Saturday, November 10, 2012

Google Translation Karma

We've had some fun with Google Translate, using it to converse with miners who don't speak English. But what happens when the miner is the proactive one? I recently encountered Jacob Amaris, a German miner who took the initiative to translate his complaints about bumping into English.

One good thing about Google's German translation: He can't quite hit us with the word "extortion".

Jacob calls for a massive protest on EVE-O against the New Order. I'm sure Jacob is a charismatic rabble-rouser in his native tongue, but it's hard to rally the troops with English this broken.

No signatures were collected that day.

"Simply Just Brazenly" sounds like the title of a Hollywood chick flick.

The next time you take a trip to Germany, don't call anyone a "new record", as it's apparently quite an insult. After seeing Jacob's example, a Russian-speaking miner tried to get in on the action, with even worse results:

If this is how we sound to the miners we talk to via Google Translate, it's no wonder they're reluctant to pay their 10 million. "You have violated the Code. Pay 10 million isk or risk blimey forest with his blow. See for details..."


  1. It is interesting how you changed from 'are you AFK?' to 'pay the 10M or get bumped'. You are getting greedy, aren't you?

    1. Is it greed when you ask for what you are owed?

    2. As the code states, miner who have paid for indulgences may still not mine AFK. So the question 'are you AFK?' only applies to the ones who have paid. The rest are non-compliant & need to either pay 10mil or risk bump.

    3. In the early stages of the New Order of All Highsec, the standard procedure for an Agent was to target mostly AFK miners. This is because AFK miners undeniably display the greatest level of bot aspiration.

      Since then, the Order has been growing at an ever-increasing rate. This means that we can cover a larger selection of miners and no longer have to focus on the worst perpetrators of bot-like activity - we can now target far more of the people who deserve it.

      Greed does not come into it.

  2. If someone sees that weird little guy Anslo, will you tell him that if he's going to post, please, for the love of God, learn the difference between there, their, they're, to, two, and too! I can handle the advocacy of carebear entitlement, but his grammar makes me physically ill. That's why I'll follow you to the gates of hell James, good grammar.
    -Galaxy Pig

    1. Just add to that list the use of punctuation marks and you have most of the average Americans on your shit list :D

      > for the love of God

      Really Galaxy Pig, really? :D

  3. Great post.Just a quick note it is important that German translation being accurate and efficient can indeed not be overstated. Especially in the ever faster moving world of globalized business, successful information and technology transfer within multinational businesses can make the difference between win or lose.

  4. Keep it simple. Spell properly, use smaller words, and keep your sentences short and noncomplex. Don’t get too carried away, you aren’t writing for small children here. Just make sure that your professional translation paragraphs are short and that you explain the bigger words when you can.

