I don't know what I'd do without Google Translate. I use it several times a day to supplement my French language learning. You do have to be careful: some of the translations are "literal" and don't make sense at all in the real world. Nevertheless, it's a great tool.
In the last 24 hours, I've used Google Translate to help me:
1) write an email to my daughter's school
2) set up a doctor's appointment
3) assist me with my French homework
4) conjugate verbs in past tense
5) translate letters we received from the gas company and our insurance agent
Not only is Google Translate helpful, it's also fun. For example, it proves the theory that everything sounds better in French. Don't believe me? Just do what Lindsey did the other day: type in "you smell like a monkey's behind," translate it into French, and hit the audio button. Even the electronic voice can't take away from the sonorous beauty of the French language!
Which sounds better? This…
ReplyDeleteWhen to sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrrows end.
…or this?
ReplyDeleteQuand aux sessions de la pensée silencieuse douce
J'appelle vous souvenir des choses passées,
Je soupire le manque de beaucoup de chose que je cherchais,
Et avec de vieux malheurs nouveau gémir les déchets de ma chère temps:
Mais si le bien que je pense de toi, cher ami,
Toutes les pertes sont restaurés et sorrrows fin.
I really don't know. Just a question to ponder.