日本語では、私が姓(それはBaskinである)で知られています

Machine Translation

Machine translation has made great progress in recent years. Still, machine translation is not very good. It requires a human brain to do good translation. Sadly, there are many people who do not understand this. Some students even use machine translation to do their homework. This results in some students not passing my classes.

I have made some examples here to show how bad machine translation is.

I wrote the following paragraph to explain to students about names, languages, and manners.

In Japanese, I go by my last name, which is Baskin. We will not talk Japanese together. I usually do not speak Japanese with students. I believe that there is too much Japanese spoken in English education in Japan. This is one reason why many students study English for a long time and do not speak very much English. When you use my name in Japanese and the names of other people of all nationalities, however, I expect that you remember your manners. Japanese uses honorifics (さん, 様, 先生, etc.) and diminutives (ちゃん、くん). It is very rude in Japanese to use someone’s name without an honorific or diminutive. I believe the Japanese expression for this translates into throwing someone’s name in the trash, or something like that.

Then I used machine translation, which produced the following Japanese. Please read it.

日本語では、私が姓(それはBaskinである )で知られています。私たちは日本語をともに話さないでしょう。私は、通常学生と日本語を話しません。私は、日本の英語の教育で話された日本語があまりにいると信じます。これは多くの学生が長い間英語を勉強し、英語をあまり話さない1つの理由です。しかしながら、あなたが、日本語、およびすべての国籍の他の人々の名の中で私の名を使用する場合、私はあなたが風習を思い出すと期待します。日本語は敬語 (さん、様、先生など)およびdiminutives(ちゃん、くん)を使用します。それは、 someoneユs名を使用する日本語において非常に無作法です、1つの、尊称的か小型。私は、ごみ(すなわちそのようなもの)の中でsomeoneユs名を?鰍ーることに、このための日本の表現が形を変えると信じます。

What do you think? Is that good Japanese? I then used machine translation to translate the Japanese back into English. You can read it below.

I am known for Japanese by the family name (it is Baskin). Neither of we will speak Japanese. I do not usually speak a student and Japanese. I believe that Japanese spoken in the education of English of Japan is too much. This is one reason many students have studied English for a long time, and seldom speak English. However, when you use my name in the name of Japanese and other people of all nationality, I expect that you remember customs. Japanese uses honorifics (さん, appearance, teacher, etc.) and diminutives (ちゃん, くん). It is small in one very ill-mannered title target in Japanese which uses s someone YU. I believe s someone YU that expression of Japan for it changes a form into ? bullhead-ること in garbage (namely, such a thing).

That was pretty bad…

I also have another example below. This is from the Internet. I found this at http://www.kanko.metro.tokyo.jp/volunteer/index.html

The original Japanese was as follows.

東京都では、帰国子女や海外駐在経験者を中心とした観光ボランティアを、国際会議やイベント等において積極的に活用することで、「おもてなしの心」を伝え、外国人旅行者の増大を図るため、観光ボランティアの募集、登録を行いました。

　言語別に一定の基準を設けて募集を行い、英語、中国語、韓国語、フランス語、ドイツ語、スペイン語、ポルトガル語、ロシア語、イタリア語、その他言語、計1,828名（平成14年12月1日現在）が登録しております

After machine translation, this came out to the following in English.

utilizing positively the sightseeing volunteer consisting mainly of a returnee student or the person experienced in overseas residence in an international conference, an event, etc. in Tokyo -- "-- in order to be able to have, to tell nothing cardiac" and to aim at an incoming tourist's increase, collection of a sightseeing volunteer and registration were performed It invited by having established the fixed standard according to language, and English, Chinese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, its divulgence word, and a total of 1,828 persons (as of December 1, Heisei 14) have registered.

That is pretty bad. The machine translation then produced the following Japanese.

確かに利用すること、観光ボランティア、帰還兵学生あるいは人から主として成ること、国際会議での海外の住宅に熟達していた、東京(")の出来事など、持つことができるために、何も伝えないために、心臓"また次期観光客の増加を目指すために、観光ボランティアおよび登録の収集、実行された、それ、言語によって固定標準を確立したことによって招待された、また英語、中国語、朝鮮語、フランス人、ドイツ人、スペイン語、ポルトガル人、ロシア語、イタリア語、その暴露単語および合計1,828人(12月1、Heisei 14日時点での)は登録しました。

What do you think of that?

I hope that makes it pretty clear that machine translation is not very good. As you can see above, machine translation is also very different from student writing. This is because machines and human brains work differently.