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| If I were a butterfly, that's just where I'd be, too... |
(The photo of Asian Comma Drinking Persimmon Juice above has nothing to do with this post, except to make it more colorful:))
You guys! I just found the most time-wasting, fun site imaginable for anyone who loves Manglish--and you make it yourself! Well, you pick the phrase (up to 250 characters) and how many levels of translation you'd like it to go through (10-20-30-40-50-Max56), type, hit "Translate"...and watch the text flying by in the translation box. The program is basically doing something like what Google Translation does, but it translates and re-translates many times: English--FL--back to English--into different FL-- back to English... you get the picture.
For example, I put in "Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!", and got:
"Tired, weak, and can now breathe a pool!"
Or, better yet, a random Bible verse.... (flip, flip, flip)... Gen 44:13 "Then they ripped their mantles apart and lifted each one his load back onto his ass and returned to the city." (No rude comments about how some bible verses look like they've already been through a translating machine. :p)
The above verse gets you this:
"In the bottom of the Abolition of all parties."
Here's the link: Bad Translator
Now get busy translating, and tell me what you got in the comments! (Waiting.... :))
"Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also"
ReplyDeleteBecomes
"horrible pain in my right hand"
Qute apt that, considering our discussion on BABS. Wonder what it'll do with D.H. Lawrence. I'm almost scared to try...
Bwahahhaah!! (gasping) (coughing) Extremely apt! Brilliant--I think I'm in love with Bad Translator. :)) Promise you'll post it if you put in Lawrence!
ReplyDelete"The refinements of passion, the extravagances of sensuality! And necessary, forever necessary, to burn out false shames and smelt out the heaviest ore of the body into purity. With the fire of sheer sensuality."
ReplyDeletebecomes
"Emotions, feelings and keep more! Unlike the sunshine and the smell of diesel fuel and labor, and even sexy Fokurin corruption."
Actually, it may be an improvement...
Oh my... Fokurin? Is that a word? Maybe one that remained untranslated? The spell-checker didn't like it (it's a picky eater, though). Let's see, I think I'm going to try--no, better not. The spell-checker can't abide Joyce; I can't imagine what would happen to it in the translating machine. Ooh! I know! Wait...
ReplyDelete"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
ReplyDeleteBecomes...
"Some women will share their joy, I think."
You know, I think it took Jane Austen and turned her into D.H. Lawrence, somehow...:))
Hehe. That's better Lawrence than the Lawrence translation.
ReplyDelete"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known."
ReplyDelete"If anyone has a better, and I am very grateful."
No way--I *just now* put in:
ReplyDelete"It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light,
it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope,
it was the winter of despair,"
and got this:
"It's worse than bad and the best intelligence, which is cold, and by hope and despair, light and darkness and uncertainty."
...quantum entanglement...
"It's worse than bad and the best intelligence..."
ReplyDeleteWasn't that what Bush and Blair said before starting the second Gulf War?
Now that you mention it... I think maybe they did say something along those lines...
ReplyDeleteOMG! Now we know who Bush's speechwriter is!
oooh yeah, i did that once with a chunk of one of my novels - it was CRAZY!
ReplyDeleteIt works especially well if you choose languages not closely related to english, so russian and japanese etc
The cool thing about this one, is that it goes back-and-forth between English and up to 25 *completely different* languages. And you can see the translation scrolling along in the box. Very cool:)) Do you have a crazy sample translation from your novel--would *love* to hear it!
ReplyDelete"It's worse than bad and the best intelligence, which is cold, and by hope and despair, light and darkness and uncertainty."
ReplyDeleteDamn that is good. That thing is a ball. just making stuff up I looked out my window and wrote "The yellow moon is rising over Bob's house tonight. It looks very pretty."
...56 translations later we get:
"So far, the yellow month set, night, the beans are very good."
I put in my favorite poem "I could give all to Time except - except What I myself have held. But why declare The things forbidden that while the Customs slept I have crossed to Safety with? For I am There, And what I would not part with I have kept."
and got
"I - not now, but it's safer? "I think it will survive."
Damn this is fun.
"The beans are very good" from "It looks very pretty"? Awesome!! "not now, but it's safer?"... OMG, I love this thing so much! Best. Toy. Ever! Glad you're having fun playing with it, too:)) I think *everybody* should know about this thing!
ReplyDelete