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How to Use Google to Translate a Webpage
How many times have you come across a webpage that you want to read, but can’t because it is written in a language you don’t understand?
Google knows a lot of languages. You can easily put Google to work translating any web page for you. Let’s say I want to learn about some current events in Brazil, and I want to get my news directly from a Brazilian website. I went to the webpage of Globo, a popular media outlet in Brazil. After a few clicks, I ended up finding this article:
How to Translate the Webpage
In order to translate that page into English, all you have to do is head on over to http://translate.google.com/ (opens in new window.) You should see a page like this:
You can simply copy and paste the URL (web address) of any webpage into the box. I went ahead and copied the address of the above-mentioned news story into the box.
Next, all you have to do is click on the Translate button. Google will take a few moments to do the translation, but when it is done, you will find an easy-to-read English version of the webpage, as shown below.
Limitations of Google Translate
As you can see above, the translation isn’t perfect, but it is pretty easy to understand. When you’re in a jam and want to understand something, this tool will help you get the basic idea of the article.
The headline, Pictures show that vault where weapons were stolen was broken, sounds a bit awkward translated directly to English. An American reporter might say, Pictures Show Criminals Broke Vault to Steal Weapons, whereas in Portuguese, that may sound awkward.
With current technology, Google translate does have its limitations, however the translations are much better than they were years ago and are becoming very easy on the eyes.
If you have any questions or experiences dealing with webpage translation, feel free to share them in the comments below.
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2 Responses to “How to Use Google to Translate a Webpage”
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Perhaps most interesting (and disappointing) is that, although Google offers you the option to search in Pig Latin at http://www.google.com/intl/xx-piglatin/, they do not, however, offer translation services for Pig Latin.
Hi Bony, that is rather disappointing, as I’m sure that Google could easily translate most anything to Pig Latin with the right algorithm.
Perhaps you should make this suggestion to Google. Just go to the Contact Google Page and click on share a suggestion/idea. Good luck, and let us know if you hear anything back.