Google Translate: About the Best Thing Ever

Google Translate now does Thai!

A very handy feature that can translate bits of text up to whole web pages. Just plug in the URL or the text and BINGO, you have your translation!

I've found it very useful for creating forms for some work I'm doing, where I need to have both English and Thai words.

I cannot type Thai, so I just enter the word in English and get the Thai one back instantly, which I copy and paste over. (And check with my human husband, too, to make sure it's correct if it's an unfamiliar word!)

It's also quite entertaining, since I think it has a long way to go before correct translations of sentences and paragraphs can be done.

Thai and English are SO different in structure, not to mention the completely different alphabets, that the results are often quite mangled. And good for a laugh!

For example, a scan of the headlines today on the popular Thai-language website Phuketall.com produced these results:

Young big dig ponds lack air breathing respectively

Phuket transfer know that the box jellyfish of tourism rescue people are toxic

Not create a god-fearing gunman shoot medium measured at Phuket

Phuket is the statement. Developed provinces than 297 million years 53

Thai people do not dread economic growth 34% trip point poll is like the promotion discount

Thai disrespectful voice support 9 types of sports

And my favourite...

Parking facilities for orphans

****

Hoping Google, in addition to improving its online version, can invent some kind of chip to plant in my brain that can perform the same function, since I'm still (I'm ashamed to admit) pretty much illiterate in Thai.

Sad but true!