Apr 29, 2004

ritrazione

Okay, so the Italians beat me to it. But I still like the word.

While you're at it, check out babelfish, the ultra-cool, ultra-cheap online translator from altavista. You can waste hours back-translating. For uninitiates, that means translating something into another language, and then translating *that* into English. Hilarity often ensues. Example:

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me;
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"


into Italian:

le terre antiche del "Keep, vostre storied il pomp!" cries lei con i labbri silenziosi. "Give me il vostro tired, i vostri poor, le vostre masse huddled yearning respirare liberamente, i rifiuti wretched del vostro puntello di colatura. Trasmetta questi, il nomade, tempesta-gettato me; Alzo la mia lampada al lato del door!" dorato;

and back again:

the ancient lands of the "Keep, yours storied the pomp!" cries she with the labbri silent. "Give me yours tired, yours poor, your masses huddled yearning to breathe liberations, the refusals wretched of your support of filtering. It transmits these, the nomad, storm-thrown me; I raise my lamp to the side of the door!" gilded;

Sorry, Emma Lazarus.

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