Can I trust Google Translate - Portuguese?

This week I'm going to compare my translations of ten common travel phrases in Portuguese with Google Translate's rendering of the same phrases. My ultimate goal is to decide if Google Translate can be trusted in a language in which I don't have a lot of experience. That language will be French for next week's post.

For Portuguese translations, shall I imagine myself in Brazil, attending the 2014 FIFA World Cup Finals, or in Portugal, exploring the scenic Douro River Valley?

Sites for FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil

Douro River Valley in Portugal

It's a tough decision, but I'm going to choose Brazil. Here are the English phrases, my translations in red, Google's translations in blue, and discussion in purple.


1.Where is the restroom, please?
Onde é o banheiro, por favor?
Onde fica o banheiro, por favor?
[I originally thought that fica sounded better also, but the grammar police got to me, and I thought I remembered that fica was more commonly used for permanent buildings. Google wins this one.]

2. I have a (room) reservation for tonight.
Tenho reserva para esta noite.
Eu tenho uma reserva para esta noite.
[Yes, subject pronouns are more commonly used in Portuguese than in Spanish, depending on the context. If there had been several preceding sentences using eu as the subject, the eu could and probably would be omitted.]

3. My name is Linda. What is your name?
Meu nome é Linda. Qual é o seu nome?
Meu nome é Linda. Qual é o seu nome?
[No disagreement here.]

4. When does the train leave/arrive?
Quando sai/chega o trem?
Quando o trem sair / chegar?
[Ah-ha! I caught Google! In the question above, the verb would have to be conjugated in the present tense. Google interpreted the sentence as needing a future subjunctive verb, sair/chegar, which would require a main clause to be added, as in "When the train arrives, I'll call you"]

5. How much does it cost?
Quanto custa?
Quanto custa?
[We've got it!]

6. Pardon me.
Com licença. Desculpe.
Perdoe-me.
[Different translation here, based on the multiple meanings of ''pardon me" in English. The Google translation matches the meaning of " forgive me" rather than just " excuse me."]

7. Do you have a vegetarian dish?
Tem um prato vegetariano?
Você tem um prato vegetariano?

[See discussion under 2 above.]

8. May I have a glass of water please?
Pode me dar um copo de água, por favor?
Posso ter um copo de água, por favor?
[Basically the same meaning. Google's translation more literal.]

9. I want to buy a ticket please.
Queria comprar um bilhete, por favor.
Eu quero comprar um bilhete, por favor.
[See discussion under 2 for use of eu. I think queria sounds a little less direct, but Google's translation was accurate.]

10.Where is the restaurant (bus station, train station, museum)?
Onde fica o restaurante (a estação rodoviária, a estação ferroviária, o museu)?
Onde fica o restaurante (estação de ônibus, estação de trem, museu)?
[Both translations for bus and train station work. Mine perhaps a bit more formal, but Google's work as well.]

Conclusion after experimenting with two languages: I can trust Google, but not completely. I''m really anxious to see how French goes next week. Comments welcome!

Can I trust Google Translate? - Spanish

Can I trust Google Translate? My informal experiment (explained in last week's post) was to translate ten English travel phrases into Spanish, Portuguese and French in future posts and compare them to Google's translations.

This week's post is about Spanish, a language I feel fairly comfortable with, although I must admit it has been several years since I have spoken Spanish on a daily basis Here are my best guesses as to how I would translate the English travel phrases I listed last week.

First I had to decide if I was going to be travelling in Mexico or Spain because the vocabulary would be slightly different. I decided to imagine myself on a trip to Mexico (maybe to a resort in Cabo San Lucas in Baja California?) for this experiment.

My translations are the first ones in red, and Google Translate's are the second in blue. Differences in the two translations are underlined.

1. Where is the restroom, please?
¿Dónde están los servicios, por favor?
¿Dónde está el baño, por favor?
[Okay. I have trouble even in English deciding what to call that most necessary of rooms. In my house, it's a bathroom. When I am out in the world, it is a restroom. And in when I am in a fancy restaurant, I occasionally have the desire to call it the Ladies' Room. And then there's the toilet, the loo, the lavatory... ]


2. I have a (room) reservation for tonight.
Tengo reservación para esta noche.
Tengo una reserva (habitación) para esta noche.
[I probably should have used an indefinite article (una), the difference in the translation of 'reservation' is a regional difference, and Google didn't translate correctly when I put a word in parentheses.]


3.My name is Linda. What is your name?
Me llamo Linda. ¿Cómo se llama Ud.? (¿Cómo te llamas?)
Mi nombre es Linda. ¿Cuál es su nombre?
[Different ways to express the same thing. Both work for me. I included both formal and informal forms of address, which Google also provides in a drop down menu.]

4. When does the train leave/arrive?
¿Cuándo sale (llega) el tren?
¿Cuándo sale / llega el tren?
[Hallelujah! We agree!]

5. How much does it cost?
¿Cuánto cuesta?
¿Cuánto cuesta?
[No argument here.]

6.Pardon me.
Con permiso. Perdón.
Perdón.
[I agree with Google that perdón is the more general word. It can be used with both senses of asking permission and excusing oneself.]

7. Do you have a vegetarian dish?
¿Hay platos vegetarianos?
¿Tiene un plato vegetariano?
[No quibbling here. Both seem to work.]

8.May I have a glass of water please?
¿Me da un vaso de agua, por favor?
¿Puedo tener un vaso de agua por favor?
[Both work.]

9. I want to buy a ticket please.
Quiero comprar un boleto, por favor.
Quiero comprar un billete por favor.
[Regional vocabulary variation]

10.Where is the restaurant (bus station, train station, museum)?
¿Dónde queda el restaurante (estación de autobuses, estación de ferrocarril, museo)?
¿Dónde está el restaurante (estación de autobuses, estación de tren, museo)?
[One of the multiple meanings of 'quedar' is 'to be'. Both translations for 'train' work, but I like Google's better because I don't have to roll those r's!]


All in all, it looks like Google's translations into Spanish would communicate my travel needs. And isn't communication the goal here? Translations are often a source of intense controversy, so I would enjoy hearing comments, concerns, or complaints from readers. ¡Muchas gracias!