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Paramedics Use Google Translate While Delivering Baby

Posted by samzenpus on from the quick-thinking dept.

First time accepted submitter myatari writes Irish paramedics transporting a pregnant Congolese woman to a maternity hospital in Cork had to use some quick thinking when the mum-to-be went into labor en-route. The two paramedics (neither of whom speak Swahili) fired up Google Translate to communicate via English-Swahili and successfully delivered baby girl "Brigid" (named after an Irish Saint no less!).

17 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. I'm a Paramedic... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...and I use translation services (either via google, or more usually a paid up telephone translation service provided by my employer) semi-regularly!

  2. Alternative by jhol13 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I wonder what would have happened had they not had Google Translate. A boy?

    1. Re:Alternative by swillden · · Score: 4, Informative

      I wonder what would have happened had they not had Google Translate. A boy?

      Depending on the circumstances, the alternative could have been death of mother and/or baby. The alternative almost certainly would have been an even more unpleasant experience for the mother, with no ability to communicate with the EMTs about her state or the progress of the birth.

      (Now let's see if my AC stalker shows up to crapflood responses to this post, too.)

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  3. Would French not have worked? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Given that the official language of both Congos (DRC and RC) is French, couldn't they just have tried that?
    Swahili is not a language commonly spoken in either Congo.

    1. Re:Would French not have worked? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Swahili is one of the 4 official non-European languages in DRC with approximately 33 million DRC citizens speaking the language.

      So... the story makes sense... kind of. I agree though, French would have been my go-to language for someone from DRC. I've traveled in DRC (eastern side) and French was always the first thing anyone spoke to me.

    2. Re:Would French not have worked? by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 2

      Non English speakers speaking English, a lot. English speakers speaking something else: a few.

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    3. Re:Would French not have worked? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Swahili is an old-ish trader language. It has very distinct links to Arabic (lots of common words). It was big in the EA region for a long time in addition to the local/tribal languages. The Germans and British did a lot to bring it into more common use and institutionalized its use in the late 1800s through to around 1930.

      The spread of Swahili into DRC? No clue. Probably just the natural fluid-like progression of languages. Political borders don't always define language groups.

      In terms of use, it makes sense in some regards that the uptake of the language is increasing in DRC... easy to conduct business when you have a common language, and given the countless tribal languages spoken in Africa... having at least one common makes sense. Going international, countries are focusing on English (example, Rwanda used to be primarily French and Kinyarwandan... recently though the government switch grade school focus to English instead of French . Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/oct/14/rwanda-france )

    4. Re:Would French not have worked? by NotDrWho · · Score: 2

      We have the same requirement in the U.S. (generally a year or two of foreign language in secondary school). But even though French, Spanish, and German were the most common languages taught when I was in school, the odds of two given random people being actually fluent in French are low. And all of this is, of course, assuming that either of the paramedics happened to know that French was a common second language for a Swahili speaker.

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  4. re: google translate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm a husband and I feel that google translate is missing the most important language: "english"->"wife". When she says "Do I look ok in this dress?" and I say "yep.", she seems to hear something different.

    It'd help clear up many misunderstandings.

  5. Re:My hovercraft is full of eels by dissy · · Score: 2

    My hovercraft is full of eels
    *Runs google translate*

    Ooh, why of course. *hands ranger some matches*

    It's great that it worked out for them, but sometimes translations don't come out quite right.
    *Runs google translate*

    Wait, you want WHAT to come out of my nipples?!?

  6. Re:My hovercraft is full of eels by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    This.

    I can't say anything about the quality of google translate when it comes to Swahili. But usually when the languages are to some degree different (like, say, anything European to anything Far East and vv), you usually end up with something that makes little, if any, sense. If you want to see for yourself, go to any Chinese website, take the text there and paste it into Google translate and take a wild guess what the article is about.

    It can work out if you don't want to transport complex, nuanced meaning (e.g. when yelling "push now!"), though even that can become a mess in translation. In German, for example, you don't push. You press. IIRC in Russian asking her to "push" would probably well translate into asking her to punch you. A request a woman in this condition would probably fulfill gladly.

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  7. Re:Brigid? by tinkerghost · · Score: 3, Funny

    Brigid, or in the local spelling "Mhroughairidd".

    I'm sorry, there are vowels in that. It's obviously misspelled.

  8. Re: google translate by cdrudge · · Score: 3, Funny

    The trick is that you give her an answer but not an answer to specifically her question, and then shift it to a different conversation. For instance:

    Wife: Honey, do I look ok in this dress?
    Husband: Babe, you look great in everything but even better out of it.

    If you follow it up with trying to get her out of it, and do it enough times, eventually she'll start to ask you less. Or at least that is what I hope will someday happen with my wife.

  9. Re: google translate by complete+loony · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Do I look ok in this dress?

    "Ok? No, you look amazing. I can't wait to get you out of it."
    "That dress is ok, but it would look better on the floor."

    Don't answer yes or no. Remind her of how easily she can wrap you around her little finger.

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  10. A story of Saint Brigid. by XNormal · · Score: 5, Funny

    "A certain woman who had taken the vow of chastity fell, through youthful desire of pleasure and her womb swelled with child. Brigid, exercising the most potent strength of her ineffable faith, blessed her, causing the child to disappear, without coming to birth, and without pain. She faithfully returned the woman to health and to penance."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Brigid

    Was the mother of that child trying to hint something with that choice of name?

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  11. Re: google translate by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

    if (dress.price > 100.00) {
        return "That dress makes you look fat.";
    }

  12. Re:Please take your ignorant attitude somewhere el by neoritter · · Score: 2

    To a certain extent no it's not. But if a country becomes too fractured, it can no longer function as a country serving all its people. Iraq is kind of an example of this. Tensions between Sunni/Shia/Kurds has led to an inability of the Iraqi government to adequately hold these groups together. And has allowed for the severe persecution of minorities, like the Yazidis.

    Heterogeneous societies require a certain level of national unity to competently function.