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Google Translate Now Delivers Nonsensical Translations to Your iPhone
Posted by Matt Buchanan at 7:10 AM on August 9, 2008
Handy if you want to hit on a cute waitress at a decent sushi bar or the French exchange student pulling shots at your usual coffee place with horrible abortions of their native tongue, Google Translate is now optimised for the iPhone. It stores your most recent translations on the phone so you don't need to stay connected if you can get by with just a few canned lines. All mocking aside, we actually think it's pretty cool, at least when what it comes up with is comprehensible. [Google Translate via Google Mobile Blog]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
mdawg4624
Posted 7:46 AM 9/8/08
does it translate english to hebrew? cause Jew(ish) jokes are even funnier in hebrew. =)
mdawg4624
newgalactic
Posted 7:43 AM 9/8/08
@Yifkong: @Stacky Botrus: lol
newgalactic
CubFan81
Posted 7:39 AM 9/8/08
@CubFan81: didn't quite finish. Meant to say, you probably aren't planning on speaking to each other in much more than universal yes, no, ooh, ah, etc.
CubFan81
CubFan81
Posted 7:38 AM 9/8/08
@hardisonthefloor: because you probably aren't planning on speaking to each other.
CubFan81
hardisonthefloor
Posted 7:31 AM 9/8/08
why would you be asking for a person's number if you can't speak their language?
hardisonthefloor
Stacky Botrus
Posted 7:31 AM 9/8/08
This would go GREAT if the iPhone had cut-and-paste. This app is already half useless.
Stacky Botrus
Naoki
Posted 7:29 AM 9/8/08
...and is there a way to get it to translate japanese phonetically instead of Hirigana/Katakana?
Naoki
Yifkong
Posted 7:20 AM 9/8/08
Me: Translate Server Error
Waitress / Exchange student: ???
Yifkong
Naoki
Posted 7:15 AM 9/8/08
hopefully it retrieves translations faster than Jott retrieves voice to text translation... it hardly ever works for me!
Naoki
Akibake-
Posted 8:18 AM 9/8/08
Before you guys get all excited, let me underscore Matt's sentiment and remind you how bad of a job automatic translation does at this point. Unfortunately, as for grammar, there is rarely a 1:1 translation, which these types of applications tend to construe. So, if you're oblivious to the language in the first place, then you're probably oblivious to what a tool you sound like, attempting to communicate with programmatic translation.
But they're fun for laughs!
Akibake-
johnnyabnormal
Posted 8:01 AM 9/8/08
I'll also get it if it corrects my "it it it." I swear I only stutter when I type type type.
johnnyabnormal
johnnyabnormal
Posted 8:00 AM 9/8/08
I will only get it it it will do Enlgish to "Disemvoweling"
johnnyabnormal
blacksamurai87
Posted 8:47 AM 9/8/08
Glad I know Japanese... it'd be a little hard to read that if I hadn't learned earlier... lol
blacksamurai87
karmakid
Posted 9:33 AM 9/8/08
@qht128: right on, thanks
karmakid
qht128
Posted 9:19 AM 9/8/08
@ karmakid
go to [google.com] on your iphone and choose "more" you'll see "translation" in there. save the page to your home screen for a shortcut
qht128
karmakid
Posted 9:14 AM 9/8/08
is this an app in the app store?
karmakid
frigg
Posted 10:11 AM 9/8/08
First step to universal translator.
frigg
dogcow
Posted 2:23 PM 9/8/08
Ok, so the english to japanese is pretty cool.
The iPhone WebApp icon is pretty terrible.
dogcow
Jesse in Japan
Posted 6:26 PM 9/8/08
The Japanese-English translation feature on Google is utterly and completely worthless. Their software can't figure out context and it doesn't really understand the Japanese grammar. The one on the screenshot you have is really, really simple and it's still not entirely right (though the meaning will get across). If you try more complicated sentences or use casual Japanese, it just gives you utter nonsense.
Which is good for more, because there are people who will pay 5,000 yen to translate a one to two page document.
Jesse in Japan