Testing Online Translators

MY MISSION — check out online translators to see what differences arise when I use more than one to translate a paragraph. 

MY METHOD — use Babel Fish, Google translator and SDL translator to take the same paragraph and translate it first into German. Then using that German translation, translate it back into English.

MY PARAGRAPH: Hi! My name is Terry Snyder. I am interested in family history and genealogy. My great-grandparents left Germany to come to the United States in 1906. 

Babel Fish (http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr) 

ENGLISH TO GERMAN: Hallo! Mein Name ist Terry Snyder. Ich bin an der Familiengeschichte und an der Genealogie interessiert. Meine großen Großeltern verließen Deutschland, um in die Vereinigten Staaten 1906 zu kommen. 

GERMAN TO ENGLISH: Hello! My name is Terry Snyder. I am interested in family history and in the genealogy. My large grandparents left Germany, in order to come into the United States 1906 

Google Translator (http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en)

ENGLISH TO GERMAN: Hallo! Mein Name ist Terry Snyder. Ich interessiere mich in der Familie Geschichte und Ahnenforschung. Meine Grosseltern Linke Deutschland zu kommen, in die Vereinigten Staaten 1906.

GERMAN TO ENGLISH: Hello! My name is Terry Snyder. I am interested in the family history and genealogy. My grandparents left Germany to come to the United States 1906. As you can see from these three different translations, you can get an idea of what I am talking about, but it's not very clear — in fact as I pointed out with the Google translator I've lost one generation of grandparents. 

The Web site, LOST IN TRANSLATION, takes things a step further. Using Babel Fish as the translator it translates my paragraph first into French, then back to English, then into German, then back into English. Next it takes that English translation and translates it into Italian, then again in English, then Portuguese, then English, then Spanish and finally one last time back into English. All those translations result in the final English version as follows: 

Hello! My name is Terry Snyder. They are interested of the prehistory of the family and the genealogy. My great grandparents of Germany of the left, the end to enter corresponded with declare 1906. Not exactly what I had intended to say. 

 If you'd like to play with this last little experiment on your own, you can find the LOST IN TRANSLATION Web site at http://tashian.com/multibabel/. If you add the Korean, Chinese and Japanese options, the result is even more garbled! Mission accomplished. 

Until Next Time — Happy Ancestral Digging! 

Note this post first published online, November 15, 2007, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 15 November 2007, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Requiescat in Pace

(Today, November 14, my daughter Heather would have been thirty.)

 

A MATTER SO SMALL

I never saw her, my daughter, my Heather

I felt her prenatal kicks;

I patted my belly

Named her Little Harry Eagleclaw

She liked my rocking chair, I think

Kicking when I would pause to stop

She died, bones crushed by the weight of her own body fluids

A mystery, they said, so sad, they said, you'll have another, they said.

I nodded, always the acquiescent essence of a good girl

Not willing to bother anyone, for a matter so small.

Until one morning, when the sun came up a little slanted

Illuminating the white hot fierceness of loss

I moaned and wailed and beat my fists upon the walls

Demanding retribution, demanding an accounting

Demanding God to show himself, to strike me dead

And when I was done, God being silent

I lay spent, alive, yet not, pieces of my soul released and gone forever

Buried with my perfect monster child, my daughter, my baby, my Heather.

Tempus animae medicus. 

Until Next Time … 

Note this post first published online, November 14, 2007, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 14 November 2007, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Genealogy Solutions — Using Online Translators

The box went from my great-grandparents' house to their eldest son, William. Upon William's death, his widow, Louise, gave the box to my parents. Because the papers in the box were all in German, my parents gave the box to my sister, who had taken two years of high school German. My sister dutifully stored the box of German papers on a shelf in the closet. And there the box sat half-forgotten gathering dust.

A few years ago, when family members started asking me when I was going to get around to researching the Schrader side of the family, the subject of the box came up in conversation. I hadn't known of its existence, and frankly when the box first came into my family's possession in the early 1980s I wouldn't have given it much thought anyway. We were all delighted to find that my wonderful sister still had the box — in fact, she knew exactly where the box was.

So Sis got the box down from the closet and brought it over to my house, so I could go through it, catalog it and scan copies of the documents into my computer, where they would be backed up onto a DVD disc. Even without knowledge of any German, I could tell I had a treasure trove of information. Using the language tool on Google, I was able to understand some of the official looking documents. I could type a word in German and get its English translation.

