SCC Blasted For Spending £700K On Translation In 3 Years

[bazjea]

Have you learned how to perform surgery in case you fall down a ravine and a boulder drops down and pins your arm to the rock face?

 

No as a matter of fact I haven't, have you?

 

But I have enough basic French and Spanish to get by to ask

for directions. I don't understand why people visiting a foreign country

think that there is no need to bother to learn a smattering of the language

but think that anyone visiting here should be able to speak English

It is a case of laziness as pointed out in posts above ,and double standards.

Edited February 22, 2015 by bazjea

[Penistone999]

Sheffield council have a total budget of £1,429 million in that light an interpretation budget of £687,116 is the square root of bugger all. Eric Pickles should mind his own business.

 

It may not be a large proportion of the budget , but when the council are bleating on about cuts , wasting money on Politically Correct nonsense like this beggars belief .

[bazjea]

I know a few bits and bobs , but if im struggling , im sure i could pay for a translator to help me , seeing as i wouldnt expect one to be provided free of charge by the taxpayer of the country im in.

 

Where would you find a translator if you needed directions to the station or

or the nearest doctor. I am sure there would'nt be a translator on every

street corner.

[Penistone999]

No as a matter of fact I haven't, have you?

 

But I have enough basic French and Spanish to get by to ask

for directions. I don't understand why people visiting a foreign country

think that there is no need to bother to learn a smattering of the language

but think that anyone visiting here should be able to speak English

It is a case of double standards.

 

we arnt talking about people visiting for holidays, the money is being wasted on people who come to live here and are too lazy to learn the language of the country they are living in.

[Blackbeard]

we arnt talking about people visiting for holidays, the money is being wasted on people who come to live here and are too lazy to learn the language of the country they are living in.

 

Can I help you for your next visit to Spain

¿Puedes por favor decirme donde puedo comprar unos cigarrillos de contrabando

[Penistone999]

Can I help you for your next visit to Spain

¿Puedes por favor decirme donde puedo comprar unos cigarrillos de contrabando

 

I buy my knock off Bacca here , its cheaper than in Spain

 

---------- Post added 22-02-2015 at 16:35 ----------

 

Where would you find a translator if you needed directions to the station or

or the nearest doctor. I am sure there would'nt be a translator on every

street corner.

 

What you do is spend a few quid and buy a phrase book , they arnt expensive and give you the essentials you need to know , or ,as others have already said, spend a little time on the tinterent and learn enough of the required language to get by. What you sohuldnt be doing is expecting the taxpayers of the country you are in to pick up the tab for translating everything into English for you.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Penistone999

[RonJeremy]

nie mówimy o osobach odwiedzających na wakacje, pieniądze są marnowane na ludzi, którzy przychodzą tu mieszkać i są zbyt leniwi, aby nauczyć się języka kraju, w którym żyją w.

 

nu vorbim de persoane care vizitează pentru sarbatori, bani se irosesc pe oamenii care vin să locuiască aici şi sunt prea leneşi pentru a învăţa limba ţării sunt locuiesc în.

 

우리가 휴가 위한 방문 하는 사람들에 대해 얘기 하지 않습니다, 그리고 돈을 살고 여기와 서 살고 있는 나라의 언어를 배울 수 게으른 사람들에 낭비 되 고 있다.

 

aren't vIghel maH nuvpu' QI'lop vISuch, wasted Huch nuvpu' 'ej QuQ Ha' naDev yIn 'ej buD je Sep qaStaHvIS yIn chaH Hol ghoj.

 

online translate seems to work fairly well = Penistone's post translated into Polish, Romanian, Korean and even Klingon.

 

What a waste of money

[truman]

No as a matter of fact I haven't, have you?

 

But I have enough basic French and Spanish to get by to ask

for directions. I don't understand why people visiting a foreign country

think that there is no need to bother to learn a smattering of the language

but think that anyone visiting here should be able to speak English

It is a case of laziness as pointed out in posts above ,and double standards.

 

You seem to be getting confused between paying for a phrasebook/translation and it being provided for free by the taxpayer....

[smiggs]

It may not be a large proportion of the budget , but when the council are bleating on about cuts , wasting money on Politically Correct nonsense like this beggars belief .

 

Sorry but even in the context of the so called "blackhole" in the council's budget even cancelling these services entirely would achieve nothing but it would mean that people whose first language is not English would not understand the services provided and potentially tie up frontline staff with these misunderstandings. You may find that these services are fully costed, to assist already stretched frontline staff.

[Blackbeard]

nie mówimy o osobach odwiedzających na wakacje, pieniądze są marnowane na ludzi, którzy przychodzą tu mieszkać i są zbyt leniwi, aby nauczyć się języka kraju, w którym żyją w.

 

nu vorbim de persoane care vizitează pentru sarbatori, bani se irosesc pe oamenii care vin să locuiască aici şi sunt prea leneşi pentru a învăţa limba ţării sunt locuiesc în.

 

우리가 휴가 위한 방문 하는 사람들에 대해 얘기 하지 않습니다, 그리고 돈을 살고 여기와 서 살고 있는 나라의 언어를 배울 수 게으른 사람들에 낭비 되 고 있다.

 

aren't vIghel maH nuvpu' QI'lop vISuch, wasted Huch nuvpu' 'ej QuQ Ha' naDev yIn 'ej buD je Sep qaStaHvIS yIn chaH Hol ghoj.

 

online translate seems to work fairly well = Penistone's post translated into Polish, Romanian, Korean and even Klingon.

 

What a waste of money

 

Of cause you can always trust computers to do any translations for you, or can you?

The internet is full of examples of where it has gone wrong including a report about medicine labels translated in New York.

 

"According to a new research study, computer programs that pharmacists depend on to translate prescription labels are prone to potentially dangerous errors. Examples of mistakes include the translation of “once a day” into “eleven times a day”; “by mouth” into “by the little”; and “two times” into “two kiss.” Study researcher Iman Sharif with the Nemours A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children says, “We’re not going to be able to reduce disparities in care if we cannot ensure that patients know how to use their medicines. Medication errors are a huge problem and this is just one venue where this happens, and I think a really important one.” Last year, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation mandating that pharmacy chains offer translated labels to customers speaking any one of the seven top foreign languages spoken in the city. The survey conducted by Sharif and Dartmouth College researcher Julia Tse looked at 286 pharmacies in the Bronx and found that 75 percent provided labels translated into Spanish. Of those pharmacies providing translations, 86 percent used a computer program to translate the labels, while 11 percent used staff members and three percent employed professional translators. A 50-percent error rate was documented in 76 of the computer-generated labels, including 32 incomplete translations and six major spelling or grammatical mistakes. Sharif says that ideally pharmacies would have professional translators on staff to make sure that the labels are translated properly. She adds that accurate translation would be greatly simplified through the standardization of how doctors write prescriptions. She believes these are two issues that should be addressed in health care reform. In the meantime, Sharif urges non-English speakers to “Ask for a professional interpreter. Don’t just accept that you don’t speak English and therefore you don’t get to have information about your medicine.”

From “Drug Label Accuracy Getting Lost in Translation”

http://healthcareinterpreting.org/computer-translations-of-drug-labels-often-wrong/

 

I would not want my medical records computer interpreted, I have read some scientific reports translated by computer and they were complete gibberish.