Translators Have Jobs, For Now

Machine or computer translation still stirs debate among translators.

Future employment is at stake after years of education, training, researching, and yes, rendering documents on time for clients.

End for human translators?
Despite decades of advances, one field where technology still trails humankind is translation.

Computers are marvelous in assisting translators in managing glossaries, TMs, and making the final document appear as mirror image of the source text.

However, when it comes to the intellectual firepower to apply the correct term and register, our faithful friend has not yet delivered.

The Test
So, I decided to test Google Translation, Babel Fish, and Reverso to satisfy a curiosity.

I copied and pasted the title of a section of a collective bargaining agreement from a recent Portuguese to English translation.

The phrase in Brazilian Portuguese is:  GARANTIA AO EMPREGADO EM VIAS DE APOSENTADORIA.

Google:                 GUARANTEE THE WAY IN EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT
Babel Fish:            GUARANTEE TO THE EMPLOYEE IN RETIREMENT WAYS
Reverso:                GUARANTEE TO THE EMPLOYEE IN RETIREMENT WAYS
Humble Human:     GUARANTEE TO EMPLOYEE NEARING RETIREMENT

The computer does not know the type of document. That is important because of the context and sometimes (many?) because of the vocabulary.

The computer is able to isolate the keywords correctly like ''guarantee,'' ''to employee,'' (except Google) and ''retirement.''

However, the humble human rendering the document knows ''en vías'' is in no ''ways'' in the document.

Experience, familiarity with labor contracts in Spanish and Portuguese, and outright knowledge lead the humble human to render the whole phrase to its acceptable translation.

The humble human's translation was submitted to Reverso as a suggestion for improvement.

Conclusion
So while the three computer translators above perform their functions to a point, the humble human still has the edge on acceptable translations while the debate rages on the need, efficacy, and of course, accuracy of machine or computer translation.

Companies and individuals who need an accurate translation without embarrassments still need to rely on the humble human.

*** If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please contact Professor Winn by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Buy your English-language texts today!

What were the 10 most translated languages in 2010?

According to the Kwintessential translation services firm, the Top 10 most translated languages to/from English in 2010 were:


1.French
2.German
3.Spanish
4.Arabic
5.Italian
6.Chinese
7.Dutch
8.Russian
9.Polish
10.Portuguese


Three of my languages, from French, Spanish, and Portuguese to English, made the top 10.

Is it surprising that Polish is in the top tier of the list?

For the next five languages, visit their site.
*** If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please contact Professor Winn by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Buy your English-language texts today!

FR >EN Translation - 65th Anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald

French to English Trnslation - courtesy of Professor Winn

Note: US soldiers liberated the camp on April 11, 1945.

nouvelobs.com
65e anniversaire de la libération de Buchenwald
65th Anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald

Survivants et responsables politiques ont salué dimanche, au cours d'une cérémonie, le 65e anniversaire de la libération de ce camp de concentration.

In a ceremony on Sunday, survivors and politicians marked the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp.

Survivants et responsables politiques ont salué dimanche, au cours d'une cérémonie, le 65e anniversaire de la libération du camp de concentration de Buchenwald (centre de l'Allemagne).

In a ceremony on Sunday, survivors and politicians marked the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp (central Germany).

"La plupart des mes camarades sont morts, ils ne sont plus avec nous", a déclaré Günther Pappenheim, 84 ans, l'un des quelque 90 survivants qui ont assisté à la cérémonie.

“Most of my comrades are dead, they are no longer with us,” 84 year-old Günther Pappenheim, one of the few 90 survivors who attended the ceremony, said.

"Mais nous avons un grand voeu, une grande requête, que le souvenir des victimes de la terreur fasciste, que les camarades qui ont perdu leur vie à Buchenwald, vivent dans nos coeur... et qu'ils ne soient jamais oubliées".

“But we had a great wish, a great request, that the memory of victims of fascist terror, that comrades who lost their lives in Buchenwald, live in our heart…and they will never be forgotten.”

Buchenwald n'est pas, à proprement parler, un camp d'extermination -- ils étaient tous situés dans les territoires d'Europe de l'est occupés, à l'instar d'Auschwitz en Pologne -- mais il a été le théâtre d'immenses souffrances.

Buchenwald is not properly called an extermination camp – they were located in the occupied Eastern Europe, like Auschwitz in Poland –but it was a place of immense suffering.  

