There’s a program people called Bablefish, named after the Bable fish from the book, The Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy which itsself is named after the tower of Bable.
In the book you stick the fish in your ear and then it translates all languages instamagically so that you can talk to anybody as you tour the galaxy.
Bablefish the program will attempt to translate languages for you. You can either type some text in or you can tell it a webpage and it will present that page translated for you.
Well, somebody in their spare time decided it would be fun to see what it would do if for example you translated from English to German then back to English then to Italian then back to English etc.etc. Check it out here.
Here’s my test. Sorry about the bad words. It’s just the first thing that came to mind.
Original English Text:
now is the time for all great men to come to the aid of their country
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it any more!
Fuck off!
This rules!
That’s cool!
Wow!
There’s a fish in my underpants
Translated to French:est maintenant l’heure pour tous les grands hommes de venir l’aide
de leur pays
le renard brun rapide saute par-dessus le chien paresseux
Je suis tout fou que l’enfer et moi ne suis pas prise de gonna il
plus!
Fuck.off!
Ceci r夙ne!
C’est frais!
D伺aut de la reproduction sonore!
Il y a des poissons dans mes underpants
Translated back to English:
is now the hour for all the great men to come using their country the
fast brown fox jumps over the lazy dog I am very insane that the hell
and me am not taken of gonna it more! Fuck.off! This reigns! They
is fresh! Defect of the sound reproduction! There are fish in my
underpants
Translated to German:
jetzt ist die Stunde, damit alle groｧen M穫ner mit ihrem Land
kommen, das der schnelle braune Fuchs 歟er den faulen Hund springt,
ich sehr geisteskrank bin, der die H嗟le und ich morgens genommen
nicht vom gonna es mehr! Hauen Sie ab! Dieses regiert! Sie sind
frisch! Defekt der stichhaltigen Wiedergabe! Es gibt Fische in
meinen Unterhosen
Translated back to English:
now is the hour, so that all large men with their country do not come,
which the fast brown fox branches over the lazy dog, I are very spirit
ill, that hell and I in the morning taken from gonna it the more!
Strike off! This governs! They are fresh! Defectively sound
playback! There are fish in my pants
Translated to Italian:
ora l’ ora, di modo che tutti gli grandi uomini con il loro paese
non vengono, che la volpe marrone veloce si ramifica sopra il cane
pigro, I molto ill di spirito, che hell ed I nella mattina occors
dal gonna esso il pi! Colpo fuori! Ci governa! Sono freschi!
Playback difettoso sano! Ci sono pesci in miei pantaloni
Translated back to English:
hour is the hour, of way that all the great men with their country do
not come, than the ramifica vixen fast brown over the lazy dog, is a
lot ill of spirit, than hell and in the morning occors from the skirt
it more! Blow outside! That governs! Freschi Sono! Healthy
defective Playback! Pants are fish in mine
Translated to Portuguese:
a hora a hora, da maneira isso que todos os homens grandes com seu
pa痴 n黍 v仁, do que o ramifica vixen o marrom r?ido sobre o c黍
pregui腔so, muito doente do esp池ito, do que inferno e nos occors
da manh da saia ele mais! Sopro fora! Isso governa! Freschi Sono!
Playback defeituoso saud?el! As cal溝s s黍 peixes em meus
Translated back to English:
the hour is the hour, in the way this that all the great men with its
country do not come, of that it ramifies it vixen the fast brown on
the sluggish dog, are very sick of the spirit, of that hell and in
occors of the morning of the skirt it more! Blow is! This governs!
Freschi Sono! Healthful defective Playback! The pants are fish in
mine
Translated to Spanish:
la hora es la hora, de la manera el que no vienen todos los grandes
hombres con su pa痴, de eso que ramifies lo vixen el marr溶 r?ido
en el perro tardo, es muy enfermo del alcohol, de ese infierno y en
los occors de la ma紡na de la falda 四 m?! El soplo es! Esto
gobierna! Freschi Sono! Aparato de lectura defectuoso saludable!
Los pantalones son pescados en el m弛s
Translated back to English:
the hour is the hour, of the way the one that all the great men with
their country do not come, of which ramifies vixen the brown express
in the dog I take, is very ill of the alcohol, that hell and in occors
in the morning of the skirt he more! The blowing is! This
weathervane! Freschi Sono! Apparatus of healthful defective reading!
The trousers are fished in mine
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