What are your thoughts on google translate?

[tinytinsparrow]

I really don't like google translate. While it gives you a ballpark idea (most of the time), it really doesn't do the nuances of certain words or phrases justice. Honestly, there have been times where before I post something in Korean on Facebook, I run it through a translator online. This isn't because I need it, but I'm curious to see what my non-Korean speaking friends would be seeing if they chose to do the same. Half the time, it's something completely off the wall and I worry about posting it for their reactions.

[jfab]

I really wish they could update this feature. It's still very inaccurate.

[dorannmwin]

Google translate is excellent when you are just wanting to get a general idea of what is being said. However, I don't think that it is good at all when you are looking for something that is precise because I've noticed a lot of errors with it when translating my son's homework.

[Dora M]

I have mixed feelings about the google translator. If you already have more than a basic knowledge of a language, it can be very useful to pick out certain words and connect them in the right way. I just use it mainly as a dictionary, when I am not quite sure about certain words. I definitely wouldn't rely on the grammar. I simply like the speed of it and with the translator application on my smart phone, it feels good to me to have the right word just a few clicks away when I need it.

[Lacey]

I have used it, mostly just for fun when we are at Chinese or Mexican restaurants mainly to see how accurate it is.  I wouldn't use it as my only means of knowing what other people are saying, to know the language that you are around is so much better.  I like that it is right on my phone though and if I do need it I have it in a pinch.

[winsomenotions]

I like to use Google translate for individual words. However, once you get to long sentences it often messes up the grammar and format, sometimes leaving you with a sentence that means the opposite of what you intended. I use it occasionally but I try to avoid it if I can, instead relying on grammar books and prior knowledge.

[sgreenwood]

Google Translate is ok. It really depends on what you are going to use it for.  :confused: If you are browsing through the internet and find a page in a different language and you just would like to get an overview of that very same page in another language, then google translate is great. if you are translating very easy sentences from let's say german to english or german to french, then google Translate is a very fast and quite reliable way to get things donse. However, if you would like to get an accurate translation for different language pairs (more "exotic" languages and combination of languages that are not etymologically related/connected) then you get in trouble real quick  the results in those cases are often really bad and the translation worthless.

I reckon Google translate is not bad and getting better and better...but for a proper translation you will always have to improve on the translation yourself and if you are translating exotic language combinations, Google Translate is very inaccurate (for good reasons). :ninja:

I agree. When just doing general internet browsing, or just trying to get the jist of something, it's fine. But you wouldn't want to use it for something like a business letter.

[darknessassassin]

I sometimes use Googletranslation and it's really helpful. I use it when I can't remember a certain word and/or how to spell it. However, Google translation should definitely not be used for translating sentences/text. Many people actually do that and they fail. It doesn't work that way.

[Gelsemium]

I agree dark, Google translate is a great tool, but at the same time I don't think there is an effective software for translation, I think people are the ones qualified to translate because a machine can't make a correct structure.

[Firelily99]

Its okay but it is free so it is more likely they will have mistakes in the translation.  I have used other translation sites and they were okay too, no major spelling and translation gaffs.

[skywatcher]

Google Translate is okay for me, though I shouldn't be always reliant on it - especially if I need an accurate rendition of the language. Should I use Google Translate, I should at least have a dictionary of the language nearby with me, just to be able to compare results. For personal reasons/entertainment reasons/curiosity reasons, sure I might use Google Translate, but if it's for official and formal things, I'd rather have Google Translate as somewhat a tool to "check and recheck" other translations I've seen - as second opinion or third opinion, if the terms are correct.

[ailsa]

Oh, it sometimes work. I'm too lazy to look up words on the dictionary, and google translates single words very well. But for sentences, I just can't rely on it. I gotta make some changes on the translations because it often feel not right. But it's really helpful and I use it a lot^-^

[GingerSpice]

I use it for small sentences or words, but it's definitely not accurate when trying to translate a large block of text..I've tried that, and it was hilariously inaccurate. It's fun to imagine how technology will someday advance to the point where languages aren't too complex for computers to translate though!

