Google Latin

Here you can discuss all things Latin. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Latin, and more.
Post Reply
adrianus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 3270
Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:45 pm

Google Latin

Post by adrianus »

Google Latin translator launched September 2010. Here's an example of a translation by it illustrating its limitations.
Mense septembris anno bis millesimo decimo Google instrumentum vertendi e sermonibus latinis in lucem misit. En exemplum versionis eis factum defecta demonstrans.

http://translate.google.com/?sl=la&tl=e ... ogrammandi
[i]Jacobus Uszkoreit ([url]http://googletranslate.blogspot.com/2010/10/veni-vidi-verba-verti.html[/url]) scripsit[/i] // Jakob Uszkoreit wrote:Ut munimenta linguarum convellamus et scientiam mundi patentem utilemque faciamus, instrumenta convertendi multarum nationum linguas creavimus. Hodie nuntiamus primum instrumentum convertendi linguam qua nulli nativi nunc utuntur: Latinam. Cum pauci cotidie Latine loquantur, quotannis amplius centum milia discipuli Americani Domesticam Latinam Probationem suscipiunt. Praeterea plures ex omnibus mundi populis Latinae student.

Hoc instrumentum convertendi Latinam rare usurum ut convertat nuntios electronicos vel epigrammata effigierum YouTubis intellegamus. Multi autem vetusti libri de philosophia, de physicis et de mathematica lingua Latina scripti sunt. Libri enim vero multi milia in Libris Googlis sunt qui praeclaros locos Latinos habent.

Convertere instrumentis computatoriis ex Latina difficile est et intellegamus grammatica nostra non sine culpa esse. Autem Latina singularis est quia plurimi libri lingua Latina iampridem scripti erant et pauci novi posthac erunt. Multi in alias linguas conversi sunt et his conversis utamur ut nostra instrumenta convertendi edoceamus. Cum hoc instrumentum facile convertat libros similes his ex quibus edidicit, nostra virtus convertendi libros celebratos (ut Commentarios de Bello Gallico Caesaris) iam bona est.

Proximo tempore locum Latinum invenies vel auxilio tibi opus eris cum litteris Latinis, conare hunc.

Jakob Uszkoreit, Ingeniarius Programmandi
Translation // [i]Versio[/i] wrote:That language barriers be torn away and the knowledge of the world is made accessible and useful, translation systems of many languages of the nations were created by us. Today, we announce the first language translation system by which no native speakers now make use of: the Latin. Being but a few speak Latin daily, year by year more than a hundred thousand American students receive the National Latin Exam. Besides many people all over the world study Latin.

This Latin translation system rarely be used to translate e-mails or understand the subtitles of YouTube videos. But many that are ancient books of philosophy, of physics and of mathematics are written in Latin. But many thousands of books are in Google Books, who have whole passages in Latin.

Translating by machine from Latin is difficult and our grasp of grammar not without error. The Latin is unmatched because most of them Latin books have already been written and only a few of the new shall be hereafter. Many have been translated into other languages and these translations we use to train our translation system. Since this system translates books well like those from which they were taught, our ability to translate famous books (such as The Gallic War Caesar 's) is already good.

The next time you find a Latin passage or you need help with the Latin writings, try this.

Jakob Uszkoreit, Software Engineer
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

dlb
Textkit Member
Posts: 153
Joined: Tue May 27, 2008 1:43 am
Location: Lilburn, Ga.

Re: Google Latin

Post by dlb »

You can also set the Google interface language to display in Latin.
Deus me ducet, non ratio.
Observito Quam Educatio Melius Est.

edonnelly
Administrator
Posts: 989
Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2005 2:47 am
Location: Music City, USA
Contact:

Re: Google Latin

Post by edonnelly »

Here's how it does with the opening of Ovid's Metamorphoses:
Google (but not Ovid) wrote: In the new bears to say changed his mind and the forms of
bodies; the gods, had a beginning (for instance you have wrought the changes, and those)
inspire my from the beginning of the world and the first of
my conduct to the times of a song for ever!
I'm going to put this tool in my "not ready for prime time" category now.
The lists:
G'Oogle and the Internet Pharrchive - 1100 or so free Latin and Greek books.
DownLOEBables - Free books from the Loeb Classical Library

User avatar
Perseus
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 94
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 7:33 am

Re: Google Latin

Post by Perseus »

Useless tool, you can't rely on translations done by non-human translators. Not only Latin but any language.

User avatar
furrykef
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 370
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 7:18 am

Re: Google Latin

Post by furrykef »

most of them Latin books have already been written
Now I can't help but imagine the translation being read by a redneck.

Also: it'd be nice if all Latin were as easy to read as that post was, wouldn't it? Strange that "autem" wasn't used postpositively, though...
Founder of Learning Languages Through Video Games.

Delirant isti romani!

adrianus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 3270
Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:45 pm

Re: Google Latin

Post by adrianus »

furrykef wrote:Strange that "autem" wasn't used postpositively, though...
Ut Jacobus ipse ironicè dicit: "...intellegamus grammatica nostra non sine culpa esse." Forsàn ego latinè Jacobo frequentiùs erro.
As Jakob himself ironically says: "...we should know are grammar is not without their fault." Maybe I make more mistakes in Latin than Jakob does.
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

Post Reply