Thread: Would you be so kind to translate this lil letter please? :)

Originally Posted by sararozaryo

do you trust google translater?

I use this for correcting my mistakes when I write in English.. in generally = for correcting grammar.

thank you very much, if i say it like this is it wrong? i went to google translater


Здравствуйте, как поживаете?

Вы говорите по-английски? Если нет, то я постараюсь говорить на русском
Меня зовут Сара, я надеюсь, вы меня поняли и оценили мои усилия, чтобы попытаться говорить на русском. Я просто посылаю Вам это сообщение, потому что я хочу вам сказать, что я восхищаюсь вами очень много, и я хотел бы продолжать говорить с вами. я надеюсь, что вы примите мое предложение дружбы.

Originally Posted by sararozaryo

thank you very much, if i say it like this is it wrong? i went to google translater


Здравствуйте, как поживаете

Sara, the Google translation is mostly correct, although perhaps too formal-sounding and a bit artificial, like a textbook. For example, it uses the polite/plural forms for "you" instead of the familiar/singular forms (similar to the difference between vous and tu in French). There's also a small grammar mistake in the last sentence (примите should be примете). However, your Russian friend would certainly understand the Google translation -- there aren't any huge errors.

Regarding your question about whether to trust Google translator -- I'm a native English speaker, but I can speak and read Russian not too badly (although far from native fluency). I can also read simple Spanish sentences, and understand some basic points about Spanish grammar, but I can't speak Spanish at all, except for expressions like "buenos tardes" and "gracias". And I know absolutely nothing about Hungarian -- can't speak, can't read it, don't even know any words.

So -- personally, I would trust Google Translate a lot for English/Russian translations (because my understanding of Russian grammar is generally very good)...

...trust it a little bit for English/Spanish (because I know little bit of Spanish grammar)...

...but not trust it at all for English/Hungarian.

To put it another way, the more that you know about Language A and Language B, the more useful and trustworthy Google Translate is as a time-saving tool to help you when translating between A and B.

thank you very much

Also, I think that software translation (like Google Translate or Babelfish) can be compared with a modern electronic sewing machine.

If someone gave you a couple meters of cloth, a packet of buttons, spools of thread, a measuring tape, scissors, and a sewing needle, would you know how to make a button-collar long-sleeve man's shirt by hand?

If the answer is "yes", then with a sewing machine you could make the same shirt in a fraction of the time -- you could, perhaps, even make 3 or 5 or 10 shirts in the same time that it would take to produce 1 shirt with hand-sewing.

But if you have absolutely no idea how to measure, cut, sew, and finish a shirt by hand, then the most modern and advanced of sewing machines will simply allow you to transform the nice fabric, thread, and buttons into A PILE OF SH!T more quickly and efficiently...

Thank you all, well i speak Portuguese (I’m a native from Portugal) Spanish( fluent) and English ( fluent) I’m learning German. i know basic Russian phrases like how are you ? Hello, I’m fine and you? where are you from? etc those little things, and i know some complements , but i only need Google for English to Russian and from Russian to English. of course I’m also trying to learn Russian, but that is a very difficult language, but I’m 20 years old so i have a lot of time to learn... and if him and i turn out to be good friends or more, i will have a motivation to keep learning