[olePigeon]

Anyone here know Mandarin or something that can translate a phrase into simplified Chinese? I'd use a translator, but they're notorious for producing some pretty silly translations.

I need to translate: What is in your blood?

Babel Fish came up with this: 什麼在您的血液？

[olePigeon]

If it makes a difference to the translation, it's a Doctor formally addressing a patient, asking about a blood pathogen.

[Sealobo]

您的血裡面有什麼？

[Sealobo]

or... 您血裡面的是什麼？ (what's that in your blood?)

[olePigeon]

Thanks a bunch.

[andi*pandi]

Are you writing Firefly fanfic?

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

Are you writing Firefly fanfic?

No, but it is a scifi short story. The main character in the story was injected with a biological program; artificially created organisms carrying an encyclopedia of information, including most known languages in the galaxy. It delivers the payload as long term memories, so people who are drafted into the military are already familiar with most of the languages and technology involved in the fleet.

The character is being questioned by police, doctors, and psychologists because Earth is not yet aware of the galactic war, and he's under arrest on suspicion of planting a bomb and killing a police officer. They naturally think he's loony tunes until the psychologist starts speaking to him in various different languages, all of which he understands (including reading some obscure, ancient Earth languages like archaic Sumarian.)

[CharlesS]

I stop you, around me to convert am well. I process it, whenever type of the language is an excellent program of the automatic translation perfectly there in my computer converts! In the world equally any one to here the problem, will not be grateful who is understood certain another time of the day Of babelFish thing!

[brassplayersrock²]

Í’m surprised that n00b moderator hasn’t commented yet. Forget his name for some odd reason.

[Laminar]

That was actually...clever.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

That was actually...clever.

Clever...ish.

If I could find someone who could translate English into a Tibetan dialect/pictograms, that would be peachy keen.

[Spheric Harlot]

Why would ancient Sumerian be used in the fleet?

[ghporter]

Prolly because of all those ancient astronauts that consulted the Sumerians...

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Why would ancient Sumerian be used in the fleet?

Random sample from the planet for testing cognitive and technology levels. At some point a Sumer was picken in a random sample, so their language was added to the database.

[hyteckit]

Just saying you guys are translating into 'traditional chinese', not 'simplified chinese'.

You might want to run the traditional chinese to simplified chinese translator.

The word 'what'

Traditional Chinese:
什麼

Simplified Chinese:
什么

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

Random sample from the planet for testing cognitive and technology levels. At some point a Sumer was picken in a random sample, so their language was added to the database.

That's not nearly as cool as my idea.

[Spheric Harlot]

Ooh. Mr van Däniken's sour now.