Thanks to AltaVista [this
is not the translation page], Nicholas Johnson's Home Page, or any
of the pages to which it links, can be translated from English into a number
of other languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Indeed, any page on the Web -- or textual passages you can block, copy
and paste -- can be translated. (It is also possible to do the reverse:
to translate pages in those languages into English.) In other
words, I claim no credit for this remarkable free service.
1. These are the only languages -- so far -- that are available.
For example, Russian would be extremely useful for much of my work, but
is not available from the AltaVista site.
2. There is a limit to the amount of text that will be translated
at one time. My estimate is that it is the first one or two pages
of text. (This could, presumably, be extended by (a) breaking up
a Web page into translatable units, and uploading the text as multiple
pages. (b) I do not know how much text can be block, copied and pasted
at one time, but that would be another approach.)
3. Most significant, as with any machine translation software, errors
are inevitable. They can be funny. Depending on the circumstances,
they could also be serious. So long as you are just having fun, quickly
scanning, or satisfying your curiosity -- especially if you know both languages
involved -- there is little harm. But if you are doing serious work
-- say, academic research, or commercial matters -- you would be well advised
to continue to use a professional translator who is fluent in the language
in question.
How to do it.
1. Know ahead of time what you want to have translated -- the URL
(http:// . . . etc.) of the Web page, or the blocked and copied text in
question.
2. Be prepared to enter either the address or text into the relevant
space on the AltaVista page.
3. Go to the translation page (which you can reach by clicking on
the address which follows:
enter the address, or text, click on language choice (the default is English
to French) and wait. Sooner than you might imagine possible the page,
or text, will appear on your screen in the language you've chosen.