Dear Mom,
The translation software is always improving, and that's a good thing, too, because it still has had a long way to go! We've seen some *pretty* funny translation attempts as Facebook tries to automatically translate for us our friends' "check in" posts, which are often written in slang kidspeak to begin with. At the moment I don't have any examples of the funny translations, and who am I to complain, anyhow?
Google Translate is a lifesaver, for sure.
And sometimes you can use the camera feature of Google Translate to good effect:
But there are nuances to how I use technology to help with understanding. Sometimes I could generate a translation, but it's actually a picture that I want. An example of this would be when I want popcorn kernels--a very unusual request and only sold in certain shops catering to a tiny sliver of the population. If I type in "popcorn kernel" into Google Translate, it will probably generate a correct word, but that word may not even make sense to most shopkeepers. And then I wouldn't know, when I show them my phone and they shake their head, whether my inquiry actually made sense and they don't have the item, or if the question was itself a dud.
So in that case I'd use my phone as a communication aid in a different way. A Google search generates not only a photo of the item I am searching for, but also the Vietnamese words that are effective to communicate about it.
Recently I was at the tomb of the first emperor of the most modern Vietnamese royal dynasty. That's in Huế, two hours north, where the kingdom capital was located. The tour guide said that people would stand outside the gate of the tomb to "worship" the dead emperor, and it struck me that I really don't know all the finesse of that word as it's used and translated.
So in the cases of real complexity, like this one, I'll ask one of my synthetic friends. The first three paragraphs are my query, and below that is the first paragraph of several pages' worth of answer.
I don't know how long this link will be valid, but here's the rest of that conversation if you're interested:
If I'm using my phone for translation, I try to use the very simplest English phrases to eliminate accidents. Pronouns and time-phrases are two areas where you need to keep it as simple as possible, and of course keep away from idioms.
Ironically, sometimes the best way to simplify your language for translation is to use a more sophisticated word. In the last paragraph I said "keep away from idioms" which sounds to us like a simpler way of saying the two words "avoid idioms." But actually in this case your translation app will thank you for using the specific word that has only one meaning. There are so many examples of this, where we usually use language that's a little slippery and friendly, and instead it's helpful for the translation software if we can use crisp, precise language.
Phrasal verbs such as “figure out” “work out” “pick up” “get over” “take off” look simple but are ambiguous for translation software.
Example: “I’ll pick it up later.” ---- could mean: collect something, learn something quickly, improve (skills), lift something
Words like: “retrieve,” “collect,” or “acquire” are easier to translate because they're more precise.
Yep. This stuff is interesting to me, but I can see that it might not seem like there's much of a point. I guess it's just what I've been thinking about in regards to using my phone more effectively as a translation tool. Much love!
~Tim/Janet
PS.
A group of friends from Bend is here, and it's delightful for us to show them our city. Tonight we're taking some of them to vegetarian dinner before Vision English Club. Tomorrow we're planning to rent a motorbike so we can all be on two wheels (when the occasions arise for us to safely convoy like that).
