“The program uses state-of-the-art AI techniques, but simple tests show that it’s a long way from real understanding.” The Atlantic
A long read, and a bit heavy on grammar – for those who are not as interested in grammar as others 🙂 – this is well worth the time to read. Among other things, it is a good reminder that Google translate my help with very simple tasks, such as explaining a word or short, basic phrase to help with communication. However, even in relatively basic sentences, Google may miss key grammatical cues, thus fundamentally changing the meaning of the sentence from Language A to Language B.
To me, the word translation exudes a mysterious and evocative aura. It denotes a profoundly human art form that graciously carries clear ideas in Language A into clear ideas in Language B, and the bridging act should not only maintain clarity but also give a sense for the flavor, quirks, and idiosyncrasies of the writing style of the original author. Whenever I translate, I first read the original text carefully and internalize the ideas as clearly as I can, letting them slosh back and forth in my mind. It’s not that the words of the original are sloshing back and forth; it’s the ideas that are triggering all sorts of related ideas, creating a rich halo of related scenarios in my mind. Needless to say, most of this halo is unconscious. Only when the halo has been evoked sufficiently in my mind do I start to try to express it—to “press it out”—in the second language. I try to say in Language B what strikes me as a natural B-ish way to talk about the kinds of situations that constitute the halo of meaning in question.
The Atlantic
Ultimately, Google is attempting a direct, word for word translation, with no sense of context, or other pieces that humans take for granted in communication. I think the author makes a great point when questioning whether what Google translate does is actual translation in the full sense of the word. If the Language B text is largely made up of Language B words, but is not grammatically accurate, and does not have clear meaning, has the text genuinely been translated?
Is this actually in English? Of course we all agree that it’s made of English words (for the most part, anyway), but does that imply that it’s a passage in English? To my mind, because the above paragraph contains no meaning, it’s not in English; it’s just a jumble made of English ingredients—a random-word salad, an incoherent hodgepodge. (Bold mine).
The Atlantic
Language, relationships, communication and translation are highly complex. Google may be able to help with some of the basics of translation, but it is a long ways from what a real person can do. 🙂
