Literature

DeepL vs. Google Translate: Poetry Edition

Posted on by Lijia / 0 Comment
There’s always Duolingo if you don’t want to use translators! (Source)

Online translators are lifesavers and their technology has improved vastly from the early internet days. Two of the most popular programs are DeepL and Google Translate. Let’s compare how they take on the same texts and see whose version makes more sense.

I chose two poems (Afternoon on a Hill by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Happy Rain on a Spring Night 春夜喜雨 by Du Fu 杜甫) and ran them through the English and Simplified Chinese translators on both sites. These poems are relatively short and simple but contain nuances as poetry tends to do. The Du Fu poem will be more difficult to translate because of the archaic wording used – can’t blame the guy; he lived in the Tang Dynasty.

I don’t expect any major translation gaffes and believe that both programs will preserve the meaning behind the poems. I was keen to see how much nuance and expressiveness will be captured. Below I also offer my own translation to the best of my abilities.

English to Simplified Chinese

Original (English)DeepLGoogle TranslateMy translation
I will be the gladdest thing
    Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
    And not pick one.		我将成为太阳下最快乐的事
    在阳光下
我将触摸一百朵花
    而不采摘一朵。		我会是最高兴的事
     阳光下！
我要摸一百朵花
     而且不挑一个。		我要当太阳底下
     最快活的东西！
我会抚摸一百朵花
     而且不摘一朵。
I will look at cliffs and clouds
    With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
    And the grass rise.		我将看着悬崖和云朵
    用安静的眼睛。
看风吹倒草。
    草地升起。		我会看悬崖和云
     用安静的眼睛，
看风吹倒草，
     草长起来了。		我会以安静的双眼
     望望悬崖和云朵，
看着风吹到小草弯腰
     小草再站起来。
And when lights begin to show
    Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
    And then start down!		当灯光开始显现
    从镇上升起。
我将标记哪些是我的。
    然后开始下降!		当灯光开始出现时
     从小镇上来，
我会标记哪个必须是我的，
     然后开始下！		;当灯火开始从小镇
     缓缓冒上来，
我会在我的领土做记号
     然后下山！
A comparison of “Afternoon on a Hill” translations. Original by Edna St. Vincent Millay from poets.org

Most of the phrasing is clunky in both versions, but it feels like Google Translate took a bunch of shortcuts and ended up in an uncanny valley while DeepL’s sentences are still somewhat smooth. Unfortunately, the carefree tone of Millay’s poem is overshadowed by awkward word choices so this isn’t a win for either DeepL or Google Translate. I will refrain from commenting on the rhyme scheme as that’s something I also struggle with. Suffice to say none of the three translations above kept the rhyme scheme.

Conclusion: Non-English speakers can definitely understand the gist of the poem by reading DeepL or Google Translate, but DeepL sounds a bit more natural. There is much room for improvement. Even I wished I could do better but my Chinese vocabulary escapes me. Back to school for all of us.

Chinese to English

Original (Chinese)DeepLGoogle TranslateMy translation
好雨知时节，当春乃发生。The good rain knows the season, when spring is happening.Good rain knows the season, when spring is here.Good rain knows when to fall: when spring comes around.
随风潜入夜，润物细无声。With the wind diving into the night, moisten things silently.Sneaked into the night wind, moisten things silently.It slinks into the night with the wind and silently falls upon the world.
野径云俱黑，江船火独明。The clouds are dark in the wild path, but the fire on the river boat is bright.The wild trails and clouds are all black, and the rivers and ships are only bright.Dark clouds loom over country lanes; only the ships’ lights are bright on the river.
晓看红湿处，花重锦官城。At dawn, when the red is wet, the flowers are heavy in the city.Xiao sees the red and wet places, and spends heavy brocade on the official city.The wet red blossoms at dawn cast rich brocade over Chengdu.
A comparison of “Happy Rain on a Spring Night 春夜喜雨” translations. Original text by Du Fu from gushiwen.cn

Both programs did a decent job at conveying the poem’s general meaning, though the Tang Dynasty Chinese appeared to trip them up a bit. Despite the strange grammar, the first three lines are all translated accurately. DeepL was able to string together slightly more coherent sentences, especially on the third line. However, the second line felt like DeepL translated directly, since 潜入 can literally mean “dive” but as Google Translate pointed out, its meaning is closer to “sneak” in this context. Google Translate was confused by the last line and transposed the Chinese character “xiao 晓” to pinyin, instead of translating it as “dawn,” but it captured the majesty of rain-soaked red flowers draped over the city like a luxurious garment. The city that Du Fu refers to was Chengdu – referred to by an older name 官成 – and both programs understandably did not get this.

Conclusion: If I did not know any Chinese, I would have understood DeepL better than Google Translate. For those who can read the original poem, Google Translate would have better captured the nuances in Du Fu’s lines.

Commentary

Pandemic pets

Posted on by Lijia / 0 Comment
Friendly wandering cat says hello.

Loneliness and melancholy are common emotions exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdowns. Even after mobility restrictions are loosened, sometimes modern life launches us into a dark corner where solitude becomes oppressive rather than liberating. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a cute fluffy companion, maybe a cheerful pooch or slightly rotund cat, by our side? A companion who loves us and motivates us to get through difficult times?

Emotional support is one of the many joys associated with pet ownership. Nearly 87% of pet owners in this UK survey said that their pets have helped them to cope emotionally during lockdown. The desire for companionship amidst social isolation could have motivated more people to adopt or purchase pets during COVID. Higher pet ownership may also be attributed to flexible work arrangements, which allowed more people to spend time at home caring for their pets.

