www.brussel.be now also using machine translation on its website. Thread poster: Michael Beijer
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Michael Beijer 
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:30
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
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'Public Welfare Centre (CPAS-OCMW) of Brussels This page has been automatically translated from French into English by a translation software. Automatic translations are not as accurate as translations made by professional human translators. Nevertheless these pages can help you understand information published by the City of Brussels. The Public Welfare Centre was formerly called the Committee of Welfare Services or the Public Centre of Social Security. The Public Welfare Centre is now called CPAS in French and OCMW in Dutch. It has a role which is defined in article 1 of the law of the CPAS. This article indicates: every person is entitled to social security. This aims at allowing each to lead a life in compliance with human dignity. Public centres of social security are created which, in the conditions determined by the present law, have to assure this help. The CPAS manages in particular the granting of the guaranteed minimum income (formerly minimex). Besides, the CPAS of Brussels intervenes in housing (including old persons and homes of rest and care), socio-professional insertion, psychosocial accompaniment (drug users), debt mediation, aid to homeless persons, young people, families or old persons at home, persons with a handicap...' ( http://www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm/4780 )
I was just looking for an English translation of 'Openbaar Centrum voor Maatschappelijk Welzijn (OCMW)' and was nosing around through various Google results when I saw what looked like might be an official translation on an official-looking website. However, when I went to the website (www.brussels.be ) to check I saw:
'This page has been automatically translated from French into English by a translation software. Automatic translations are not as accurate as translations made by professional human translators. Nevertheless these pages can help you understand information published by the City of Brussels.'
. . . fast forward->
'The year 2100 will be in the midst of the age of the machine. If today we use machines everywhere for everything, then by 2100 they will go one step further: They will rule and decide. The goal of their society will be more and better machines, not more and better human lives, our objective today. . . . Some people will lead a marginal life on grounds not needed by the economy. Others will serve the system in areas where the machines are not good at: creativity and imagination. The machines will indeed exploit human slaves for art and science. In less than 30, years the human population will shrink from 9 billion to a mere 100 million souls—the world population at the time of Aristotle.' ( http://www.wfs.org/futurist/september-october-2012-vol-46-no-5/22nd-century-first-light/forecasts/when-machines ) 
Michael
| | | | asia20002
Poland
Local time: 13:30
English to Polish
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It's just too correct, I can't believe that this is a machine translation.
| | | | | Doomed, doomed I say | May 18, 2013 |
After hearing a conference presentation on machine translation in 2008, I looked into this and predicted (for, verily, I am a great soothsayer) that most translators will have morphed into machine-translation reviewers by 2020. So far, I have found no one in the industry who supports this view (I haven't dug deep though - too worried about chopping off some of the noses on those heads buried in the sand).
Having said that, I don’t see how to jump ship. Interpreting? Google’s wo... See more After hearing a conference presentation on machine translation in 2008, I looked into this and predicted (for, verily, I am a great soothsayer) that most translators will have morphed into machine-translation reviewers by 2020. So far, I have found no one in the industry who supports this view (I haven't dug deep though - too worried about chopping off some of the noses on those heads buried in the sand).
Having said that, I don’t see how to jump ship. Interpreting? Google’s working on that. Back into teaching? My 10-year-old daughter was just off school for two months and learnt just as much (more?) by navigating the web, so perhaps teaching will become supervising.
As for machines taking over the world, I saw a programme on telly the other year where they said “don’t worry, robots will never be given a survival instinct” and, blow me down, I switched channels and heard “don’t worry, as a modern air traveller, you will not crash as the latest aircraft are programmed to survive at all costs…” ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kirsten Bodart
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:30
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Sometimes MT can work | May 18, 2013 |
but I have the impression it largely depends on the language combination. Languages with too different word order from their target and not enough prepositions (use of cases instead) go invariably down the pan. Polish is one. Try and run a Wikipedia entry in Polish through Bing. Barely understandable. Czech on the other hand is slightly better.
I can imagine French to English could work quite well, because the word order is not very different, although there might be some issues wit... See more but I have the impression it largely depends on the language combination. Languages with too different word order from their target and not enough prepositions (use of cases instead) go invariably down the pan. Polish is one. Try and run a Wikipedia entry in Polish through Bing. Barely understandable. Czech on the other hand is slightly better.
I can imagine French to English could work quite well, because the word order is not very different, although there might be some issues with noun v -ing form.
But, on this disgrace: this is the sad state Belgium's public finances are in , especially in the Brussles region. ▲ Collapse
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