To be clear, I’m not talking about translating dialog such as “how are you” or “can you tell me where Barcelona is?” or anything equivalent of that instead, my main point is talking about translating the following types of dialog from English to Spanish involving:
- Profanity: “F*ck You!” used as a joke, rather than to offend
- Puns: As in terms that rhyme but consist of different words.
- Slang: I’m talking about colloqial speech or idioms
- Hyperbole: exaggerated dialog not meant to be literal
Like this for example: “I nearly died of embarrassment” but the translation put out “Casi me muero de vergüenza” which is just nonsense as it’s translated too literally (died > muero) when “died” is more on an idiomatic take on feeling embarrassed and emphasizes that the social blunder was incredibly awkward or uncomfortable. (Is the translation even right?)
Yeah, Google translate works if
a) you speak the language enough to understand most things and just need help occasionally (conjugations and reflexive verbs for me in Spanish)
b) you speak none of the language but understand that the translation may be wonky so you word things carefully
c) can’t be arsed reading that whole email in your second or third language because you’re tired, and oh my dog is it time for bed yet?