Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 14, 2011 Share #1 Posted February 14, 2011 A little while ago while I was in Grand Central, I stopped to buy my usual Express Bus Plus Card and as usual I selected "Italian" for the language to make my transaction just for the hell of it since I like to see the MTA's translation skills or lack there of. Sometimes I pick Spanish or French since I also know those languages... Then this thought dawned on me.... #1. How does the MTA decide which languages will be used at MTA vending machines? #2. On their website, why do they only offer machine translations of other languages? I know that they do use professional interpreters from language companies when they need them, as a friend of mine who also works in my field has them as a client. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman1455 Posted February 14, 2011 Share #2 Posted February 14, 2011 I guess they offer languages that are more popular in New York... Tourists and etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted February 14, 2011 I guess they offer languages that are more popular in New York... Tourists and etc... But sometimes when I'm in say Sheepshead Bay, I'll notice that they have Italian as a language and there's not many Italians around in Sheepshead Bay like they're used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokkemon Posted February 14, 2011 Share #4 Posted February 14, 2011 The vending machines at JFK Airtrain have more languages than the general ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted February 14, 2011 Sometimes I feel like they select the languages at random though. Italian and Spanish I would expect at Grand Central, as well as Japanese, but I would also expect to see German, as there are quite a few Germans that I here out on 5th Avenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubwayGuy Posted February 14, 2011 Share #6 Posted February 14, 2011 They are fairly common languages. Also many German speakers also speak English. Spanish not so much and many French do not either. However there are other common languages that aren't included which perhaps could be, like Russian or Swedish which many NYC tourists speak... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted February 15, 2011 Share #7 Posted February 15, 2011 Is the translation actually accurate or is it just half-assed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousNYLover Posted February 15, 2011 Share #8 Posted February 15, 2011 Website translation are from Google so it's not accurate. Japanese citizens who visit Japan does not speak English very well. Even there are Japanese who lives in NY longer without speaking clear English. There MVM with Japanese language at NYC Visitor Center at 7th Av/53rd St, somewhere in Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall/Chambers St , World Trade Center-Park Place-Chambers St , 55th St entrance of 57th St Station. Most Airtrain JFK and PATH MVM has Japanese info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Law Posted February 15, 2011 Share #9 Posted February 15, 2011 I know at ( Grand St and at Canal St they offer Chinese and other Asian languages, also for other stations with large Asian communities Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share #10 Posted February 15, 2011 Is the translation actually accurate or is it just half-assed? The machine translations are so so on the website, but you can't expect much for that reason, but why even bother to have those when they're so bad? The ones at the machines are okay and the multilingual sign they used to have on the train going to South Ferry were well translated into Italian, Spanish and French. That leads me to believe that they must use professional translators at times for important stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted February 15, 2011 Share #11 Posted February 15, 2011 There are Korean and Chinese options at the MVM/LIRR ticket machines at Hempstead, but I don't see many Asians riding the bus out here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share #12 Posted February 15, 2011 There are Korean and Chinese options at the MVM/LIRR ticket machines at Hempstead, but I don't see many Asians riding the bus out here... So it's almost as if they're a gimmick in a way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkmatechamp13 Posted February 15, 2011 Share #13 Posted February 15, 2011 They are fairly common languages. Also many German speakers also speak English. Spanish not so much and many French do not either. However there are other common languages that aren't included which perhaps could be, like Russian or Swedish which many NYC tourists speak... Do they have Russian as a language? It would be useful in areas like Brighton Beach with a large Russian population. BTW, when I’m on the self-checkout line at ShopRite, I always click the button for Spanish, just to hear the way they say certain words and compare it to the dialect I’m familiar with. Then again, I’m so familiar with the options that it could be in German or Russian or another language I'm unfamiliar with and I’d still know what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted February 15, 2011 Do they have Russian as a language? It would be useful in areas like Brighton Beach with a large Russian population. BTW, when I’m on the self-checkout line at ShopRite, I always click the button for Spanish, just to hear the way they say certain words and compare it to the dialect I’m familiar with. Then again, I’m so familiar with the options that it could be in German or Russian or another language I'm unfamiliar with and I’d still know what to do. At a few stations... Next time I'm in Sheepshead Bay I'll check since as you know it also now has a big Russian population as well, albeit not as big as Brighton Beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soyintocable Posted February 15, 2011 Share #15 Posted February 15, 2011 They offer over 10 languages at their couple of stations. I don't use them often but I write down a list of which are offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubwayGuy Posted February 16, 2011 Share #16 Posted February 16, 2011 Do they have Russian as a language? It would be useful in areas like Brighton Beach with a large Russian population. BTW, when I’m on the self-checkout line at ShopRite, I always click the button for Spanish, just to hear the way they say certain words and compare it to the dialect I’m familiar with. Then again, I’m so familiar with the options that it could be in German or Russian or another language I'm unfamiliar with and I’d still know what to do. I havent seen it but then again i rarely use the fare controls in the brighton beach neighborhood...usually if im going down there im going all the way to stillwell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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