Google Translate…Fail

Google is amazing, isn’t it? I’m a devoted user of its mail, internet search, maps, and Google drive, but until this trip, I had never made much use of Google translate. The translation app has a camera function that is particularly impressive. Hold the app over the words in question, and a real-time translation appears, even mimicking the color and shape of the original text. But with all the magic of technology, Google still can’t do context, which plays such a critical role in forming and understanding meaning.

The most consequential fail of the app so far was when we thought we were ordering 16 dumplings but ended up ordering 48. The app had told us it was “16 yuan for two,” but really “two” meant “half” — as in a half dozen. No wonder the waitress kept asking us in sign language — are you sure?

For now, the art of translation still belongs to people and their people brains.

In other news, we bid a fond farewell to Kate, who left us for her summer job in Sydney. We also welcomed home Mr. and Mrs. G!