My post about translations between languages prompted an
e-mail message from our friend, singer/songwriter David Roth, that led to a
highly enjoyable exchange of messages back and forth between us yesterday.
A group in China has invited David to tour and perform there
in 2015. In preparation for this event, they recently published on their
website a photo of David and a brief article in Chinese. Curious about what they had to say, David copied
and pasted their text into "freetranslation.com." With no humans
involved in the translations, it is not surprising that this is a highly
effective laughter-inducer. Here is the translation it provided:
Coming to China - American folk
concert of King David Roth American Country Western songs. David the roth writing and singing
songs touched the soul of all listeners. Passed a never had the feeling he was
clear and lyrical voice to the audience. This feeling makes you feel the
initial strong shock. A very remarkable album - clever, poetic and very
passion. Whispering every story as if an old friend at your side, which gives
the audience a spiritual quiet and comfortable feeling, suitable for
almost midnight when slowly to savor.
This is a people enough to shake the
soul album, super studio, with a sexy, clear, affectionate, athletic, and many
other adjectives to describe the voice of King David Roth did not get enough
of, and the people of this feeling can very direct feel, at the moment you hear
this song. The song soundtrack simple, rustic guitar-based line outlines the
background. Sophisticated recording, superb vocals, you should feel a mature,
moderate David Roth. Let us savor David Roth vigorous silky alto, feel his
heart affectionate, smooth heartfelt singing. The interpretation of the first
pass-known songs, folk songs King DAVID ROTH you pondering life.
What is quirky about this is that some phrases are probably
right on the mark, such as “songs (that) touch the soul of all listeners.” But when
they refer to David as “King David
Roth”, you are reminded that this was, after all, generated by a computer whose
mastery of the English language is only as good as the people who wrote the
program code.
Hearing about this reminded me of a widely reported story
from about 25 years ago.
In preparation for a luncheon for the
United Negro College Fund, (Vice President Dan) Quayle's aides had put the
group's slogan, ''A mind is a terrible thing to waste,'' in the Vice
President's talking points. But he rambled off-course (and said): ''And you
take the U.N.C.F. model that what a waste it is to lose one's mind or not to
have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.''
Source: The Education of Dan Quayle
By Maureen Dowd
Maureen Dowd is a White House reporter
for The New York Times.
Published: June 25, 1989
Published: June 25, 1989
A separate story told of Vice President Quayle, who, on his
return from a trip to Latin America, was quoted as saying
“I wish I'd studied more Latin in
school. That way I could have talked to
those people more.”
I had a lot of fun with this plethora of malapropisms out
there in cyberspace. But a nagging question arose, namely, how could I know if
Mr. Quayle really said them? So I went to Snopes, and was rather
surprised to read that many of these widely reported gaffes were never actually
spoken by Mr. Quayle, including the two I have quoted here.
Having said that, I should not be excessively harsh with
myself. Snopes apparently verified that Vice President Quayle did say some pretty goofy stuff:
"If we don't succeed, we run the
risk of failure."
"A low voter turnout is an
indication of fewer people going to the polls."
"It isn't pollution that's
harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water
that are doing it."
Thinking about Vice President Quayle’s gaffes reminded me of
Tina Fey’s portrayal of Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin on Saturday
Night Live during the 2008 presidential elections. One that comes to mind is
“I can see Russia from my house.”
We knew then and know now that Sarah Palin did not say that,
but at times this becomes fuzzy; Ms. Fey’s impression was that good. But there
were gaps in Ms. Palin’s basic knowledge that were certainly of concern in someone
who might have been just a heartbeat away from the United States presidency.
Perhaps that is what made Tina Fey’s portrayal resonate with so many viewers.
We are back in Sharon this weekend. Simmie and family are joining us for dinner this evening, and Joshua and Ella are coming to us for lunch tomorrow while their parents attend a social gathering for adults only. I have been busy all day: we left New York before the crack of dawn and stopped at the grocery on our way up here this morning, and I have been cooking this afternoon. We are hoping for nice weather on Sunday so we can do something outside. In the afternoon, Ella and a friend are having a joint birthday party to which Eliana and Maya are both invited. At the end of the day, we will all gather at Simmie and Ronen’s house for a barbeque. Monday we will be heading back to New York. I am tired just writing about it!
Have a wonderful weekend and, for those of you in the US, a nice kick-off to summer.
Love,
Rebecca
No comments:
Post a Comment