saltpeter
Technical Support
Caving, Caving, Caving
U.S.Caver
Posts: 44
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Post by saltpeter on Feb 27, 2007 14:21:58 GMT -5
U.S. Cavers now has several forum members who live and are caving in other areas of the world. In an effort to help break down a few of the communication barriers I am adding this link to Yahoo! Babel Fish for the cavers who may wish to transcribe other caving forums, web sites and caving blogs. Yahoo Babel Fish provides free online text and web page language translation tools. babelfish.yahoo.com |
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Post by Azurerana on Feb 27, 2007 17:38:58 GMT -5
Just be aware that Babelfish (in fact, any online automatic computer translator) is the equivalent of you or I sitting down with a Romanian (or Urdu, or any other language you've never seen) dictionary, and looking words up one by one, then stringing them together. The gist of what is going on "Man up see dog barking in tree" may be technically correct, but often the meaning can be totally lost.
It's a sad fact of life that most Americans are linguistically illiterate. And we just compound the error by using auto-translation tools. If someone is using English as a second language to communicate here, they automatically are much more fluent than any machine translation.
Help to save the world. Learn a language other than your cradle one. Even if you never become fluent, you won't murderate your expressions anywhere close to what computer translations do.
My .02
Azurerana
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Brian Roebuck
Site Admin
Caver
Caving - the one activity that really brings you to your knees!
Posts: 2,732
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Feb 27, 2007 19:13:35 GMT -5
Shoot Az - I have just barely mastered my "southern redneck" language skills let alone trying to learn a foreign language! Around here you have to know the native Tennessee language, a little Alabamian, some Georgian, and even some Yankee-speak (they're a movin in all over the place ya know!). It is hard to know how to act when trying to get permission to go in the owners caves these days! Yes language skills are a good thing for cavers to have. Computer translators would not work well in this area. Type in the phrase "Whatchall duin roun hea-uh" into Babelfish and you might get back "Witches done circular hair" or some such nonsense! The shotgun pointed at your head might tell you more than a computer translator could in this case however!  |
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Post by Sharon Faulkner on Feb 27, 2007 19:32:48 GMT -5
;D ;D LOL! Shotguns - "the universal language" or " the point where miscommunication becomes crystal clear".
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L Roebuck
Technical Support
Caving
^V^ Just a caver
Posts: 2,023
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Post by L Roebuck on Feb 27, 2007 19:47:19 GMT -5
Type in the phrase " Whatchall duin roun hea-uh" into Babelfish Ok I tried that phrase in French and it said .... " Hea-uh de roun de duin de Whatchall" ! ;D ;D |
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Brian Roebuck
Site Admin
Caver
Caving - the one activity that really brings you to your knees!
Posts: 2,732
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Feb 27, 2007 19:51:17 GMT -5
Type in the phrase " Whatchall duin roun hea-uh" into Babelfish Ok I tried that phrase in French and it said .... " Hea-uh de roun de duin de Whatchall" ! ;D ;D de What? Oh... Oui Oui I get it!  |
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Post by Azurerana on Feb 28, 2007 11:38:53 GMT -5
Here is an example:
Type in "What's up?"
The Spanish is: ¿Cuál está para arriba?
Literally-- What is above( or upstairs)?
when what you really wanted to say is ¿Qué pasa?
Or--"What's happening?"
You'ns be lucky that Ozarker is a mite like Southern, and I hadda learn to talk and listen thataway in 6th grade, havin' bin moved to a school whar them teachers thought Cape Girardeau, Mo. was fulla damyankees.
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Brian Roebuck
Site Admin
Caver
Caving - the one activity that really brings you to your knees!
Posts: 2,732
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Feb 28, 2007 17:22:20 GMT -5
Here is an example: Type in "What's up?" The Spanish is: ¿Cuál está para arriba? Literally-- What is above( or upstairs)? when what you really wanted to say is ¿Qué pasa? Or--"What's happening?" You'ns be lucky that Ozarker is a mite like Southern, and I hadda learn to talk and listen thataway in 6th grade, havin' bin moved to a school whar them teachers thought Cape Girardeau, Mo. was fulla damyankees. I gotchy'alls intendid meanin jiss fine! Muss be I speek Ozarker a mite too! ;D |
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Tony Anders
Caver
SKSC Caver
See you around, in the underground.
Posts: 329
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Post by Tony Anders on Mar 1, 2007 11:15:10 GMT -5
Here is something to ponder on translating. Ellowfay averscay, Iway ishway ouyay allway ellway andway anymay appyhay avecay adventuresway. aketay arecay andway avecay oftlysay. Eesay ouyay aroundway inway ethay undergroundway Enjoy brain teasing on this rainy Thursday, what a day to take off work here is a hint. www.snowcrest.net/donnelly/piglatin.html |
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L Roebuck
Technical Support
Caving
^V^ Just a caver
Posts: 2,023
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Post by L Roebuck on Mar 1, 2007 13:59:46 GMT -5
Iway owknay atthay anguagelay Onytay! Amesay otay ouyay!  Itsway otnay ootay adbay away ayday otay ebay offway orkway. Ustjay odgeday osethay ighteninglay oltsbay andway eepkay anway eyeway outway orfay ornado'stay  Edit to 'the' language. ;D |
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Brian Roebuck
Site Admin
Caver
Caving - the one activity that really brings you to your knees!
Posts: 2,732
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Post by Brian Roebuck on Mar 4, 2007 17:49:58 GMT -5
Getting back on topic... I hope that non english speakers can add to the forum and vice versa despite the lack of translation tools. Often the horrible translations are good enough to get the idea of what was said. Pictures help!
Maybe in the near future we will have better web based translation tools.
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