Poll: When provided with language options, do you choose to browse a website in your native language?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Oct 31

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When provided with language options, do you choose to browse a website in your native language?".

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Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 07:12
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
It depends Oct 31

In principle, I browse most websites in whatever language they were originally set up in.

I am a privileged native speaker of English. Danish, the language I use most, is not my native language, but I am just as fluent as the natives. So I would not dream of having it translated into anything else, and possibly messed up! I have disabled as many translation options as possible on my computer. I simply hate the standard of English that often appears, and Google translations into Dan
... See more
In principle, I browse most websites in whatever language they were originally set up in.

I am a privileged native speaker of English. Danish, the language I use most, is not my native language, but I am just as fluent as the natives. So I would not dream of having it translated into anything else, and possibly messed up! I have disabled as many translation options as possible on my computer. I simply hate the standard of English that often appears, and Google translations into Danish may be difficult to read. (To put it politely )

I read several other languages comfortably, so I can often find what I want on Norwegian, Swedish and German websites, and I try hard with Italian. I should be able to read French too, but for some reason I rarely do. I have a go at Dutch before giving up and using the English version - which may be anything from excellent to sheer Dunglish.

For work purposes, however, I do often compare versions of a website, or check out the client's English website to see their style, what they call their products, and what my translation will be a part of. Sometimes I find a Google or MT version set up while they are waiting for the real thing!

Those are the languages I use most frequently, and after that, OK, I have to hope there is a decent translation into a language I understand!

[Edited at 2024-11-01 09:38 GMT]
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Anton Konashenok
writeaway
Alexandra Speirs
Michele Fauble
Rocio Barrientos
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 06:12
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Rarely Oct 31

I rarely use the language options. I must say that most of the websites I visit are either badly translated or translated into Brazilian Portuguese.

expressisverbis
 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 06:12
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
That's why Oct 31

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:

I rarely use the language options. I must say that most of the websites I visit are either badly translated or translated into Brazilian Portuguese.


That's why I prefer to choose it in my source languages...


 
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
English to Portuguese
+ ...
site:pt OR site:br . . . Oct 31

To choose sites in Brazilian Portuguese ask google sites:br
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:

I rarely use the language options. I must say that most of the websites I visit are either badly translated or translated into Brazilian Portuguese.


 
Gennady Lapardin
Gennady Lapardin  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 09:12
Italian to Russian
+ ...
Never Oct 31

Arabic sites in English only

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 06:12
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@António Oct 31

Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral wrote:

To choose sites in Brazilian Portuguese ask google sites:br
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:

I rarely use the language options. I must say that most of the websites I visit are either badly translated or translated into Brazilian Portuguese.


I know and that's exactly what I do when I want to search for something only in PT(pt) or PT(br), but the problem arises when certain international organisations, despite displaying the Portuguese flag on their website, have their content translated into PT(br) or, even worse, a mixture of PT(pt) + PT(br) as if the two languages were interchangeable...


expressisverbis
 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 07:12
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
If original, yes Oct 31

Depends on the product. Only if I know it’s been originally tailored in my native language, then yes. Translations are bad for the most part, or at least awkward to read.

 
Daryo
Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:12
Serbian to English
+ ...
I would always prefer Nov 3

instructions / user manuals in the native language of the manufacturer.

That way there is nothing "lost in translation".

If not I don't care if it's my "native" language, as long as I can understand it.

Odd question to ask on a site where you would expect a lot of bi/tri lingual people.


[Edited at 2024-11-03 07:06 GMT]


 
Denis Fesik
Denis Fesik
Local time: 09:12
English to Russian
+ ...
If the original language is English, I go for it Nov 3

If something is translated into English and Russian from another language, I'll probably still read the English but it depends: if the source language is Chinese or Japanese, both translations are liable to be awful, but the Russian will probably be more awful. If both are incomprehensible, I often go to the source text, open a few translation engines, and they help me understand things way better than the translations available on the site. I do this with Turkish, find it harder with Arabic, an... See more
If something is translated into English and Russian from another language, I'll probably still read the English but it depends: if the source language is Chinese or Japanese, both translations are liable to be awful, but the Russian will probably be more awful. If both are incomprehensible, I often go to the source text, open a few translation engines, and they help me understand things way better than the translations available on the site. I do this with Turkish, find it harder with Arabic, and only hope for luck with Finnish or Hungarian. I saw quite a few incomprehensible translations into English from German or even Dutch on websitesCollapse


 


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Poll: When provided with language options, do you choose to browse a website in your native language?






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