Like Don Quixote you are an adventure unlike any other. You have undertaken the difficult, but super fun task of learning Spanish. Enjoy the journey and never think that you have reached your final destination. Learning a language is a life-long affair.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Why You Shouldn't Use Google Translate
As a student of a foreign language it is easy to think that amazing technology like Google Translate is going to make your life easier and ensure you that your homework, projects and translations get done in seconds instead of hours. The hard truth is, Google translate and other tools like it don't work to translate large documents and your teachers can always tell when you use it. Google translate makes mistakes and produces translations that sound unnatural to a native speaker. It cannot properly translate idioms and slang.
I found a video that you might enjoy that highlights the drawbacks of using Google Translate:
Now, explore the flaws of Google Translate for yourself.
1.) Write a paragraph in English about what you did during your 2 snow days. Write at least 8 sentences and be descriptive.
2.) Use Google Translate to translate it to Spanish.
3.) Then translate the Spanish version back to English and see how your results match up with the original.
4.) Post all three paragraphs in the comment section.
Here's my attempt- English 1:I was so excited to have two snow days this week. It was like having a spring break in the middle of winter. On Thursday I didn't do much of anything. I woke up late and watched the Today show and checked my facebook. I made pancakes for breakfast for my husband and myself. I took a nap and woke up at 1:30. Later on, my husband and I cleaned off our driveway and front walk. We didn't have a snow shovel so we had to use a broom, dustpan and regular shovel. It took forever. I also cleaned and vacuumed the basement and learned how to work our pellet stove.
On Friday, I woke up early and made biscuits and eggs. Yummy! Then my husband and I went to hot yoga and the gym. Afterwards, we stopped by TJ Maxx to see if they had any good deals. On the way home we got a mocha to share. Starbucks is most definitely our guilty pleasure. In the evening, I ended up at school to work the varsity basketball games. The one thing missing from my snow days....I didn't get out and play in the snow at all! Spanish: Estaba tan emocionada de tener dos días de nieve esta semana. Era como tener unas vacaciones de primavera en pleno invierno. El jueves no hice nada de nada. Me desperté tarde y vimos el espectáculo de hoy y comprobé mi facebook. Hice panqueques para el desayuno para mi esposo y para mí. Tomé una siesta y me desperté a las 1:30. Más tarde, mi marido y yo limpiado nuestra calzada y acera. No teníamos una pala de nieve así que tuvimos que usar una escoba, recogedor y pala regular. Se tardaba siglos. También he limpiado y vaccuumed el sótano y aprendió a trabajar nuestra estufa de pellets.
El viernes me desperté temprano y galletas hechas y huevos. Yummy! Entonces mi marido y yo fuimos a yoga caliente y el gimnasio. Después, nos detuvimos en TJ Maxx para ver si tenían alguna buenas ofertas. De camino a casa nos dieron una mocha para compartir. Starbucks es sin duda un placer culpable. Por la noche, terminé en la escuela para trabajar en los partidos de baloncesto del equipo universitario. La única cosa que falta en mis días de nieve .... No pude salir a jugar en la nieve en absoluto! English Version 2: I was so excited to have two snow days this week. It was like having a spring break in winter. On Thursday I did not do anything. I woke up late and saw the show today and checked my facebook. I made pancakes for breakfast for my husband and me. I took a nap and woke up at 1:30. Later, my husband and I cleaned our driveway and sidewalk. We had a snow shovel so we had to use a broom and dustpan and shovel regular. It took forever. I also cleaned and vacuumed the basement and learned to work our pellet stove.
On Friday I woke up early and made biscuits and eggs. Yummy! Then my husband and I went to hot yoga and fitness. Then we stopped at TJ Maxx to see if they had any good deals. On the way home we got a mocha to share. Starbucks is definitely a guilty pleasure. At night, I ended up in the school to work on the basketball varsity. The only thing missing from my days of snow .... I could go play in the snow at all!
Here's my attempt-
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1:I was so excited to have two snow days this week. It was like having a spring break in the middle of winter. On Thursday I didn't do much of anything. I woke up late and watched the Today show and checked my facebook. I made pancakes for breakfast for my husband and myself. I took a nap and woke up at 1:30. Later on, my husband and I cleaned off our driveway and front walk. We didn't have a snow shovel so we had to use a broom, dustpan and regular shovel. It took forever. I also cleaned and vacuumed the basement and learned how to work our pellet stove.
On Friday, I woke up early and made biscuits and eggs. Yummy! Then my husband and I went to hot yoga and the gym. Afterwards, we stopped by TJ Maxx to see if they had any good deals. On the way home we got a mocha to share. Starbucks is most definitely our guilty pleasure. In the evening, I ended up at school to work the varsity basketball games. The one thing missing from my snow days....I didn't get out and play in the snow at all!
Spanish:
Estaba tan emocionada de tener dos días de nieve esta semana. Era como tener unas vacaciones de primavera en pleno invierno. El jueves no hice nada de nada. Me desperté tarde y vimos el espectáculo de hoy y comprobé mi facebook. Hice panqueques para el desayuno para mi esposo y para mí. Tomé una siesta y me desperté a las 1:30. Más tarde, mi marido y yo limpiado nuestra calzada y acera. No teníamos una pala de nieve así que tuvimos que usar una escoba, recogedor y pala regular. Se tardaba siglos. También he limpiado y vaccuumed el sótano y aprendió a trabajar nuestra estufa de pellets.
El viernes me desperté temprano y galletas hechas y huevos. Yummy! Entonces mi marido y yo fuimos a yoga caliente y el gimnasio. Después, nos detuvimos en TJ Maxx para ver si tenían alguna buenas ofertas. De camino a casa nos dieron una mocha para compartir. Starbucks es sin duda un placer culpable. Por la noche, terminé en la escuela para trabajar en los partidos de baloncesto del equipo universitario. La única cosa que falta en mis días de nieve .... No pude salir a jugar en la nieve en absoluto!
English Version 2:
I was so excited to have two snow days this week. It was like having a spring break in winter. On Thursday I did not do anything. I woke up late and saw the show today and checked my facebook. I made pancakes for breakfast for my husband and me. I took a nap and woke up at 1:30. Later, my husband and I cleaned our driveway and sidewalk. We had a snow shovel so we had to use a broom and dustpan and shovel regular. It took forever. I also cleaned and vacuumed the basement and learned to work our pellet stove.
On Friday I woke up early and made biscuits and eggs. Yummy! Then my husband and I went to hot yoga and fitness. Then we stopped at TJ Maxx to see if they had any good deals. On the way home we got a mocha to share. Starbucks is definitely a guilty pleasure. At night, I ended up in the school to work on the basketball varsity. The only thing missing from my days of snow .... I could go play in the snow at all!