Translation tools

Discussion in 'General' started by Richelieu, Apr 3, 2021.

  1. Richelieu

    Richelieu Well-Known Member

    While they clearly lack the artistry of human translators, free online translation tools have come a long way. Below are an extract from de Gaulle’s memoir and the corresponding passage from the official translation, together with Bing and Google translations.

    One caveat: de Gaulle’s original is far from accurate.

    Would be interesting to see how well other languages stand up.


    MEMOIRES DE GUERRE - L’APPEL 1940-1942

    La matinée fut chargée. Je commençai par régler la destination du Pasteur, qui transportait un millier de canons de 75, des milliers de mitrailleuses et des lots de munitions venant des États-Unis. Sur le rapport de notre mission militaire, le navire, qui était en mer, fut dérouté par mon ordre de Bordeaux, où il allait, vers un port de Grande-Bretagne, étant donné la tournure des événements, il fallait empêcher que ce chargement, alors inestimable, tombât aux mains de l'ennemi. En fait, les canons et les mitrailleuses apportés par le Pasteur contribuèrent à réarmer les Britanniques qui avaient perdu, à Dunkerque, presque tout leur matériel.



    THE CALL TO HONOUR - 1940-1942, p.81.

    The morning was a full one. I began by settling the destination of the Pasteur, which was carrying a thousand 75s, some thousands of machine guns and quantities ammunition, all from the United States. On the advice of our military mission, the ship, which was still at sea, was diverted by my orders from Bordeaux, whither she was bound, to a port in Great Britain. Given the turn of events, this cargo, then invaluable, had to be prevented from falling into the hands of the enemy. In fact the guns and machine guns brought by the Pasteur helped to re-arm the British, who had lost at Dunkirk nearly all their material.



    bing.com/translator/

    The morning was busy. I began by adjusting the destination of the Pastor, who was carrying a thousand guns of 75, thousands of machine guns and lots of ammunition from the United States. On the report of our military mission, the ship, which was at sea, was diverted by my order from Bordeaux, where it was going, towards a port in Great Britain, given the turn of events, it was necessary to prevent this cargo, then priceless, from falling into the hands of the enemy. In fact, the guns and machine guns brought by the Pastor helped to rearm the British who had lost almost all their equipment at Dunkirk.



    translate.google.com

    The morning was busy. I began by settling the destination of the Pasteur, which was carrying a thousand 75-guns, thousands of machine guns and lots of ammunition from the United States. On the report of our military mission, the ship, which was at sea, was diverted by my order from Bordeaux, where it was going, to a port in Great Britain, given the turn of events, it was necessary to prevent this load, then invaluable, fell into the hands of the enemy. In fact, the cannons and machine guns brought by the Pastor helped to rearm the British who had lost, in Dunkirk, almost all their equipment.
     
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  2. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Reverso (Reverso | Free online translation, dictionary)

    It was a busy morning. I began by setting the destination of the Pasteur, which carried a thousand guns of 75, thousands of machine guns and lots of ammunition from the United States. On the report of our military mission, the ship, which was at sea, was diverted by my order from Bordeaux, where it was going, towards a port in Great Britain, given the turn of events, it was necessary to prevent this load, then invaluable, from falling into the hands of the enemy. In fact, the guns and machine guns brought by the Pasteur helped rearm the British who had lost almost all their equipment at Dunkirk.


    TD
     
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  3. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    DeepL DeepL Translate

    It was a busy morning. I began by arranging the destination of the Pasteur, which was carrying a thousand 75mm guns, thousands of machine guns and lots of ammunition from the United States. On the report of our military mission, the ship, which was at sea, was diverted by my order from Bordeaux, where it was going, to a port in Great Britain, given the turn of events, it was necessary to prevent this then invaluable cargo from falling into enemy hands. In fact, the guns and machine guns brought by the Pasteur helped to rearm the British who had lost almost all their equipment at Dunkirk.
     
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  4. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    I also need to add here that if I was writing something in English (my mother tongue) then I would actually write it differently if I was going to use a translator especially from English to French. I would word it slightly differently so that the context remained as I wished it to be. This is because some words in English can be translated into more than one in French and sometimes not one of the same meaning. This is the art of the translator and something that a machine cannot adapt to


    TD
     
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  5. ceolredmonger

    ceolredmonger Member

    Always respect the complex science and art of the translator!
    There can be a huge difference between transliteration and translation. On-line systems have come on in sophistication however this is based on learning from other translations. The danger is that this will not accurately reflect arcane historical phrasing or glossing.
    Get in the habit of questioning any hypothesis based on an unquestioned quote from a work originally published in another language and at another time (e.g. "The training manual for the Tiger tank says....").
     

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