Invisible Idiot.

[ffutures]

Just wanted to translate something via Google, so I thought I'd try a test to see how accurate it is. Here's the original text:

What is Forgotten Futures?
Forgotten Futures is Marcus Rowland's table-top role playing game based on scientific romances, the predecessors of science fiction that were published in the late 19th and early 20th century. Each collection focuses on a different theme, and include space travel through the heavily populated solar system of 1900, Ghost Hunting in Edwardian England, and adventures with Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger.

Forgotten Futures was originally distributed as shareware e-texts and later as HTML. Currently, Forgotten Futures collections are available from this site for download and on CD-ROM from the author. Print versions were published by Heliograph Inc, but have now been discontinued.

and this is what it was like after translating it to German then back to English...

What was forgotten future? Forgotten future is table top the role of Marcus Rowlands, which plays the play, which is based on scientific romances, the predecessors of the future novels, in the late 19th century and early 20. Century were published. Each accumulation concentrates the spirit hunt on another topic and covers space travel by the heavily populated solar system of 1900, in Edwardian England and the adventures with professor Challenger Arthur Conan Doyles. Forgotten future was distributed originally as sharewareEtexte and later than HTML Currently, is present forgotten accumulations of future of this place of assembly for Download and on digital disk Rome of the author. Pressure versions were published by heliograph Inc., but were now adjusted.

On the whole I think I'll try not to rely on the accuracy of this method...

Comments

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

*giggles*
This is a good example why real, living translators like me won't be out of work for some time to come.

Forgotten Accumulations Of Future This Place Of Assembly

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

I dunno... I really like the last two sentences!

Matt Goodman * Adjusture Of Pressure Versions * Heliograph, Inc.

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

I did the same thing for French and got this jumbled paragraph:

Future forgotten Qu'est? The forgotten future is role of table of Marcus Rowland's playing the game based on scientific lovesongs, the predecessors of the science fiction which was published towards the end of 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Each collection concentrates on a different topic, and includes the voyage d'espace by the strongly populated solar system of 1900, the hunting of phantom in Edwardian England, and them adventures with professor Challenger of Arthur Conan Doyle's. The future forgotten with l'origine was distributed in the shape of the E-texts of shareware and later like HTML. Currently, the collections forgotten in the long term are provided by this site for the remote loading and on the compact-ROM disc of l autor. Versions d'impression were published by Heliograph Inc, but were now stopped.

But when I read the first English to French translation it makes sense to me and seems to follow the English version fairly closely. But it's been since 1991 that I've done any serious reading in French, so take that with a grain of salt. Perhaps the problem is with translating from another language to English. Here's the paragraph in French:

Qu'est oublié futur ? Le futur oublié est rôle de table de Marcus Rowland's jouant le jeu basé sur des romances scientifiques, les prédécesseurs de la science-fiction qui ont été édités vers la fin du 19ème et début du 20ème siècle. Chaque collection se concentre sur un thème différent, et inclut le voyage d'espace par le système solaire fortement peuplé de 1900, la chasse de fantôme dans Edwardian Angleterre, et les aventures avec professeur Challenger de Arthur Conan Doyle's. Le futur oublié a été à l'origine distribué sous forme des e-textes de shareware et plus tard comme HTML. Actuellement, les collections oubliées à terme sont fournies par cet emplacement pour le téléchargement et sur le disque compact-ROM de l'auteur. Des versions d'impression ont été éditées par Heliograph Inc, mais ont été maintenant discontinuées.