Web Page Translations For Non Us Caches

[+geospyder]

May be old hat to a number of you but it is new to me and I thought I'd share. I stumbled across a Google translate page that translates entire web sites from a number of different languages into English. This could come in handy when on vacation and the local caches are only in non-English. The site is Google Translate and I've used it tonight to translate a couple German caches. It makes for some interesting reading but is close enough that it allows you to hunt for a cache that you may not have been able to before the translation.

[uber_bike_geek]

Here's my take on international caching: If you are visiting another country, you can speak their language (or, in this case, read it! ) (Unlike many areas of the US.... No more OT comments.... )

 

Happy Caching

Jeff

[+Yellow ants]

If you are visiting another country, you can speak their language ...

 

Errr .... what?

[+sbell111]

Here's my take on international caching: If you are visiting another country, you can speak their language (or, in this case, read it! ) (Unlike many areas of the US.... No more OT comments.... )

 

So if I go back to europe for a couple of weeks and visit France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, I have to learn five new languages? If I don't do that, I'm not allowed to go? Wow. They've really tightened up the rules since I was there a few years ago.

[+Team Cotati]

May be old hat to a number of you but it is new to me and I thought I'd share. I stumbled across a Google translate page that translates entire web sites from a number of different languages into English. This could come in handy when on vacation and the local caches are only in non-English. The site is Google Translate and I've used it tonight to translate a couple German caches. It makes for some interesting reading but is close enough that it allows you to hunt for a cache that you may not have been able to before the translation.

 

Nice to know, thank you. This just might come in handy on our European trip next year.

[+geospyder]

uber_bike_geek, you definitely have an interesting outlook on travel. When visiting another country I always learn the basics - hello, goodbye, thanks, please, you're welcome, where is the bathroom and the most important - another beer please.

 

Aside from English, I can normally get by with my Dutch but I'm barely passable with my French and German. I'm not fluent enough with my Dutch, French and German to read much more than signs and menus. A full description on a cache page is a great challenge for me - as I think it would be for most Americans. That's why I thought the Google Translate web site was great.

 

BTW - my avatar was taken on a goat trail in Luxembourg last year after finding the Stairway to Heaven cache. The nice thing about being retired is that you can travel without having to ask for time off. We just got back last month from Australia. We didn't have too much a problem communicating there. In September we'll be spending some time in the Rhine and Mosel Valleys of Germany. While the main focus of the trip is visiting the wineries and sightseeing, we hope to snag a few caches. We'll have a car and hiking boots. Any one has any recommendations for that area?

[+DcCow]

uber_bike_geek, you definitely have an interesting outlook on travel. When visiting another country I always learn the basics - hello, goodbye, thanks, please, you're welcome, where is the bathroom and the most important - another beer please.

 

Aside from English, I can normally get by with my Dutch but I'm barely passable with my French and German. I'm not fluent enough with my Dutch, French and German to read much more than signs and menus. A full description on a cache page is a great challenge for me - as I think it would be for most Americans. That's why I thought the Google Translate web site was great.

 

BTW - my avatar was taken on a goat trail in Luxembourg last year after finding the Stairway to Heaven cache. The nice thing about being retired is that you can travel without having to ask for time off. We just got back last month from Australia. We didn't have too much a problem communicating there. In September we'll be spending some time in the Rhine and Mosel Valleys of Germany. While the main focus of the trip is visiting the wineries and sightseeing, we hope to snag a few caches. We'll have a car and hiking boots. Any one has any recommendations for that area?

 

There are a lot of great caches in Germany. Many of the pages have english translations on the pages, and for those that do not, I mainly use Babel Fish to translate them. I haven't used Google, but I'm sure it would work just as well. I have never had much of a problem finding them - except some of the poem ones! .

 

I have a bookmark list of some of my all time favorite caches - but there are just so many good one out here.

 

***Warning shameless plug follows:***

 

If you find yourself near the Kaiserslautern area check out this cache.

 

DC

[+akiyo_kano]

I know the Japanese caches often have the cache description in original Japanese, and what has been translated in one of those translation programs into English. They also reply using both languages too, which i think is very polite.

[+StarBrand]

I'll 2nd babelfish - the site has worked well for me for years. I love it.

[+cheech gang]

I've used babelfish for translations of Dutch and Belgium caches. Often the translations come out quite goofy and you have to "read between the lines" to interpret, but had little problem overall. If I had known about the Google translate page it would have been handy for a second opinion.

[+vree]

In September we'll be spending some time in the Rhine and Mosel Valleys of Germany. While the main focus of the trip is visiting the wineries and sightseeing, we hope to snag a few caches. We'll have a car and hiking boots. Any one has any recommendations for that area?

