Dear Jack, Frans and all I didn't know "prompt", I make a trial : - very good to highlight the words not translated (for example I remember "oiseaux" to translate Paolo Ocello ...) - but the frame doesn't allow to have a good vision of the website
When I use them to translate in French, I find the results quite similar:: - good enough to understand, - but very funny sometimes, so you can't use them to publish I agree with Jack, but I never had time to learn Italian, Spanish or Chinese ... so these tools are very useful for me ! My two cents Joël 48°01'25'' N, 1°45'40" O ---> http://www.cadrans-solaires.fr/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jack Aubert" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; "'Steve'" <[email protected]>; "'robic.joel'" <[email protected]>; "'Sundial List'" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 9:27 PM Subject: RE: Translations The lava strips are made from "lave emaillée" which is different from "lave": Extraite dans les volcans d'Auvergne, la lave émaillée est réputée pour sa dureté. La lave emaillee ne craint pas pas le gel, la pierre de lave emaillee resiste parfaitement aux UV, la lave émaillée résiste à beaucoup d'acides, la lave émaillée peut être déclinée en multiples couleurs et formats jusqu'à 250cm de long pour plans de travail cuisine, plans de travail salle de bains ainsi que des tables en lave emaillee. Les vasques et éviers sont en grès émaillé. Les vasques émaillées et les éviers émaillés sont collés par dessous les plans en lave émaillée. It is therefore similar to porcelain, but uses stone as a substrate. In this instance, the best translation for "lave would have been "enamel" As for machine translation, it is helpful when you have no clue or are dealing with a language where you have zero knowledge. But so far, the only way to get a "real" translation is to run it through a human brain. Machine translation may eventually be a reality, but not until they perfect artificial intelligence. Learn more languages! There is always time for one more. Jack Aubert -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Frans W. Maes Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 6:12 AM To: Steve; robic.joel; Sundial List Subject: Re: Translations Dear Steve and all, Three free translators I sometimes use for websites or short texts, are: - Babelfish: http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ - Google: http://translate.google.com/ - Prompt: http://www.online-translator.com/ You may try each on the AFP press release: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gFPjvks3c5EemskZkRWhCB-Fu _IA and judge the quality (when you read French and English) or see whether you get the message. In this case, the photos set the stage for the story, so that makes it easier. For this limited sample, I think Prompt does a slightly better job than Google, and Babelfish is last. What do you think, Joël? Prompt marks the words that were not translated, such as proper names, which is handy. More generally, a simple original, both in terminology and in grammar, leads to a better translation. That's why e-mail messages often translate badly. For me, the most important paragraph in this text is how the sundial should function: "Innovation de ce cadran: c'est l'ombre même du parapet projetée sur la voûte du barrage qui permet de lire l'heure solaire. Chaque heure est matérialisée par une "ligne horaire" confectionnée avec des plaques en lave émaillée: ocres pour les heures du matin, vertes pour celles de l'après-midi. L'heure solaire est connue lorsque l'ombre tangente l'une de ces lignes." which translates into: Babelfish: Innovation of this dial: it is the shade even parapet projected on the vault of the stopping which makes it possible to read the solar hour. Each hour is materialized by a "time line" made with plates in enamelled lava: ochres for the hours of the morning, green for those of the afternoon. The solar hour is known when the tangent shade one of these lines. Google: Innovation of the dial: the very shadow of the parapet onto the arch dam, which allows you to get the solar time. Each hour is marked by a "line timetable" made with plates in enamelled lava: ochers for the morning, green for those in the afternoon. The solar time is known when the shadow tangent one of these lines. Prompt: Innovation of this face: it is the shadow of the breastwork cast on the arch of the dam which allows to read the solar hour. Every hour is fulfilled by a "line per hour" made with plates in interspersed lava: ochres for hours, green for those of afternoon. The solar hour is known when tangent shadow one of these lines. In the original, the most essential word of the entire story is "tangente", which apparently is used as a verb: the shadow of the edge touches (kisses, osculates) an hour line. This may be an uncommon usage, as all three utilities interpret it as an adjective and try to make at least some sense out of it. And I wonder what the lava strips are made of... Best regards, Frans Maes Steve wrote: > Confrere: > > I am interested in translating email and web > pages into English. I use as example the note > from Joel about the Castillon Dam. The link > contained in his email is to a web page in French and so my question. > > I use Eudora for mail and have receded to FireFox > version 2.00.18. However, I have tried various > translators with several versions without much success. > > My question. Does anyone use a translation > program for email and the web, with success. > > Thanks > > Steve > Yorktown VA > > > > At 01:13 PM 6/15/2009, robic.joel wrote: >> Hello Frans and all, >> It's the Castillon Dam, see this AFP article, you will understand easiler >> the principle >> http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gFPjvks3c5EemskZkRWhCB-Fu _IA >> >> More information is available in French "Cadran Info" magazine (including >> modelling by Gérard Baillet and calculations from Denis Savoie). >> >> Best regards >> Joël >> 48°01'25'' N, 1°45'40" O >> ---> http://www.cadrans-solaires.fr/ >> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Frans W. Maes" <[email protected]> >>> To: "Josef Pastor" <[email protected]> >>> Cc: ""'Sonnenuhr (Uni Köln)'"" <[email protected]> >>> Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 4:56 PM >>> Subject: Re: French dam to be world´s biggest sundial >>> >>> >>> >>> Dear all, >>> >>> The audio track of the video is bad, so I was unable to hear which dam >>> this is, and how the sundial would function. Does anyone know more about >>> this intriguing project? >>> >>> Best regards, >>> Frans Maes >>> >>> Josef Pastor wrote: >>>> Dear Dialists, >>>> >>>> Famous French Denis Savoie presents a French dam to be world´s biggest >>>> sundial on "You Tube". >>>> >>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-NJIhliZG4 >>>> >>>> >>>> Best regards >>>> >>>> Josef Pastor >>>> >>>> ** >>>> >>>> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------------------- >>>> https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial >>>> >>> --------------------------------------------------- >>> https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> --------------------------------------------------- >> https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial >> >> >> >> >> >> E-mail message checked by Internet Security (6.0.0.386) >> Database version: 5.12160 >> http://www.pctools.com/en/internet-security/ > > > --------------------------------------------------- > https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial > --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
