Language learning stacks

[Lynn Fredricks]

> I recall a linguistics professor years ago telling the story 
> of the supercomputer translator going from English to Russian 
> and back again.  "The spirit is willing but the flesh is 
> weak" came back as "The vodka is good but the meat is rotten."  :)

That's probably a saying in Russia already :-)

> No, it's not "reliable" in any absolute sense, but it is very 
> useful once you have an adequate knowledge base in the 
> languages you are translating to and from.  For single words 
> it is quick and lists synonyms/approximate equivalents in 
> various forms.  For short phrases it gets you in the ballpark 
> with verb forms and tenses.  But to lean on it 
> unquestioningly would be linguistic suicide, you're right.  
> Still, it's an invaluable tool for my current needs.

It can be very, very useful. I used it myself when I need a quick and dirty
translation of some text, but as you say, for single words or getting the
gist of something is where it shines. I wouldn't want someone to learn how
to conjugate from it though.

Best regards,

Lynn Fredricks
President
Paradigma Software
http://www.paradigmasoft.com

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