Oh! that is such a beautiful area! i just visited last month (my sister lives near koblenz). it was interesting trying to translate the cache pages. since the *vast* majority of caches there are multis, it makes things quite difficult trying to figure out what you need to do to log a cache (especially with the platte).

 

i'd highly recommend Old Mustard Mill in cochem (and go inside and try the mustard if it's open). sooooo good.

i'm sure you'll be in the area of Deutsches Eck too, so why not walk around to all the legs in this multi/virtual.

 

my main focus was also sightseeing, so finding caches with short(ish) descriptions and shorter hikes were ideal. i wish that there were more "german style" hides around my home so i could devote some time to some of those longer, scenic walks. have a great time!

[+geospyder]

For those that mentioned Bable Fish - thanks. I can now compare two different translations.

 

DcCow - looking at your list I was surprised to see there was one I snagged last year - GeoWolf 8: A Visit to Vianden.

 

Vree - I know what you mean about the multis. I did a 1/1.5 star in the Netherlands. It ended up having 21 waypoints and almost 10 km of walking. I learned the village of Blaricum inside out. That one was my 100th. Wow that was only one year ago and now I'm a little over 800. It must be an obsession. When I finalize my list I'll make sure the two you mentioned are on it - thanks.

[uber_bike_geek]

Here's my take on international caching: If you are visiting another country, you can speak their language (or, in this case, read it! ) (Unlike many areas of the US.... No more OT comments.... )

 

So if I go back to europe for a couple of weeks and visit France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, I have to learn five new languages? If I don't do that, I'm not allowed to go? Wow. They've really tightened up the rules since I was there a few years ago.

 

I was rather blunt in my original post... I'll try to be a bit clearer now

What I was trying to say, essentially, is this: If you're going to another country, you can at least attempt to speak their language- you're the one that's visiting, so you can be the one to adjust your lifestyle to fit the local culture... I'm not saying you need to know each and every little nuance of the language, but at least enough to get by on your own without needing a translator.

 

When visiting another country I always learn the basics - hello, goodbye, thanks, please, you're welcome, where is the bathroom and the most important - another beer please.

 

That's pretty much what I was trying to say, though I'd add a few things to the list of "basics" (like "how do I get to AAAAA", etc)

 

It just bugs me when people come to the US and expect *us* to speak *their* language... Last I checked, Spanish was not one of the USA's primary languages... why do we always need to choose "Spanish or English?"

 

Happy Caching!

Jeff

[+vree]

i think it is good practice to learn the language of the countries you are visiting... enough to get by at least. i am embarassed that i don't know much german and i travelled there, however i didn't spend much time without my german-speaking hosts and made an attempt to learn more of the language while i was there.

 

that said, being able to understand cache pages can be difficult when they are in another language. most of the german cache pages i've come across are quite verbose. it took some time for my german friend to translate them into english.

 

i can't really remember which site my sister uses for translation. one of them is ImTranslator... i'll try to locate more.

 

p.s. geospyder, please bring me back some brötchen!

[+geospyder]

We have another couple coming with us. Their only visit to Europe was Spain many years ago. This will be their first time in Northern Europe. They are in for a treat with the big breakfasts the B&B's provide - especially when all the rolls like brotchen are fresh from the oven. We're also staying another ten days in the Netherlands. Holland is another country with great breakfasts.

[+Geovius]

You don't need necessarily to know any Finnish if you come to Finland. Allmost all the caches has also English description.

 

Of course it would be very nice to hear you to speak Finnish.

[+SUp3rFM & Cruella]

In Portugal, there's also a lot of caches that have descriptions in Portuguese and English. Still, we don't really totally on automatic translators. There's portions of text that won't make any sense. I'd advise to contact owners on those occasions and ask for a correct english translation.

[+tobsas]

In September we'll be spending some time in the Rhine and Mosel Valleys of Germany. While the main focus of the trip is visiting the wineries and sightseeing, we hope to snag a few caches. We'll have a car and hiking boots. Any one has any recommendations for that area?

If your're going as south as Bingen, I would recommend to look for this cache and any in the sourrounding (not only but esp. from this hider)

 

Greetings from Mainz,

Tobias

[+geospyder]

tobsas - thanks for the recommendations. While looking at my query for the area I noticed I forgot to include multis. That made a big difference!

Edited June 22, 2006 by geospyder

[+geospyder]

Just as a side note - I attended a caching event in my home state of Nevada this weekend and who should show up? A couple of cachers from Germany!