[skywatcher]

Google Translate is fine, so long as it's for translations that 1.) are needed immediately, 2.) for personal purposes, and 3.) simply for fun. But if it's about academic papers or for official/formal reasons, I'd rather check an official translation-dictionary or maybe even consult a native speaker. Just so I could be sure, haha.

[trenchant]

Google Translate is useful for understand a quick overview or general idea of a piece of text, and occasionally it will be useful for translating a single word as well. However, in my opinion, it's better and more accurate to go directly to a website specifically geared towards that one language in order to get the best translation of a single word.

[Nicholls]

I've used it for individual words or very short sentences but anything more and I find it tends to lose the plot. For instance, if you are looking for 'colloquial' spoken,local translations then it doesn't do too well.

The best example would be to copy and paste an article to translate to another language and the re-translate that back to your original. You'll find it to be virtually unreadable.

This is also what I do. I think it gets unreliable when you use long sentences, or even phrases. The problem is that it gives literal translation, but I guess that's a given since it's a free online translator.

I remember the first time I tried it. I input the phrase "squashed the cockroach", and I meant crushed it. I translated it to Filipino, so that I'll know if it gives the correct translation. I got "kinalabasa ang ipis". In Filipino, a squash (noun, vegetable) is called kalabasa. I laughed so hard because it even turned a Filipino noun to a verb.

[003]

It couldn't be more useful than providing the meanings of the word, the translations of them each. It just really doesn't help when one is translating to get the thought of what is being translated.

[whnuien]

I have used Google translate a few times and I found that it is only good for short translations / short sentences. There was once I put in a whole paragraph of English articles and translated it into my language and the result was so funny, it went completely upside down. But how can I complaint though, it is a free service.

I really like the Bing translation service provided on Facebook, now I can understand what my other friends with different languages are saying in their statuses. And what's more, I can easily comment my thought on their statuses if I wanted to in English Language.

[MrHurricane89]

I agree with most of the above, Google Translate is a good tool for individual words and short sentences, but not for idioms and expressions.

What I don't like about it when people ask me to help them in doing something on the internet, and I can't understand their Hungarian version of what they are speaking about. When I try asking for clarification, they tell me it's translated with this tool. This is the part where I don't like this tool, as it can be very hard to understand translated websites, because most of them are horribly wrong.

Example from Ebay:

Shipping cost -> "Hajózási költség" which has nothing to do with the cost of shipping as item, because Google Translate takes "shipping" literally as something to do with ships.

[Lasonax]

It's really crap when it comes to actually translating stuff in a good way, but for general translation, as for huge websites like amazon japan, it can be quite useful.

I'm a real beginner at japanese, but I regularely order stuff from Amazon Japan, and Google Chrome automatically translates everything from Japanese, using google translate. The translations are horrible, of course, but atleast I can get a hum of what is being talked about, but it's not a very good idea to start reading the reviews that were translated from japanese to english...

It's handy, but it's not a good tool for learning/translation where the details matter.

[Oogles]

Google Translation sucks, especially with Asian languages. Whenever I try to google translate anything from English to my mother tongue and vise versa, I always end up dying with laughter. Not like I can complain with it being free though. 

[secretgoldfish]

I think Google traslate is only helpful if you wanna translate one word or two. If you want a sentence it doesn't work so well. It may be enough to understand what it means, but more often than not it mistranslates words and you end up with a sentence that makes no sense.

[Bobcar23]

Even if it's usually not completely accurate sometimes I find it useful, it's better than not having a translation program to use and usually it provides a translation I can use.

[Elly]

It's not perfect because it's a robot--but it's better than Babelfish!

[Linguetronix]

It's better than nothing. It gets idiomatic expressions horribly wrong, but word-for-word, is a pretty good translator. I use it pretty often, though sometimes it leads me astray.