For those of you out there who might need to look up a foreign word yourselves, you can find Google's language tools on this page: http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en

You can translate the following languages into English at this Web site:

1. French
2. German
3. Italian
4. Portuguese
5. Spanish

There are also beta versions of the following languages:

1. Arabic
2. Chinese
3. Japanese
4. Korean
5. Russian

Other Web sites that also offer similar features are:

1. Babel Fish Translation — http://babelfish.altavista.com/
2. SDL/Free Translation — http://www.freetranslation.com/
3. Prompt Online Translator — http://www.online-translator.com/text.asp?lang=en
4. InterTran — http://www.tranexp.com:2000/Translate/result.shtml
5. Poltran.com — http://www.poltran.com/

I have used both Babel Fish and SDL as well as the Google translators. Though none is perfect — each leaves a little to be desired — they helped me communicate with a German gentleman who was researching the Gleffe/Gliewe family name. (Gleffe was my great-grandmother Schrader's maiden name.) Sometimes I was only able to get the gist of what he was telling me, but communicating with Jörg definitely helped me move my research forward.

The InterTran page has the most language translations offered such as Romanian, Icelandic and Croatian to name a few. The Poltran site specializes in Polish to English and vice versa.

Some of the translation sites also offer you the ability to type in a Web address to translate the Web page from another language into English. In this manner, I was able to find a picture of the actual church in Budow that is mentioned in the document you see in the picture associated with this post.

The document lists my great-grandparents Leo Schröder and Emma Gleffe Schröder, along with their sons, Wilhelm and Max. The first column lists birth dates, the second is the baptismal date, the third column is for confirmation into the church, and the final date is their marriage date.

These records were copied from the Church in Budow. Budow was located in the Kreis (county) Stolp in the province of Pomerania in Germany.

It really is a small world. Imagine being able to go online to find a picture of a church where my great-grandparents were baptized and confirmed in the last part of the 19th century in a foreign country. This is even more amazing when you realize that the German province of Pomerania no longer exists — the area where it once was located is now a part of Poland. The Internet is definitely a plus for any budding desktop genealogist.

Until Next Time — Happy Ancestral Digging!

Note this post first published online, November 13, 2007, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 13 November 2007, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Nine Things to Know About Veterans Day

1. Some people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day honors those men and women who have died in the service of their country while Veterans Day, though it honors all who have served their country, is more about honoring and thanking those living men and women who have served in our armed forces.

2. This national day was originally known as Armistice Day. It was observed on November 11 because on the 11th month, 11th day and the 11th hour in 1918 an armistice was observed until the Treaty of Versailles could be signed officially ending World War I, or The Great War as it was then known. 

3. In 1938, Congress passed legislation to commemorate Armistice Day on November 11. Because World War I was thought to be “the war to end all wars,” this day was dedicated to world peace and those who had served their country during World War I.

4. In 1954, after both World War II and the Korean War had been fought, Congress changed the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor all veterans of all wars.

5. Other countries also honor their veterans on or near November 11. Both Canada and Australia observe what is known as Remembrance Day on November 11, while Great Britain observes their own Remembrance Day on the Sunday nearest to November 11.

6. In 1968, there was a big push for Monday to be the day we celebrated most federal holidays. The last Monday in October was designated for Veterans Day. Because the November 11th day had so much meaning, many states continued to observe the day on November 11. Finally, President Ford signed a bill stating that beginning in 1978 Veterans Day would again be officially observed on November 11th. 

7. While Veterans Day honors both those who have served in our Armed Forces during peacetime and wartime, approximately 75% of those Veterans we honor served during some type of conflict.

8. Since 2000, a National Veterans Awareness Week has been observed to emphasize “educational efforts directed at elementary and secondary school students concerning the contributions and sacrifices of veterans;” and to encourage “the people of the United States to observe National Veterans Awareness Week with appropriate educational activities.” This year the week is November 11 through November 17. 

9. The Library of Congress has an ongoing project to collect first-hand accounts of Wartime stories through volunteer contributions of video, audio and written narratives. Called the Veterans History Project, its primary focus is on preservation of Veterans’ experiences for the following wars: a. World War I b. World War II c. Korean War d. Viet Nam War e. Persian Gulf War f. Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts.  

To read more about the project or to find out how to submit your own personal wartime experiences go to http://www.loc.gov/vets/about.html. Our heart felt thanks to all of you who have answered the call of duty to serve our country in both war and peacetime. This week and Veterans Day is a time for all of us to reflect on the honor of your personal sacrifices.

Until Next Time . . . 

Note this post first published online, November 12, 2007, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

©12 November  2007, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Desktop Genealogist does her part for BGSU research

Yesterday, I took a lovely little break from my daily routine to be interviewed by doctoral candidate Amy Smith, a student in the School of Communication Studies at BGSU. She is working on her dissertation, the purpose of which is to examine the impact of women doing family history research and its effect on family communications. For this study, she is interviewing 21 women from our area. I was number 12.

