Spanish to English Translation

What is the most important thing you want in a translation? Obviously, you need the meaning to be accurately conveyed. You want the grammar to be correct. And you would like it to be rendered in clean, clear prose. Yet many translators fail to deliver even these basics. We have all read translations that are clumsily worded, plagued with grammar and spelling errors, and in some cases nearly indecipherable.

Here for example is a translation of a Spanish text provided by Google:

El ex dictador chileno, General Augusto Pinochet, quien falleció en Santiago el 10 de diciembre, fue un pionero en el uso de las "desapariciones" como arma de represión en Sudamérica, dijo hoy Human Rights Watch. Sin embargo, su arresto en Londres en 1998 también impulsó el uso de tribunales nacionales para juzgar a líderes extranjeros por abusos cometidos en sus propios países, señaló Human Rights Watch. El arresto en Londres fue el principio del fin para Pinochet y el inicio de un esfuerzo para llevar ante la justicia a los violadores de derechos humanos más poderosos del mundo. Pinochet pasó sus últimos años luchando contra una maraña cada vez más compleja de juicios en Chile y murió dejando la imagen de una figura profundamente desacreditada en la tierra que una vez gobernó.

The ex- Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, who passed away in Santiago the 10 of December, was a pioneer in the use of the "disappearances" like weapon of repression in South America, said Human Rights Watch today. Nevertheless, its arrest in London in 1998 also impelled the use of national courts to judge to foreign leaders by abuses committed in its own countries, indicated Human Rights Watch. The arrest in London was the principle of the aim for Pinochet and the beginning of a effort to take before justice to the rapists of more powerful human rights of world. Pinochet spent its last years fighting against a more and more complex maze of judgments in Chile and died deeply leaving the image of a figure discredited in the Earth that once governed.
As you can see, the computer translation fails on several counts: it cannot distinguish context, it translates too literally, and in places, as with "principio" and "violadores", it is simply incorrect. In the field of translation, at least, there is still no substitute for the human brain!

The ex-Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet, who died in Santiago on December 10, was a pioneer in the use of "disappearances" as a weapon of repression in South America, Human Rights Watch said today. However, his arrest in London in 1998 also gave rise to the use of national courts to judge foreign leaders for abuses committed in their own countries, Human Rights Watch stated. His arrest in London was the beginning of the end for Pinochet and the start of an effort to bring to justice the world's most powerful human rights violators. Pinochet spent his last years fighting an ever more complicated web of trials in Chile and with his death leaves behind the image of a deeply discredited figure in the land he once governed.
Again, no translation is perfect, but I hope you will agree that our version is accurate, readable and correct.

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