Hofstadter Reading

 I agree that “no reasonable person thinks that a machine translation can ever achieve elegance and style,” and I agree with her statement that “translation is an incredibly subtle art that draws constantly on one’s many years of life experience, and on one’s creative imagination.” Machine translation are improved these years, but I still don’t think it can exceed the transactions by human translators. As what we’ve read last week, translators do not translate, they interpret, and machine can hardly interpret perfectly. Though sometime machine may be more accurate on word-to-word translation, I don’t think that is the most important part in translation. 

Machine Translation Example:

二十億光年の孤独

Two billion light years of loneliness

人類は小さな球の上で

Mankind is on a small sphere

眠り起きそして働き

Wake up and work

ときどき火星に仲間を欲しがったりする

Sometimes I want a companion on Mars

火星人は小さな球の上で

Martians on a small sphere

何をしてるか　僕は知らない

I don't know what you're doing

（或はネリリし　キルルし　ハララしているか）

(Or is he sick and he is sick?)

しかしときどき地球に仲間を欲しがったりする

But sometimes I want a companion on Earth

それはまったくたしかなことだ

That's quite certain

万有引力とは

What is universal gravitation?

ひき合う孤独の力である

The power of loneliness

宇宙はひずんでいる

The universe is distorted

それ故みんなはもとめ合う

Therefore everyone is clamoring for each other

宇宙はどんどん膨んでゆく

The universe is steadily expanding

それ故みんなは不安である

Therefore everyone is anxious

二十億光年の孤独に

Two billion light years of loneliness

僕は思わずくしゃみをした

I sneeze involuntarily

 

Nina