What language was this poorly translated from?

June 11, 2024 7:45 AM

I’ve been reading a fan site where the text is obviously machine translated with poor results. It keeps me on my toes trying to understand things, but I’ve gotten curious what the original language was. I’m hoping someone can look at the translated text and make a good guess.

For example, here is the proper translation of a few sentences:

In the town square, Emily and her family confront the Cushings about their role in her attempted murder. Lois tries to assure them that they will not be blamed forever, since it isn't their fault.

… and here is what was produced:

In the town square, Emily and her family defy the Cushings about their job in getting her annihilated. Lois attempts to empower them that they will not be held accountable everlastingly, since it isn't their shortcoming.

Pages and pages of examples in episode synopses. I think this one is a good example.

posted by Tell Me No Lies to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

If it's like any other wiki, there should be some level of version history that can tell you who wrote/edited the text in question. If you pull on that thread back to the specific user, there may be hints that will get you to some sort of answer to your question.
posted by _DB_ at 7:53 AM on June 11

"At a cutting edge military jail, Edge is sitting in a green-K room, getting blazes of his dad's voice in his mind."

I don't think these are machine translated, I think they're the work of someone who doesn't speak English fluently and are using Google or a dictionary to "enhance" their work.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:55 AM on June 11 [5 favorites]

Best answer: I think these recaps might be stolen from other sources, then run through some sort of process that replaces words with synonyms to escape detection/copyright claims. It reads like direct replacement of one word or phrase with another, but otherwise the sentence structure seems very American English. To me, a poorly translated sentence would have a different sentence structure and phrasing altogether, not just use weird choices of synonyms.
posted by misskaz at 8:26 AM on June 11 [18 favorites]

Best answer: I agree with misskaz. This practice is called article spinning and is common enough that Google explicitly calls it out in their spam policies.
posted by mbrubeck at 8:57 AM on June 11 [4 favorites]

Best answer: comicbook.com - Superman & Lois: Here's What You Missed in "Through the Valley of Death"

At the Kent farmhouse, Sam tells Clark and Lois that Leslie Larr is still in the wind, but they're doing their best to find her. Once she's in custody, the DoD will leave Smallville and things will get back to normal. He starts to apologize to Lois about the military side of what happened, telling her she's proud of her for keeping her faith, which is what made the difference.

At a state of the art military prison, Edge is sitting in a green-K room, getting flashes of his father's voice in his head.

Arrow Fandom Wiki - Through the Valley of Death

At the Kent farmhouse, Sam tells Clark and Lois that Leslie Larr is as yet in the breeze, however they're giving a valiant effort to discover her. When she's in guardianship, the DoD will leave Smallville and things will fully recover. He begins to apologize to Lois about the tactical side of what occurred, disclosing to her she's glad for her for keeping her confidence, which is the thing that had the effect.

At a cutting edge military jail, Edge is sitting in a green-K room, getting blazes of his dad's voice in his mind.

posted by zamboni at 10:52 AM on June 11 [11 favorites]

It sounds like this site used an automated process to systematically plagiarize content from elsewhere, similar to the trash journal articles published in trash journals discussed in this recent FPP.

The original language was English.
posted by heatherlogan at 4:22 PM on June 11 [1 favorite]