The deal-sealer for me was being interviewed meant that I had the chance to see something other than the four walls of my own home office. So I trotted off to spend an hour with Amy, talking about research and swapping the genealogical equivalent of war stories. Amy was charming, funny and very easy to talk to, which was a real bonus since I would have talked quite cheerfully to Attila the Hun given the chance to be let out of my customary cage. 

I wish I had taken notes, so that I could share more details with you. I did take my notebook and a pen but it's hard to take notes with all that arm flailing I do when I talk. This mad gesturing as I speak was seen as a serious flaw by my eighth-grade English teacher, who told me if they cut off my arms, I would be mute. (I hope this doesn't give anyone ideas.)

Amy gave me the chance to request anonymity when she publishes her work, but since I've already publicly copped to laugh snorting, hating Halloween and being a statistics geek, I didn't think there would be much point. What could I possibly say in an hour that would be worse? I will be getting a copy of Amy's work, when it is completed. It will be interesting to see her conclusions and read what the others had to say about what drew them to genealogy, their research methods and whether or not the study of family history has enhanced communication within their own families.

 All I know is that in my family, I'm able to read perfectly the glazing of the eyes, the stifled yawn and the impatient drum of fingertips that tell me that I have gone one syllable too far with my ancestral chatter. Yup, genealogy certainly has improved my family's ability to communicate. 

Until Next Time — Happy Ancestral Digging! 

Note this post first published online, November 9, 2007, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

©9 November 2007, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Three Days of Ancestry.com — Free!

I wish I could take credit for this catch but it was Lisa's “100 Years in America “blog (http://100inamerica.blogspot.com/2007/11/nows-your-chance-free-access-to.html) that first mentioned 3 days of unlimited access to Ancestry.com. Not only is it free, but no credit card information is required. You will need to give your name and e-mail address, but that might net you a discount offer from my favorite genealogy subscription service — just in time for Christmas!

If you've ever wanted to give Ancestry a try, this is your chance. Here's the link to take advantage of the offer: http://landing.ancestry.com/popularmedia/hs1.aspx?landingpage=3DF_nc&o_iid=32618&o_lid=32618&o_it=32845Add).

You might want to think about which three days you will have the most time to “play.” Me — I saw the link, clicked it and then thought, darn why didn't I wait until Friday. So, you'll understand if I cut this post short. I want to follow up on some Hamburg Passenger lists to see if my great-grandparents are listed, and I need to take a closer look on the 1870 census now that I know where to look for a distant cousin, and then I want to ... well, you get the idea.

Until Next Time — Happy Ancestral Digging!

Note this post first published online, November 7, 2007, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 7 November 2007, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about U.S. Presidential Elections

Please, please, please tell me that someone out there is every bit the information junkie and statistics geek that I am. If you are out there, do I have a Web site for you! Dave Leip's Atlas of US Presidential Elections (http://www.uselectionatlas.org/) has a mountain of statistics on just about anything you ever wanted to know about presidential elections.

Not only is he keeping track of polling information for the 2008 race, but also he has state-by-state electoral vote totals from the very first presidential election — all on pretty data-colored maps. The most challenging part of the Web site has to do with the coloring of those maps. Dave has colored Republicans in blue and Democrats in red. Once you get past that hurdle, everything is easy to read and navigate. 

There are certain pieces of information that require a subscription. For instance if you wanted to see which candidate was voted for at the county level you would need to be a subscriber for the 1872 to 1956 election years. But the county-level information from 1960 forward is available for all to see. This is how I know that Sandusky County has only voted for a democratic presidential candidate twice in that time period. That occurred in 1996, when our county voted for Bill Clinton and in 1964 when we voted for Lyndon Johnson. 

Want to know how many times the State of Ohio has voted in presidential elections? Fifty-one times. The very first time was in 1804 when we voted for Thomas Jefferson with our three votes in the Electoral College.

Want to know the most electoral votes the State of Ohio has had? The answer is 26 — in years 1932, 1936, 1940, 1964 and 1968. In the 2004 election, we had 20 electoral votes. I didn't know until I looked at Dave's Web site that Texas, Mississippi and Virginia did not vote in the 1868 election because they had not yet been readmitted to the Union. 

Nor did I know that the two major candidates running in the 1920 Presidential Election both called Ohio home. (This was Warren G. Harding and James Cox.) For these and other tidbits of presidential information, be sure to check out the Web site. Just make sure you have plenty of time when you do. There are all sorts of “doorways” to little treasure troves of information — perfect for a statistics geek like me.

 Until Next Time — Happy Ancestral Digging! PS — Don't forget to vote! 

Note this post first published online, November 6, 2007, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 6 November 2007, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder