March 27, 2017

March {Translation} Madness


March {Translation} Madness

A random query from a friend led us down a rabbit hole. The query was if we had tried the Yandex online translation engine. Everyone knows about Google Translate, but what about Yandex? It ought to be great for English <-> Russian text, right?

Well, we decided to do a test and find out. We selected two short, difficult paragraphs we are working on for the coming issue of Chtenia, then ran them through each of the two translation engines, to see how they matched up to human translators. You be the judge. 


First Text

Падали за окнами на железо капли дождя, и ветер, громыхнув иногда крышей, то принимался насвистывать вокруг дома, на углах карнизов, по каким-то неприметным щелкам, то выл в печную трубу, повсюду засовывая черные, мокрые, лохматые губы.

 

YANDEX GOOGLE
Fall for a view of the iron rain, and wind, sometimes grayhow roof, then began to whistle around the house, in the corners of the eaves, on some inconspicuous Delcam, howled in the chimney, everywhere thrusting black, wet, hairy lips. Drops of rain fell outside the windows, and the wind, sometimes rattling the roof, would whistle around the house, at the corners of the cornices, through some inconspicuous crack, then howled into the chimney, everywhere thrusting black, wet, shaggy lips.

 

Human Translator

Outside the window, drops of rain fell on the rails, and the wind, occasionally causing the roof to rumble, whistled about the building, into the corners of the eaves, through some imperceptible cracks, then moaned through the stovepipe, poking its black, moist, disheveled lips everywhere.

Google did far better with this first example. It gets extra points for being pretty much understandable, which the Yandex version of course is not.


Second Text

В сие же время действует и торжествует гений… Ясный взор на мир открывает истину, воображение сильное представляет ее черты живо и разительно, вкус зрелый украшает ее простотою, и творения ума человеческого являются в совершенстве, и творец дерзает наконец простирать руку к потомству, быть современником веков и гражданином вселенной. Молодость любит в славе только шум, а душа зрелая — справедливое, основательное признание ее полезной для света деятельности.

YANDEX GOOGLE

At this same time, operates the triumphant genius... Clear eyes at the world reveals the truth, imagination is strong, her features alive and strong taste of Mature decorates its simplicity, and creations of the human mind are in perfection, and the Creator finally dares extend a hand to offspring, to be a contemporary of the centuries, and citizen of the universe. The youth loves in the glory of only the noise, but the soul is Mature, fair, thorough recognition it useful for light activities.

The genius acts more slowly, and the genius acts ... The clear view of the world reveals the truth, the imagination is strong, its images are vividly expressive, the taste of the mature adorns it with simplicity, and the creations of the human mind are perfect, and the creator dares finally extend his hand to the dead, to be contemporary Centuries of the game of the universe. Youth loves only the noise of the noise, the adult's adage is a just, thorough recognition of its activity, which is useful for light.

 

Human Translator

Today’s age is witnessing the flourishing and triumph of the genius. A clear outlook on the world unlocks the truth; the strong imagination sees her features vividly and distinctively; the mature taste adorns her with simplicity; and the creations of the human mind appear in their perfection, and the creator dares at last to reach his hand out to posterity, to become a contemporary of all times and a citizen of the universe. Youth loves fame only for the noise, while the mature soul loves the justified recognition of one’s useful deeds. 

Both engines choked on this one, in terms of making the resulting text understandable, but we give Yandex the edge for being just slightly better. 


Of course, the real lesson here, which we all knew going into this, is that the Human Translation Engines win hands down when it comes to creating quality translations that convey the sense and feel of the original.

When in doubt, go human.

Tags: translation

You Might Also Like

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Steppe / Степь

Steppe / Степь

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
22 Russian Crosswords

22 Russian Crosswords

Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955