I got a very unusual Viber message from my local dental clinic a few days ago. You see it below:
"Is it okay to go to the temporary residence yesterday?" Huh?
After my initial double take, I recognized this for what it was—here was a bit of bad Google Translate. The ladies at the dental desk did not have strong English, and they were trying to communicate something to me via Google Translate.
Now, I'm not making fun of them by reporting this. Instead, I think it's notable because it might be one of the very last times I ever get a message Google translated to near to—well—complete incoherency. As someone who deals in foreign languages every day, I've seen more than my share.
Nowadays, I rarely use Google Translate. Instead I use an AI like Google Gemini for all of my language translation needs. Given that Gemini is under the same roof as Google Translate, I don't know why the one has not been incorporated into the other, but I'm certain it will be soon.
Let's do an experiment - Chinese whispers using google translate... I started with the phrase:
"In peace may you rest." then I put it through 5 random translations English-> Burmese->Swahili->Japanese->Sicilian->Batak---and back to English where it emerged as: "Please calm down."
Let's not forget it's leaving me one last riddle to decipher.
The day before, I had some work done at that very clinic—a bridge implant. A "bridge" is a structure, as is a residence; that must be it. But I didn't shell out one million Kyats for temporary teeth! In any case, I mentally interpretted the Google Translate to "Is all okay with the work done yesterday?"
They were just checking up on a patient.
Yes, it is. I can chew on both sides of my mouth again.
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