11.1.08

The state of the art in automatic translation

Wenn die Minni
im Bikini
in der Sonne sitzt
und der azurblaue Himmel niederblitzt,
dann stehn die Nachbarjungs am Zaun
und sehn: die Minni wird ganz braun

– Felix Morgenstern

Google's automatic translation of this ditty:

If the minni
in bikini
sitting in the sun
and the blue sky niederblitzt,
then stand on the nachbarjungs zaun
sehn and the Minni is quite brown

As anyone lightly conversant in German and English can tell, Google's translation skills are mostly distinguished by a great potential for improvement.

Is Babelfish any better? Here's its result:

If the Minni
in the bikini
sits in the sun
and the azure sky down-flashes,
then stehn neighbour-young at the fence
and long: the Minni becomes completely brown

OK, so Babelfish knows a few more German words than Google, but still:

Alleluia, us human translators won't run out of work if this is the state of the art in automatic translation...

10.1.08

Bruce Willis und eBay - Stirb langsam 4.0 auf Schwäbisch



Von Stirb langsam gibt es mittlerweile vier Auflagen, erhältlich z.B. bei Amazon. Und eBay gibt es - wo sonst? - bei eBay.