Laundry detergent

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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I don’t know what is GT that you refer to but SpanishDict has el detergente.

'GT' is Google Translate. I didn't dispute that detergente was correct but as NanSanPedro said "la detergente" I pointed out it was 'el' not 'la'. He has now confirmed that it was human error, not GT or SpanishDict's. Online translation programs are my pet peeve though.
 
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Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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'GT' is Google Translate. I didn't dispute that detergente was correct but as NanSanPedro said "la detergente" I pointed out it was 'el' not 'la'. He has now confirmed that it was human error, not GT or SpanishDict's. Online translation programs are my pet peeve though.

Yes, I realized it was the OP that was incorrect. Go to my post #8 look at the emoji....
 
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Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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'GT' is Google Translate. I didn't dispute that detergente was correct but as NanSanPedro said "la detergente" I pointed out it was 'el' not 'la'. He has now confirmed that it was human error, not GT or SpanishDict's. Online translation programs are my pet peeve though.

Online translators are pure entertainment for me. What I do is I come up with English sentences and then put them in Google translate to Spanish. Some of the translations are hilarious. One aspect I noticed constantly is it struggles with verb conjugations without subject pronouns. However, I can see how it can be helpful for an initial translation and then clean up to produce a proper product.
 
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Chirimoya

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Which begs the question, which online translator seem to introduce the least amount of errors?
Any opinion
Nothing matches a human translator. Having said that, online translators are mostly ok for informal, quick stuff, for translating the odd word or phrase and to get the general gist of a text, but they never produce anything fit for publication. Even for small things they can lead you in the completely wrong direction. Language has too many pitfalls that only a human brain can decipher.

I have grudgingly conceded that DeepL will produce reasonable quality text in certain language pairs but it always needs to be painstakingly reviewed for such blunders.
 

NanSanPedro

Nickel with tin plating
Apr 12, 2019
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Boca Chica
yeshaiticanprogram.com
Nothing matches a human translator. Having said that, online translators are mostly ok for informal, quick stuff, for translating the odd word or phrase and to get the general gist of a text, but they never produce anything fit for publication. Even for small things they can lead you in the completely wrong direction. Language has too many pitfalls that only a human brain can decipher.

I have grudgingly conceded that DeepL will produce reasonable quality text in certain language pairs but it always needs to be painstakingly reviewed for such blunders.

Thanks for that. I did not know what DeepL was until you posted.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
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And don't forget Gillet for any razor. Colgate for any toothpaste.
 
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Russell

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Jun 17, 2017
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Find a better dictionary or online translator. It should be el not la as it is a masculine noun.

Detergente de ropa



Ace
(no accent on the 'e' because the stress is on the first syllable) is the brand name that is used generically. Pronounced Ah-seh.
That is exactly what I was told here in Luperon.
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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It s funny because Dominican pronunciations of name brand (such as pampers and confle )always throws me off when I first hear them. I can understand detergente because it s the same word in many language, but Ace I would look at you puzzled.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
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Was texting an educated ( not university) person the other day and she was saying her friend fell and hit his head. And she texted "el se callo"
I corrected her that it should be 'cayo' but she swore she was right. Lots of phonetic spelling used in texts, makes me wonder what they were testing when teaching Spanish in colegios ?
 

NanSanPedro

Nickel with tin plating
Apr 12, 2019
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Boca Chica
yeshaiticanprogram.com
Was texting an educated ( not university) person the other day and she was saying her friend fell and hit his head. And she texted "el se callo"
I corrected her that it should be 'cayo' but she swore she was right. Lots of phonetic spelling used in texts, makes me wonder what they were testing when teaching Spanish in colegios ?

Obviously I'm no authority but for shits and grins I put what you wrote into google translate and into DeepL (my new toy). GT translated both and DL translate he fell into se cayó.