The Dangers of Translation Websites!

Instructions
1. Click on file, then save as 2. Save a copy of this PowerPoint in your Spanish folder. 3. Work through all the activities. Where instructed print off your work and show it to your teacher.

Getting started
GROUP DISCUSSION: How do you find out the meaning of new words? What resources are available to help you translate information into a foreign language?

Guess the film title

These film titles have been translated using translation websites. Can you guess what they should be? Type your answers on the slide. 1. They Live Only Two Times = 2. Englishman, Which Ascended A Hill However, Down A Mountain Came = 3. Loop Likes It Beckham = 4. The Pain Safe-deposit Box = 5. Harry Potter And The Cup Of The Fire = 6. The Curious Box Of The Benjamin Button = 7. An Opinion To A Killing = 8. Quantity of the comfort = 9. Star being singing reef of the clones = 10. Alice in the fairy tale country = 11. The living daylight =

Tasks

Translate the following passage into English on a new Word document do NOT use a translation website. Use your text book or a dictionary to help you.
Tengo una hermana y dos hermanos. Se les llama Mark y Sebastin y son muy inteligentes, pero a veces perezoso. Markus tiene pelo corto, castao y rizado y ojos grises. Es de tamao mediano y bastante delgado. Sebastin es pequeo y potente, tiene el pelo largo y rubio y ojos verdes. El nombre de mi hermana es Anja y ella tiene un conejillo de indias. Se llama Bob y es deportivo pero tmida..

Online Websters dictionary

http://meridian.com

1.

Now copy and paste the text from slide 6 into http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt or http://www.freetranslation.com/
2. Then paste the babelfish translation into your Word document below your own translation (so they can be easily compared).

3. Use a pen to underline the parts of the babelfish translation you are not happy with. Can you think why the machine chose those particular words?

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt
translate each nursery rhyme into Spanish, then back into English paste the results into your Word doc.
Little Miss Muffet Little Miss Muffet Sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider, Who sat down beside her, And frightened Miss Muffet away!

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall Humpty Dumpty had a great fall All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again

Hey Diddle Diddle Hey diddle diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon, The little dog laughed to see such fun, And the dish ran away with the spoon.

What problems would a machine have with translating these sentences? Write your answer in your word doc.
A dove dove behind the bush The bandage was wound tightly around the wound I polish the polish furniture The pole found a pole at the North Pole I jammed my finger into a jam sandwich whilst sitting in a traffic jam jamming to the radio The man lead his dog on a lead made of lead My flat is on flat ground

Over to you!
1. Use Google to find the lyrics to a song you know and like. 2. Translate the lyrics into English then back into English on:
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt 3. Add both sets of lyrics to your Word doc. 4. Print a copy of your Word doc and show it to Herr Stewart.

Conclusions

Group discussion
Make some notes on the following to discuss with the class at the end of the lesson: What have you learned about using online translation websites? Why do you think translation websites often fail? What effect on your marks or grade will a translation website have? Why is it easy for a teacher to know if you have used a translation website?