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Skype Translate Reportedly Has a Swearing Problem In Chinese
An anonymous reader writes: Skype Translate was supposed to be Microsoft's attempt at the "Star Trek" universal translator, offering real-time voice and text translation. It launched with one of the most challenging of languages, Chinese. And apparently, thanks to the Great Firewall, it has its problems. An American expat using it in China reports: "A glitch in the beta software misinterpreted the words I spoke. 'It's nice to talk to you' was translated as 'It's f*cking nice to f*ck you,' and other synthesized profanity, like the icebox robot in 1970's sci-fi flick Logan's Run, but with Tourette Syndrome. It was quite funny to me - I couldn't help but laugh during repeated takes, to Yan's exasperation - but the tech team were none too happy about it as they worked late into the night."
ROLLER CAPTION: IN 1970, THE BRITISH EMPIRE LAY IN RUINS, FOREIGN NATIONALS FREQUENTED THE STREETS - MANY OF THEM HUNGARIANS (NOT THE STREETS - THE FOREIGN NATIONALS). ANYWAY, MANY OF THESE HUNGARIANS WENT INTO TOBACCONIST'S SHOPS TO BUY CIGARETTES... ... tobacconist's. ...tobacco...er, cigarettes? ... do you want to come back to my place, bouncy bouncy? ...(mumbling as he searches) Costs six and six ... Here we are ... Yandelvayasna grldenwi stravenka.
Enter Hungarian gentleman with phrase book. He is looking for the right phrase.
Hungarian I will not buy this record, it is scratched.
Tobacconist Sorry?
Hungarian I will not buy this record, it is scratched.
Tobacconist No, no, no.This
Hungarian Ah! I will not buy this tobacconist's, it is scratched.
Tobacconist No, no, no
Hungarian Yes, cigarettes. My hovercraft is full of eels.
Tobacconist What?
Hungarian (miming matches) My hovercraft is full of eels.
Tobacconist Matches, matches? (showing some)
Hungarian Yah, yah. (he takes cigarettes and matches and pulls out loose change; he consults his book) Er, do you want
Tobacconist I don't think you're using that right.
Hungarian You great pouf.
Tobacconist That'll be six and six, please.
Hungarian If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me? I am no longer infected.
Tobacconist (miming that he wants to see the book; he takes the book) It costs six and six
Hungarian hits him between the eyes. Policeman walking along the street suddenly stops and puts his hand to his ear. He starts running down the street, round corner and down another street, round yet another corner and down another street into the shop
Policeman What's going on here then?
Hungarian (opening book and pointing at tobacconist) You have beautiful thighs.
Policeman What?
Tobacconist He hit me.
Hungarian Drop your panties, Sir William, I cannot wait till lunchtime.
Policeman Right! (grabs him and drags him out)
Hungarian My nipples explode with delight.
_ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
I refuse to believe someone didn't do that on purpose.
That's too damned funny to be by accident.
Please fondle my bum
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
The "traditional" joke concerning computer translation is about 30 years old - at least, because I've been telling it that long, and I heard it from somebody else.But it's still a classic.
The original translating computer wasn't voice-recognition; you had to type in your statement in English, and it would be translated to Chinese on the screen. So in order to demonstrate how good it was with colloquial English, the programmer typed in a common saying, "Out of sight, out of mind". The computer whirred and chirped for a couple of minutes, and a column of Chinese characters appeared. The Chinese operator looked quite puzzled, but to play along, he typed (in Chinese characters) exactly what he had read on his screen.
Chirp, whirr, beep, and the machine produced the translation back into English.
It said "Invisible Insanity".
'It's nice to talk to you' was translated as 'It's f*cking nice to f*ck you,'
Seems the damn thing is actually translating what's in your mind instead of what your saying...
Video of some good progressive thrash music
*facepalm* the stupid is strong in this one.
Hindi and Mandarin aren't even in the same language family. They are as different as two languages can ever be.
There are more than enough Russian speakers in the west. I, for one, speak Russian as a second language. Same goes for Spanish and Arabic, by the way, so you are definitely talking out of your arse. Your provincialism is really showing, except that even in your own country 13% of the population speaks Spanish.
And this "exposing them to modern western culture" is laughable.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap