×

We use cookies to help make LingQ better. By visiting the site, you agree to our cookie policy.


image

Steve's Blog Posts, Google Translate "Doesn’t Work"

Google Translate "Doesn't Work"

I hear all the time that Google Translate doesn't work.

It's not accurate. It's this and that. I think Google Translate is a tremendous resource and not only for language learners. If I get a text in a language that I don't understand, then I can quickly put it into Google Translate and get a sense of what the meaning is, something in Finnish, Hungarian, whatever it might be. It's not 100% and it's better for some languages than others, but I find it extremely useful. Second of all, Google Translate is an excellent dictionary.

It normally gives you a lot of information about the word, some synonyms, the pronunciation, text to speech, so it's a very good dictionary and quite accurate. This depends on the language. It doesn't work as well in Korean as in let's say German or Russian, but by and large it's a very good dictionary. Not only does it do words, it does phrases and that's very useful. Often, if I'm working at LingQ and I look up some individual words and I don't have a good sense of the meaning of these words in combination, I can highlight the phrase, put it into Google Translate (we're connected to it) and I can see the meaning.

Not only that, but you can also work the other way with phrases. ‘In other words', there's a phrase, how do we say that in Czech. There it is jinými slovy. So if you want to improve your language level by having some handy phrases like ‘in other words', ‘in my opinion' or ‘by the way', then you just put it into Google Translate and you get that phrase. So that's its function as a dictionary. It also helps me when I have to write in a language which uses an alphabet other than the Latin alphabet.

For me, to write in Russian I can do it, but it's much faster for me to simply type quickly in English and translate it into Russian. I can go into the Russian and fix up those parts that are not correct and voila, my Russian text, if I have to comment on a forum or something of that nature. It also ensures that my spelling is correct. Now, it works better for some languages than others. It doesn't work so well for Asian languages, but it works very well for European languages, in my experience. The last thing I will say is that I find it very useful sometimes if I want to focus on a particular area of vocabulary, let's say having to do with forestry or something.

I can plunk in a text in English on one side at Google Translate, translate it into Russian, Chinese or whatever language, then I can import that into LingQ and I study saving words and phrases. Overall, the text that Google Translate produces is somewhat unnatural and has errors, but in terms of acquiring the vocabulary I find it tremendously useful. To me, Google Translate is not going to replace translators that are required for legal work or business documents, but it does facilitate people working across different languages and makes it easier for us to learn languages and I don't see that it will replace the need for learning languages.

If I'm in a foreign country like China or Brazil and I want to communicate with the locals, I'm not going to do it through some device that translates it back and forth. I want to speak the local language, learn about the culture, learn about the history and so forth. So Google Translate is a tremendous boon.

It's one of the many sort of technological advances that have made language learning so much easier today than it ever was.


Google Translate "Doesn’t Work"

I hear all the time that Google Translate doesn’t work.

It’s not accurate. It’s this and that. これとあれです。 I think Google Translate is a tremendous resource and not only for language learners. Google翻訳は言語学習者だけでなく、すばらしいリソースだと思います。 If I get a text in a language that I don’t understand, then I can quickly put it into Google Translate and get a sense of what the meaning is, something in Finnish, Hungarian, whatever it might be. 理解できない言語のテキストを受け取った場合、それをGoogle翻訳にすばやく入力して、意味が何であるか、フィンランド語、ハンガリー語などの意味を理解できます。 It’s not 100% and it’s better for some languages than others, but I find it extremely useful. 100%ではなく、一部の言語には他の言語よりも優れていますが、非常に便利です。 Second of all, Google Translate is an excellent dictionary.

It normally gives you a lot of information about the word, some synonyms, the pronunciation, text to speech, so it’s a very good dictionary and quite accurate. それは通常、単語、いくつかの同義語、発音、テキストからスピーチまでの多くの情報を提供するので、非常に優れた辞書であり、非常に正確です。 This depends on the language. これは言語によって異なります。 It doesn’t work as well in Korean as in let’s say German or Russian, but by and large it’s a very good dictionary. 韓国語ではドイツ語やロシア語などと同じように機能しませんが、概して非常に優れた辞書です。 Not only does it do words, it does phrases and that’s very useful. 単語だけでなく、フレーズも使用でき、非常に便利です。 Often, if I’m working at LingQ and I look up some individual words and I don’t have a good sense of the meaning of these words in combination, I can highlight the phrase, put it into Google Translate (we’re connected to it) and I can see the meaning.

Not only that, but you can also work the other way with phrases. ‘In other words', there’s a phrase, how do we say that in Czech. There it is jinými slovy. そこにはジノミ・スロヴィです。 So if you want to improve your language level by having some handy phrases like ‘in other words', ‘in my opinion' or ‘by the way', then you just put it into Google Translate and you get that phrase. したがって、「言い換えれば」、「私の意見では」、または「ところで」などの便利なフレーズを使用して言語レベルを向上させたい場合は、Google翻訳にそのフレーズを入力するだけです。 So that’s its function as a dictionary. これが辞書としての機能です。 It also helps me when I have to write in a language which uses an alphabet other than the Latin alphabet. また、ラテンアルファベット以外のアルファベットを使用する言語で書く必要がある場合にも役立ちます。

For me, to write in Russian I can do it, but it’s much faster for me to simply type quickly in English and translate it into Russian. 私にとっては、ロシア語で書くことはできますが、英語ですばやくすばやくタイプしてロシア語に翻訳する方がはるかに高速です。 I can go into the Russian and fix up those parts that are not correct and voila, my Russian text, if I have to comment on a forum or something of that nature. 私はロシア語に行き、フォーラムやそのような性質についてコメントする必要がある場合、私のロシア語のテキストである正しくない部分を修正できます。 It also ensures that my spelling is correct. また、私のスペルが正しいことも確認します。 Now, it works better for some languages than others. 現在、一部の言語では他の言語よりもうまく機能します。 It doesn’t work so well for Asian languages, but it works very well for European languages, in my experience. 私の経験では、アジアの言語ではそれほどうまく機能しませんが、ヨーロッパの言語では非常にうまく機能します。 The last thing I will say is that I find it very useful sometimes if I want to focus on a particular area of vocabulary, let’s say having to do with forestry or something. 最後に言えることは、語彙の特定の領域に焦点を当てたい場合、林業などに関係しているとしましょう。

I can plunk in a text in English on one side at Google Translate, translate it into Russian, Chinese or whatever language, then I can import that into LingQ and I study saving words and phrases. Google翻訳で片側を英語のテキストにして、ロシア語、中国語などの言語に翻訳してから、それをLingQにインポートして、単語や語句の保存を研究することができます。 Overall, the text that Google Translate produces is somewhat unnatural and has errors, but in terms of acquiring the vocabulary I find it tremendously useful. 全体として、Google翻訳が生成するテキストはやや不自然で誤りがありますが、語彙を習得するという点では、非常に役立つと思います。 To me, Google Translate is not going to replace translators that are required for legal work or business documents, but it does facilitate people working across different languages and makes it easier for us to learn languages and I don’t see that it will replace the need for learning languages.

If I’m in a foreign country like China or Brazil and I want to communicate with the locals, I’m not going to do it through some device that translates it back and forth. I want to speak the local language, learn about the culture, learn about the history and so forth. So Google Translate is a tremendous boon.

It’s one of the many sort of technological advances that have made language learning so much easier today than it ever was. これは、今日の言語学習がかつてないほど容易になった多くの種類の技術的進歩の1つです。