An online translator is an interactive program implemented on
a web page offering translations of a text into a different
language. The translation is generated by a computer and
instantly displayed. And best of all – using it doesn’t
cost you anything!

Behind the online translator there is a software program that
analyses the text according to predefined linguistic rules and
reconstructs the text in a different language according to the
corresponding rules of the target language.

As opposed to an online dictionary, which only translates single
words or phrases, an online translator can translate larger text
segments or even entire web pages.

Some of these online translators are better than others, but they
all have one thing in common. They don’t produce a perfect copy
of the submitted text in another language.

You can easily check this by typing in a short test text
translate it to a different language and then translate it back to
the original language again. You will see that some words have been
mistranslated and that the sentence structure no longer is correct!

Taking this into account, it is clear that an online translator
never can substitute a human translator. If you want to have your
web page or your sales letter or other business material translated
into a foreign language you should use a professional translator.

Keep in mind that a bad translated sales letter will not bring you
any sales and an incorrect translated web page will only provide you
with an unprofessional look.

So – when should you use the online translator?

You should use the online translator when you want to translate a
text written in a foreign language into your native language or a
language you understand!

Imagine you are doing some research on the Internet and come
across a web page written in a language you don’t understand. Now is
the time to look for an online translator! You simply copy and paste
the text, or type in the URL if the online translator translates web
pages, and choose what language you want to have the text translated
into. And there you have it!

As I said earlier, this type of translations will not be perfect, but
you will at least be able to understand what the text is about.

Here are some online translators to try out.

http://www.freetranslation.com/
http://world.altavista.com/
http:/ ranslation2.paralink.com/
http://www.reverso.net extonly/default.asp
http://worldlingo.com/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

An online translator is also fine to use when you want to translate
short and simple sentences into a foreign language. Lets say you for
instance want to impress a foreign business contact by adding a
personalized greeting in his language to your email. Then you can go
ahead and use the online translator.

Here is a list of how to write “Happy Birthday!!” in 10 other
languages.

Finnish: Hyvää syntymäpäivää!!
Norwegian: Gratulerer med dagen!!
German: Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!!
Polish: Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin!!
Croatian: Srijetan Rodjendan!!
Spanish: Feliz Cumpleaños!!
French: Joyeux Anniversaire!!
Italian: Buon Compleanno!!
Macedonian: Sreken Rodenden!!
Welsh: Pen Blwydd Hapus!!

To be sure you don’t make any mistakes it might be a good idea to also
check your translation with some online dictionaries.

Here are a few links to online dictionaries.

http://www.polartext.com/online_dic.htm
http://www.lexicate.com/dictionary/online-dictionary/language/language.html
http://www.lai.com/glossaries.html

Happy Translating!

About the Author

Anita Karlson Henssler is working as a freelance translator.
Visit her web page PolarText here
http://www.polartext.com/scandinavia.htm?id=arot for more information.

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