, it translates “went” as “iba” and not as “fui” which is the correct form. Furthermore, a similar mistake is found in “said” which is translated as “decía” rather than “dijo”.

The machine has also some problems with the usage of prepositions. Many of this problems have their source in the fact that the translations systems avoid them because in English in many cases they are not used when in Spanish they are necessary.

Fro example, in “it’s affecting healthy people” there is no preposition needed in English, but in Spanish the verb “affect” requires a preposition: “afectar a”.

The same happens with “feared the safety”. Even if in English the verb “fear” does not require a preposition, in Spanish it does need one: “temer por”.

Sources:

• *Google Translate. Retrieved: 16:40, April 25, 2010 from http://translate.google.com/#
• *Lucy LT KWIK Translator. Retrieved: 16:40, April 25, 2010 from http://www.lucysoftware.com/cms/front_content.php?idcat=45&changelang=1
• *Google Translate. (2010, April 24). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:43, April 25, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Google_Translate&oldid=358090951
• *Comparison of machine translation applications. (2010, April 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:43, April 25, 2010, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comparison_of_machine_translation_applications&oldid=357777848
• *List of Google products. (2010, April 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:43, April 25, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Google_products&oldid=358189005
• *Lindsay Lohan’s dad takes police to her home at Hello magazine online. Retrieved: 16:45, April 25, 2010, from http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities-news-in-pics/23-04-2010/53773/general/
• *New Deadly Fungus Spreading in US at National Geographic. Retrieved: 16:48, April 25, 2010 from
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/04/100421-new-fungus-cryptococcus-gattii-deadly-health-science/