Tumblr Thread: The Wacky Nature Of Sci-Fi Translation

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mattstaff
Jan 30, 2021 12:00 PM EST

Perhaps humanity really is "moon moon" then. We never quite know what we'll get next from the wonderful and wandering minds of the ever entertaining Tumblr world. In this case, we've got a great little Tumblr thread that points out the inherent fascinating nature of the Sci-fi translation. Check out some more gold from Tumblr with this thread about becoming an ant god. 

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  • 01
    Text - alice-and-cheshire-cat Follow foone Follow @Foone Here's the question I always have with universal translators in sci-fi: how do they know when to stop translation? Like say an alien asks about deserts on earth, and the human lists "the sahara desert, gobi desert and kalahari desert" Alien: You just said "desert" six times.
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  • 02
    Text - foone @Foone · 24h ("Sahara" is Arabic for "desert". "Gobi" is Mongolian for "desert", and "Kalahari" is Tswana for "desert") t7 67 342 foone @Foone · 24h Man, the aliens are going to think we're so bad at naming. Cause really, aren't we? Brit: Behold, the beautiful River Avon! Alien: Ahh, the River River. You humans have such a knack for naming things. t7 50 O 336
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  • 03
    Text - foone @Foone 24h "Here we are in Chad, looking upon the mighty Lake Chad!" "Ahh yes, the land of Lake, bordering the Lake Lake. Another fine human name. t3 40 ♡ 301 foone @Foone · 24h "And here's Nyanza Lac, in Burundi. As you can tell by the fact that it's named Lake Lake in Bantu & French, it's a la. actually this one's a city. A city named Lake Lake"
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  • 04
    Text - petermorwood Google Translate vs. German (the original was longer, this is long enough...) Russisch talienisch Deutsch Sprache erkennen Die Volkswirtschaftslehre (auch Nationalokonomie, Wirtschaftliche Staatswissenschaften oder Sozialokonomie, kurz VWL), ist ein Teilgebiet der Wirtschaftswissenschaft| 166/5000
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  • 05
    Text - Deutsch Englisch Franzósisch Übersetzen The economics of economics (including economics, economics, economics, economics, economics, economics) is a part of economics. I Anderung vorschlagen catd2014 I grew up near Pendle Hill, Lancashire (recently featured in Doctor Who) which is Hill Hill Hill
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  • 06
    Text - dndidiots But what if aliens are equally bad at naming things because of the nature of their interstellar lives. They show us a star map and this happens: Alien: This is the Xyzzeryx Zyxxeryv. Human Diplomat: *pauses* Human Diplomat: *turns to his translator* If you serious think for a second they named this system the star star system I am firing you on the spot.
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  • 07
    Text - ayamccabre OK but consider: what if they have no word for desert? So the Sahara desert goes through the translation software and comes out as a waterless, desolate area of land with little or no vegetation, typically one covered with sand a waterless, desolate area of land with little or no vegetation, typically one covered with sand
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  • 08
    Text - doodled93 And at once, all of humanity was Moon Moon #goddamnit moon moon 38,954 notes
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