Off topic: Shouldn't a college be more careful with their "translations"? Thread poster: Roxanna Delgado
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Roxanna Delgado 
United States
Local time: 08:54
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
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Unbelievable!
While researching something, I came up with this "translation" into Spanish, of all places in the Application for Admission of a community college in the US.
Do you guys think that maybe somebody should tell them something about it????
Personal Information
Providing your Social Security number is voluntary. If you provide it, the college will use your Social Security number for keeping records, doing research, and reporti... See more Unbelievable!
While researching something, I came up with this "translation" into Spanish, of all places in the Application for Admission of a community college in the US.
Do you guys think that maybe somebody should tell them something about it????
Personal Information
Providing your Social Security number is voluntary. If you provide it, the college will use your Social Security number for keeping records, doing research, and reporting. The college will not use your number to make any decision directly affecting you or any other person. Your Social Security number will not be given to the general public. If you choose not to provide your Social Security number, you will not be denied any rights as a student. Please read the statement in your class schedule, which describes how your number will be used. Providing your Social Security number means that you consent to use of the number in the manner described. Under federal law, address information may be considered directory information for military recruitment purposes. Personally identifiable data may be reported to the IRS for tax credit eligibility.
El proveer su numero social es ua accion voluntaria. El colegio lo utilizara para mantener sus archivos, hacer estudios, agrega relatando, extendido credito y cobrando las duedas. Su numero no ser proveido al publico en general. Si Ud decide no proveer su numero social no se la negara ningun derecho como estudiante. Favor de leer la frase en la pagina does de su formulario de classes que describe como sera usado su numero. El proveer su numero indica que Ud da permiso que se use su numero en la manera descrita. Debajo de la federal, la informacion de la diression puede ser consideria el directorio de informacion para intenciones de reclutarmente militar. Data personal de identificacion tal vez reportara a la IRS para credito impuesto aceptabilidad.
I can't even tell if it was done by a machine or a very bad translator!
I hope you are all having a nice weekend.
Roxanna ▲ Collapse
| | | | David Russi
United States
Local time: 06:54
English to Spanish
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| Yes, they should be | Apr 5, 2008 |
Roxanna Delgado wrote:
Unbelievable!
While researching something, I came up with this "translation" into Spanish, of all places in the Application for Admission of a community college in the US.
Do you guys think that maybe somebody should tell them something about it????
...
I can't even tell if it was done by a machine or a very bad translator!
Since machine translation usually does not contain typos, I would say the culprit is a human. Regardless, you are free to tell them, of course, I have done so on occasion, mentioning the fact that they are not doing the professional/corporate image any favors, and suggesting they get help from a professional. I do tell them I am a translator, but I also tell them that I am not looking for work and direct them to the ATA website. On a couple of occasion I actually got some work out of this type of email, buy I wouldn't count on it.
In this particular case, it seems almost as an afterthought, the college's site is only in English. My guess is that the actual text for this from comes from these people http://www.xap.com/ who actually provided the form. And their site is in English as well.
| | | | Roxanna Delgado
United States
Local time: 08:54
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Maybe they should get somebody who actually speaks Spanish! | Apr 5, 2008 |
[quote]David Russi wrote:
Since machine translation usually does not contain typos, I would say the culprit is a human.
Exactly my thoughts David, but then again, what person would talk like that. It sounds completely crazy. And it's also true as you point out that the rest of the site is in English, that is the only part "translated". But I think they will be better off just removing the whole "Spanish" paragraph.
Well, hopefully Spanish is not one of their majors.
Best regards,
Roxanna
[Edited at 2008-04-05 14:00]
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Yes, I would definitely tell them and, at the same time, I would offer my services as a professional translator. The seem to badly need one!
This is what they should have done to begin with: to contact someone who could provide a professional translation and not this... garbage.
If someone in your position, as a professional translator, informs them of the unbelievably low quality of this text, maybe they... See more Yes, I would definitely tell them and, at the same time, I would offer my services as a professional translator. The seem to badly need one!
This is what they should have done to begin with: to contact someone who could provide a professional translation and not this... garbage.
If someone in your position, as a professional translator, informs them of the unbelievably low quality of this text, maybe they'll take it into account. Maybe more people will complain about it, and then they should think about it twice before getting other texts translated following the same "cheap & dirty" method. If no one complains, they might even think that there's nothing wrong with this "translation".
Regards,
Ramon ▲ Collapse
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| Do machines do it better? | Apr 5, 2008 |
I have downloaded Promt Expert version for a 30-day free trial. This is the unedited translation using Promt:
El suministro de su Número de seguridad social es voluntario. Si usted lo proporciona, el colegio usará su Número de seguridad social para guardar archivos, haciendo la investigación, y el reportaje. El colegio no usará su número para tomar cualquier decisión que directamente afecta usted o cualquier otra persona. No darán su Número de seguridad social al gran públ... See more I have downloaded Promt Expert version for a 30-day free trial. This is the unedited translation using Promt:
El suministro de su Número de seguridad social es voluntario. Si usted lo proporciona, el colegio usará su Número de seguridad social para guardar archivos, haciendo la investigación, y el reportaje. El colegio no usará su número para tomar cualquier decisión que directamente afecta usted o cualquier otra persona. No darán su Número de seguridad social al gran público. Si usted decide no proporcionar su Número de seguridad social, no le negarán ningún derecho como un estudiante. Por favor lea la declaración en su lista de clase, que describe como su número estará usado. El suministro de su Número de seguridad social significa que usted consiente en el uso del número en la manera descrita. Conforme a la ley federal, la información de dirección puede considerarse la información de directorio con objetivos de reclutamiento militares. Los datos personalmente identificables pueden ser relatados al IRS para la elegibilidad de crédito fiscal. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Roxanna Delgado
United States
Local time: 08:54
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | The machine translation is way better. | Apr 5, 2008 |
Maybe I'll send them a letter whenever I get the chance, not offering my services but at least trying to do them a favor like David and Ramon suggest.
Thanks for your comments guys.
Have a great one.
Roxanna
| | | | | Machine and human | Apr 7, 2008 |
Perhaps it is a mixture: machine translation + human proofreading. The fact is that the one who "corrected" the machine translation hasn't got the slightest idea of Spanish Grammar.
Some time ago I came across an Argentinean website (it was a boutique) which had their webpage translated into something that looked like English. I sent them an email telling about the mistakes they had and recommending them to correct that bad translation as soon as possible. They kindly answered my email in... See more Perhaps it is a mixture: machine translation + human proofreading. The fact is that the one who "corrected" the machine translation hasn't got the slightest idea of Spanish Grammar.
Some time ago I came across an Argentinean website (it was a boutique) which had their webpage translated into something that looked like English. I sent them an email telling about the mistakes they had and recommending them to correct that bad translation as soon as possible. They kindly answered my email inviting me to visit their shop... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | What kind of studies do they sell there? | May 9, 2008 |
Well, regarding quality, I suppose anyone that sees such a translation, will automatically doubt of that college's quality! Don't you think?
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