Online translators: they suck and they're pretty good.

A couple people have been asking about my post below, written in 中文。 It's really not an interesting post; I've only been taking Mandarin for a few weeks, and my level is not that sophisticated.

Anyway, I ran it through an online translator, just for kicks, and when you read it, I think you can get the jist of what I'm saying.

Also, there are a lot of grammatical issues that the online translator just doesn't handle, which is why the translation below is so freaky. I used to get students who write their journals, translate them online, and then recopy them into the blue book. Of course they never got credit, because the "online translation" effect is so obvious.

So in conclusion: online translators are pretty good at giving you the gist of what's going on in a foreign language document. As far as doing your Spanish homework for you, they actually suck. So don't try to cheat by turning in a babelfish translation; it makes me think you are trash.

My 中文 blog lives here. The original version of the orange text below is here. Enjoy!

________________

I am very interesting. I call JP. I in Seattle am Spanish teacher. My
family member are very many. I have a younger sister but my very many cousins.

I have a friend to call Jones. He felt strange very much. He did not
say the standard spoken Chinese class is "the monkey which he writes me I to
have the bowel movement". He does not have the bowel movement monkey. He is very
strange. Does not have the monkey not the bowel movement, is right?

I have a friend to call Ann Marie. Before she is teacher, but because
she does not like the student, therefore she now she is not teacher. She looks
for the somebody else work. She likes reading prepares food and eats meal. Her
Italian said very much well. She in Ballard neighbor place.

My younger sister in Ballard neighbor also place. I call me the younger
sister "the young pig". She is very strange.

Sufficed. Now very was late. I very will be busy tomorrow, have very
many matters. Therefore the present sleeps.

Sleeps, sleeps!