Saturday, July 14, 2007

Translating directions....

God bless the internet. Imagine this: You are in a strange place. It seems familiar to what you know, but has subtle differences that actually matter. You buy a can of soup, etc., but cannot read the ingredients or the instructions about how to heat it up. It's like you're 5 years old and can't function if there isn't a picture to illustrate the writing.

Today, I purchased a little pre-packaged salmon and broccoli entree from the store, which is meant to be heated in the microwave. Alas, how to heat it? Am I supposed to make slits in the top? I can tell how long to heat it because numbers are numbers, etc.

One tool I have been using is Microsoft Word's translation feature. You type in the foreign words into a word document, go to the "tools" menu, go to "language" and then to "translate." When it asks you if you want to "install" the feature, say no. It then opens a window on the right hand side where you select the languages you want to translate and then presto - using the Internet's google translation feature, you have it translated for you. It is a bit rudimentary, but it'll give you the gist of what you need to know.

Here's what I typed in for today's dinner:

Zet de gesloten verpakking in de magnetron. De ingredienten stomen gaar met maximal behoud van de smaak en voedingswaarde. Het stoomventiel voorkomt overdruk. Na bereiding 1 minuut laten staan.

Here's what I got back:

The closed packing in the magnetron puts. The ingredients steam gaar with maximal conservation of the taste and feeding value. The steam valve prevents transfer. After construction to 1 minute let stand

It's a little odd, but it works!

*Note in response to Jamie's question below: Yes, it did say the number of minutes. That's what I meant when I said, "I can tell how long to heat it because numbers are numbers, etc."

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I get the after cooking let sit for 1 minute part but did it ever say how long to actually cook it for in the first place?

Just wondering...
Jamie

Unknown said...

I know this TV meal.

Zet de gesloten verpakking in de magnetron.

Put the closed packing in the microwave.

De ingredienten stomen gaar met maximal behoud van de smaak en voedingswaarde.

The ingredients steam done with maximal keeping of the taste and feedingvalue.

Het stoomventiel voorkomt overdruk.

The steam valve prevents overpressure.

Na bereiding 1 minuut laten staan.

After preparation 1 minute leave standing.