Suggest that google translate should always translate الله "Allah" to the generic word for "God" in the output language. Thus, الله should always translate as "God" in English, "Dios" in Spanish, "Θεός" in Greek, "Бог" in Russian, etc.
Interestingly, when الله is submitted on its own, google translate generally does render the output language's generic word for "God"; however, when الله is entered as part of a longer phrase, it is sometimes rendered as a transliterated "Allah" instead. For example, الحمد الله is rendered in English as "Praise be to Allah" instead of "Praise be to God"; likewise, in Greek it is rendered as "Ο έπαινος είναι στο Αλλάχ" (translit.: "O epainos sto Allach") instead of "Ο έπαινος είναι στο Θεό" (translit.: "O epainos enai sto Theo"). I feel this is an important issue to address, as الله "Allah" is just the Arabic word for God, and *not* the name of some specific local deity. Making it clear that الله "Allah" is utterly synonymous with "God" in English, "Dios" in Spanish, etc. is therefore critical in expressing the full meaning of phrases entered for translation and in helping to bridge the gaps that still exist between different linguistic, religious, and national communities. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "General" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/google-translate-general?hl=en.
