Need Assistance - Foreign Language Fluent

Joe · 07-23-2006, 01:38 PM

I just discovered a feature of Google which may be of assistance to many who visit our website from other countries and I need members who are fluent in other languages to see if this feature is worthwhile:

Open Internet Explorer and go to www.google.com.

On the right hand of the "keyword" bar, click on "language tools"

This will open a new page.

Go to bottom of the page and click the country of your choice.

Type in HER2 Support and hit enter.

Our support group should be the first entry.. Click on "translate this page" or what ever it says in the particular language.

Our support group will appear in that language, although I don't know how accurate the translation is. This is what I need to know.

Regards
Joe..

Moni · 07-23-2006, 02:20 PM

and tears were running down my face from laughing at some of the translations... I am so sorry, it is great but it was funny at the same time. I am definitely forwarding this to my sis-in-law and I am sure she'll have a few good laughs and definitely questions.

Although I am German and I was reading the German translation - I had problems understanding what they were trying to tell me so I switched back over to the English version.

However, at the same time my sis-in-law's English would probably sound just as funny so I'm not complaining, ha!

It is definitely a step forward, however, the translation needs improvement. You could interpret something seriously wrong into those translations, that do not sound positive, especially with a topic dealing like breast cancer. I wonder what automatic translating tools google uses....hopefully you'll hear something from other countries how accurate or close the other translations came.

Thanks so much for sharing!

Moni

Barbara H. · 07-23-2006, 02:51 PM

Hi Joe,
I am not a native speaker, but am quite fluent in German, and I agree with Moni. The translation is very poor, uses incorrect words in context, and can be misleading. I would not use it. It must be done by some computer program and these programs do not seem to do the job. I have heard of kids in school using these programs and now I know why the teachers can always tell.
Too bad the translation doesn't work. It would be a great service to our members who are not fluent in English.
Best regards,
Barbara H.

07-25-2006, 07:29 AM

Hi Joe,

Unfortunately, this feature is not accurate (I work in a translation agency). Another feature available (although still not very accurate), but might be helpful in getting the 'gist' of a grammatically correct written sentence is Altavista (http://babelfish.altavista.com/). Still, interesting translations can come from this feature :-)

Thanks,

mts · 07-25-2006, 07:52 AM

The Spanish version will not translate acronyms such as "NED", "QOL" and the like nor some slang like "yikes" or "bummed"... aside from that, it does provide the jist of the website. It is all translated literally so phrases and words we use in every day English and are not used in everyday Spanish do add a bit of a translation problem.

I am not sure what HER2 is in Spanish! Would a Spanish speaking person look for that or even the FISH test? I am sure FISH acronym is different in Spanish!

Overall, I think the translation is pretty good and one could intelligently discern the information adequately.

Maria (MTS)

anne · 07-26-2006, 07:07 PM

Joe,
I saw French version and the posts did not make much sense. The translation was too literal especially things like "with contrast" and other scan info. I could decipher what the person was saying because I speak English, but for a total Francophone it would be v. difficult. The entry page was clear, only the posts were confusing. Hope that helps. Is this a person translating or a software? It would explain things if it were computerized. Good luck.