why do computer-based translators have so much trouble going between Chinese and English? Can’t someone have come up with an efficient algorithm by now for making sense between the two?
In: Technology
Chinese language is more than just the words. It’s cultural meaning. There are a number of classic xiangsheng (Chinese comedy skit) about the Chinese language. One that stuck out was “chi le ma?”. Literally translated the words means “have [you] eaten?” But the phrase is used as a casual greeting from cultural usage. There are ALOT of these in common everyday use. Just like “what’s up?” doesn’t mean asking about the ceiling or the sky, there are numerous phrases in Chinese where the phrase meaning has little to do with the words in the phrase.
Some examples
http://carlgene.com/blog/2012/02/45-mandarin-sentences-with-chinese-characteristics/
My fav is “bie ge wo bu san bu si, would ge ni yan se kan kan”
Literal word translation “don’t give me no 3 no 4, I’ll give you color see see”
Meaning “don’t tell me any BS or I’ll put the hurt on you”
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