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45 comments on Portugal getting a hand on Venezuela's energy riches

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Carolus Obscurus on May 23, 2008 - 4:31pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Pedrot,

Allow me to go a little off-topic. I am an English language translator at the European Commission and I can assure you that your English is pretty good indeed -- you don't have to apologize! Anyhow, English has become a lingua franca -- so don't worry about style; all that matters is content. It is absurd that non-native speakers of English should feel inhibited because they are less familiar with the language than those of us who were born and bred in the Anglosphere.

One tip: Yahoo Translator sucks when compared with 'Google Translate'. Here again is the Yahoo Translator's version of the Portuguese original you cited, followed by the version generated by Google Translate:

Yahoo:

To reduce the ISP does not have to be the form as we must adjust in them to price increasing of energy" , the minister of the Finances said, adding that " he has a reality that he came to stay and all have of if adjusting to this new reality

Google:

"Reducing the ISP should not be how we should adjust the cost of energy," said the Minister of Finance, adding that "there is a reality that is here to stay" and everyone has to adjust to this "new reality".

See the difference? The Yahoo version is gobbledygook; the Google version makes sense, even if it isn't perfect.

Google Translate is simply the best Machine Translation system around -- and it's freeware. It will also translate entire web pages in seconds. You'll find it here:

http://translate.google.com/translate_t?sl=pt&tl=en

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pedrot16 on May 23, 2008 - 4:41pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Thank you!
I got used to Yahoo because I use many technical terms and that Yahoo is much better than Google, but I see that in normal language is not true.
I have no problems to read but to write :-) ...
Thanks!

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AlanfromBigEasy on May 26, 2008 - 7:53am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Thanks for the link.

Unfortunately no option for Brit to American English :-)

All those misspelled words, and since when do cars have boots ?

We are not French, and we are NOT sticklers for exact grammar, spelling etc. It is difficult for many native speakers to use English to it's fullest, so do not worry.

Best Hopes,

Alan

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