[geeks] Phrasebooks

[Mike Hebel]

On Jan 1, 2008, at 12:11 PM, Phil Stracchino wrote:

> Shannon Hendrix wrote:
>> On Jan 1, 2008, at 12:23 AM, der Mouse wrote:
>>>>> I once met a person who knew how to say "I am a pencil" in 18
>>>>> languages.  [...]
>>>> I have a list of "My god!  There's an axe in my head!" in 103
>>>> languages.  I'm not certain which is the less useful of the  
>>>> two.  :)
>>> In my father's family, there was a phrasebook which was (in)famous
>>> because it included "Lo! Our postilion has been struck by  
>>> lightning!".
>>
>> This reminds me of all those funny computer mis-translations.
>>
>> In our cognitive psychology classes, we used to use phrases to  
>> trip up
>> both computer and human translators.
>>
>> Like: They hear bears bare their hair there.
>>
>> Or: You go to the zoo too.
>>
>> Some of the translations even by human translators were hilarious.
>
> I recall a supposedly-true story about the first computer translation
> link between the US and the Kremlin.  To test the system, the folks on
> the US end sent the phrase "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
> weak."  It came back as "The vodka is good, but the meat is rotten."

And of course I just _have_ to mention the famous Monty Python quote;

"My hovercraft is full of eels!"

 From the Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Hungarian_Phrasebook

:-)
Mike Hebel
----
See with eyes unclouded, think with mind uncluttered, act with heart  
unchained!