(continue in French)

***
If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please call Professor Winn at 6214-1511 or send an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation.

Buy your English-language texts today!

Suben 16% el precio de los medicamentos/16% increase in medicine

Spanish - English Translation/courtesy of Professor Winn

The good professor also translates Spanish, French, and Portuguese to English.

The following article from Argentine medical blog, BlogSalud (HealthBlog), always is a good read to keep up to date on medical issues and terminology. It is well-written and well-respected. The cost of medical care and medicine continue to affect developed and developing countries alike.

Suben 16% el precio de los medicamentos
16% increase in medicine

Laboratorios logran venia de Moreno y suben 16% el precio de los medicamentos
Laboratories get Moreno’s permission and raise the price of medicine by 16%

El incremento previsto para 2010 se llevará a cabo en tres etapas. Algunas firmas ya pusieron en marcha la primera, con alzas del 6%. El resto sería en julio y octubre.
The expected increase for 2010 will come in three steps. Some companies have already taken the first with a 6% rise. The rest would come in July and October.

La novela por el aumento de las cuotas de la medicina prepaga todavía está lejos de llegar a su fin, aunque por si le faltara algún condimento al segmento de la salud, ahora apareció una nueva disputa.
The saga of increased costs of prepaid medicine is far from over, as if the health sector needed a new dispute.

Los laboratorios comenzaron –y con éxito– una rueda de negociaciones con el secretario de Comercio Interior, Guillermo Moreno, que les permitirá incrementar los precios de sus medicamentos un promedio del 16 por ciento.

Laboratories began – with success – a round of negotiations with Interior Commerce Minister Guillermo Moreno allows increases in the prices of medicine by an average of 16 percent.

***
If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please call Professor Winn at 6214-1511 or send an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation.

Buy your English-language texts today!

Nashville 'Nay' on English-only

By 10,000 votes, Nashville, the capital of the US state of Tennessee, defeated a measure pushed by its Metro Councilman Eric Crafton to mandate English-only proceedings in city government with exceptions voted by the Council.

Crafton had argued the measure would have saved the city more than $100,000 in translation costs.

Though there is no official language in the United States, 30 states among them Tennessee declare English the official language.

If the measure had passed, Nashville would have been the largest city (600,000 population) among 19 that do have an official English language policy. For that reason alone, Crafton's English-only measure garnered widespread media attention.

Language is culture as translators know. The US is undeniably a multi-cultural society - the proverbial "melting pot" - a country built by immigrants.

Indeed, English-only measures in the US are a subtext of the immigration issues facing the country.

Just as speaking French if you live in France or Spanish if you live in Latin America is plain practical to survive and prosper, so is English in the United States.

Declaring it the official government policy is another matter.

If you are in Buenos Aires and want English lessons personally designed to fit your needs, please call Professor Winn at 1160 461 342 or send an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com.

Anyone interested in English-language services or translations (Sp/Fr/Pt>En) may send an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation.

Buy your English-language texts today!

Welcome!

Welcome to Mr. English 101!

If you are fascinated by the English language or just curious about the impact of the modern lingua franca on social, political, and economic affairs around the world, you have stumbled upon the right blog for YOU!

I am Professor Winn, an English instructor and certified translator (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English) currently living in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Teaching English as Foreign Language (EFL) is both rewarding and challenging at the same time.

I created Mr. English 101 to demonstrate how my native language interacts with our global society. The demand for English instruction is the highest among second languages. From arts to commerce to diplomacy, English dominates communication in our multipolar world.

My point is not English-language chauvinism. I am fluent in Spanish and read French and Portuguese at a very high level (thus I can translate from them into my native language, as a professional translator should). My respect for other languages and cultures is deep and genuine.

However, the English language at this current time has a greater impact in everyday life. Mr. English 101 demonstrates this fact via reports throughout the week drawing from headlines around the world in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese about how the English language is impacting our global society.

As an added bonus, English lessons are included in the mix for those who are learning English and want to learn more or native speakers who want to improve their own language skills.

So, sign up to follow this blog or subscribe today so you will not miss any of my exciting posts as together we go forward in the discovery of just how important the English langauge is today.

If you are in Buenos Aires and want English lessons personally designed to fit your needs, please call Professor Winn at 1160 461 342 or send an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com.

Anyone interested in translations from Spanish, French, or Portuguese to English may send an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation.

Thank you, my loyal readers, for your support and stay tuned for our exciting excursion ahead!