by Mishra Planeswalker

Created on: December 13, 2008

When one is trawling the internet in search of a free translation dictionary, the results are sporadic and varied. Many online dictionaries use poor-quality translations, that do not fully express what it is your are trying to say. However, once in a blue moon, a wayward internet searcher will find an online language dictionary that goes above and beyond what the competition can do.

Some online language dictionaries provide a service that does not help the user as much as it potentially could. A single mis-translated word has the potential to wreck a friendship, cause international wars, or even create mass segregation within our global society. Take for example, when Kruschev was giving a speech during the Cold War. He famously stated in a speech that the his society would exist longer than the American one, a rather innocent political challenge of ideals. However, the poor translation techniques employed by United States officials at the time, translated it as being "I will bury you," and took it as a threat of violence against western civilization.

Nowadays, we strive to communicate openly and without deception in a foreign language, which means that the translation tools we use must be top notch to ensure that as little as possible is "lost in translation." So among the many poor-quality online language dictionaries out there, there is one that shines above all the rest. I speak of the intuitive and easy-to-use www.wordreference.com.

I am a native English speaker, with French rapidly becoming my second tongue. I discovered WordReference when I was in high school, and to this day I have not found a more comprehensive tool that meets my translation needs. Not only does this site possess the capability to effectively translate words from a plethora of different languages, it can translate whole phrases into their foreign equivalent. For example, if you were to enter the phrase "I wait for nobody," into the Google translator, the French expression that comes up is "Dois-je attendre de personne," which does not actually mean anything in French. The true expression would be "Je n'attends personne," yet low-level translators will spit out garbled text that if said to a native speaker of the language, would mean almost nothing. Word Reference will do one of two things when you enter such a phrase.

The system will provide a side-by-side translation of the phrase, with adjustments made to make it correct.

The system will apologize for not having an accurate translation available (instead of giving you some nonsense string of words) and will direct you to the forums, where native speakers of almost all languages will be there to help you out. This ensures that you have the highest quality translation possible, and you will save yourself any negative consequences of mis-translating.

It is crucial to tread carefully when using an online translator. Stick to the aforementioned www.wordreference.com, and you may avoid errors that could have dire consequences. If you have friends that can translate for you, they should be a good source for you, because a computer program is often not able to handle the complex translation that a human brain can provide. However, if you stick to both the WordReference dictionary, as well as the highly useful forums found there, your translation endeavors should be a success.

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