Google once boasted that their in-house machine translation efforts are award-winning. However, their internal software still hasn’t been released for all the translation language pairs their offer. The German - English language pair is one such example using an external translation provider. I wanted to check up on this language pair by feeding it German idioms – the German language is full of metaphors and proverbs. As you can see below, rarely does the (Systran-provided) translation get across the meaning, as it’s almost always much too literal. Why didn’t Google already switch to their in-house technology by now? Does it work less well than they were hoping for, or is it too resource-intensive with too little revenue options? It certainly would be along their mission to make information more accessible. (Update: Some of those literal translations are close to the real thing, check the comments for more...)
German original | Google/ Systran translation | What it really means |
---|---|---|
“Du gehst mir auf die Nerven.” | You go to me on the nerves. | You annoy me. |
“Das geht mir auf den Wecker.” | That can be done to me on the bell. | This annoys me. |
“Ein echter Ohrwurm, dieses Lied.” | A genuine ear worm, this song. | (Google is correct; “A truly catchy tune/ ear worm, this song.”) |
“Das ist unter aller Sau.” | That is under all sow. | This is worse than bad/ this is mean-spirited/ messy. |
“Wir haben bis in die Puppen getanzt.” | We danced into the dolls. | We danced long into the night. |
“Das geht mir gehörig gegen den Strich.” | That can be done to me duly against the line. | This is totally not want I want. |
“Na dann, Hals- und Beinbruch.” | Well then, neck and leg break. | Good luck on your endeavor/ may things go well. |
“Die ist gestern voll ins Fettnäpfchen getreten.” | Those stepped yesterday fully into the fat cell. | She committed a major faux pas yesterday. |
“Ich habe heute den ganze Morgen einen Kater.” | I have today the whole morning a Kater. | I’m on a hang-over this morning. |
“Jetzt lassen Sie aber mal die Kirche im Dorf!” | Now you leave however times the church in the village! | Stop making such a big fuss out of this! |
“Jetzt hab ich glatt den Faden verloren...” | Now have I smoothly the thread lost... | Now I forgot what I was talking about... |
“Wusstest du nicht, der hat ins Gras gebissen.” | You did not know, which has in the grass bitten. | Didn’t you know he died/ he’s six feet under. |
“Ich hab keine Kohle mehr, die Alte hat mich total abgezockt.” | I have no more coal, which old persons has me totally abgezockt. | I’m broke, this damn woman completely ripped me off. |
“Der hat ihr neulich einen Korb gegeben.” | That gave her a basket recently. | She was flirting with him recently but he rejected her. |
“Ja, dafür würde ich sogar die Hand ins Feuer legen.” | Yes, but I would put even the hand in the fire. | Yes, I swear on my life it’s true... |
“Wer hat denn von euch zwei die Hosen an zuhause?” | Who has from you two the trousers on at home? | Who of you two is boss at home? |
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