As COVID restrictions ease, both people and pets need to adjust to new routines. Some workers are required to return to their offices, while others may have found new jobs or decided to relocate. Unfortunately, this also means that some pet owners end up giving up or worse, abandoning their pets. Animal welfare groups in Singapore told Channel News Asia that pet abandonment trended upwards by 30% in the early half of 2022. Hong Kong Dog Rescue shared with Reuters that they had to take in more abandoned dogs per month than the pre-COVID period as people moved out of the city.

A pet is a lifelong commitment and not just a short-term companion to tide their owner through lockdown. It is fine to get a pet during COVID as long as we continue to give them the best possible life in a post-COVID environment. I hope pet owners and their employers can work together to maintain some flexibility in working arrangements so that pets are sufficiently cared for.

Commentary

The post-COVID anti-party

Posted on by Lijia / 0 Comment
This is fine. (Source: Gunshow)

Besides respiratory infections and potentially serious complications, COVID-19 also very kindly bestowed some difficult existential questions upon us. Plagued with a stark reminder of our mortality, we thought about what we sought out in life and whether our societies are happy, equitable, or even functional. Do we want to continue working for most of our days at jobs we may not necessarily love? How much of our time, labour, and sanity should we sacrifice in exchange for material things that keep us alive?

We saw plenty of systemic inequity and injustices come to light when COVID-19 struck. As billionaires accumulated more wealth in the bull market, low-wage employees jeopardised their health and safety working. People without a decent social safety net struggled to access healthcare, and even if they did, they may encounter personnel who had an equally difficult time coping with immense workloads and far too many COVID-related deaths. Movements such as anti-work struck a chord with those disillusioned with existing socioeconomic systems. Even if we regain some semblance of normalcy – travelling, working in offices, attending parties and concerts – something in the air feels different.

The pandemic urged us to rethink how we ought to live and improve our quality of life. For instance, a study to measure the impact of a four-day work week is underway in the UK. If there are positive results, such as higher employee retention and less burnout, more societies may implement the four-day work week or some form of reduction in working hours. This outcome is not guaranteed, but we should remember that the five-day work week was pretty recent too; a product of labour advocacy in the early 19th century. After all, future social norms result from our present actions.

It’s not time to party yet as we head into the Roaring 2020s. Parties are celebrations of our milieu but I don’t think we’ll have much room for them. Instead, there might be a few anti-parties critical of our societies and economic systems. These anti-parties will disconcert us because progress challenges the status quo and so isn’t always palatable. Settle into your uncomfortable seats and prepare for a bumpy ride. Let’s hope our collective weight will smooth out those potholes.

Business

Gloss and Glossier

Posted on by Lijia / 0 Comment
Glossier’s Miami store (Source: Glossier)

We live in a society where everyone famous owns a beauty brand: Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty, Lady Gaga’s Haus Labs, and probably even your neighbour’s homemade skincare line. The cosmetics industry is an arena where various brands battle to the death. Industry leaders, such as Estee Lauder and L’Oreal, must compete with young and hip brands or buy them out for a higher chance of survival.

One of these trendy brands is Glossier. It has captured the hearts of millennials with its minimalist baby-pink aesthetic and snazzy products promising dewy complexions, luscious features, and effortless glamour. Even investors, whose skincare routine may only consist of a soapy rinse in the shower, see Glossier’s potential. A $80 million series E funding round last year puts Glossier’s most recent valuation at $1.8 billion. It turns out that big capitalists such as Tiger and Sequoia are behind the manufacturer of Cloud Paint and Boy Brow, rather than holographic unicorn dewdrops. Sorry!     

Looks like Kylie Jenner and Donald Valentine aren’t too different after all. Both believe that their beauty companies will make them millions. The next step for Glossier is navigating the increasingly competitive landscape under new CEO Kyle Leahy while addressing various controversies around product range, brand culture, and working conditions. This is a space I’m watching very closely for further developments and of course, promo codes.

Business

Oh no she[in] didn’t!

Posted on by Lijia / 0 Comment
From someone advertising a Shein haul on Carousell

Online fast-fashion retailer Shein is apparently worth $100 billion, according to its latest funding round. This figure beats the combined market cap of H&M and Zara, propelling Shein to the third-most valuable startup in the world after ByteDance and SpaceX. Who knew selling backless tank tops and sexy mesh miniskirts was so lucrative?

Shein knows exactly what buttons to press. It scours consumer data and social media to determine which designs have the largest mass market appeal and commercial value. It partners closely with clothing manufacturers to deliver products from the factory floor to consumers in a few days. Its team of nearly 800 designers toil day and night to put out thousands of new items daily. It has a battalion of young influencers parading their newest purchases online, some of them earning commissions from its affiliate program. Just check out #sheinhaul on TikTok and #shein on Instagram. The aggressive internet expansion has paid off. Shein has catapulted into the top spots on Google searches, on par with H&M and Zara.

Ultimately, Shein’s rock-bottom prices are the biggest lure for consumers. It makes fashion accessible for everyone. Where else can we find 18K gold-plated jewellery for less than $10? How else can we get dupes of designer bags for $20? When we browse Shein and see a pretty necklace glowing under immaculate studio lighting, this tangible object pushes aside our vague notions around environmentalism and labour rights. The pretty necklace convinces our monkey brains to buy it. After all, it’s only $10! What harm can it do?

Despite all the hype around ethically-produced fashion, money talks in the end. It’s addictive for consumers to buy cheap and trendy clothing, and investors are eager to capture their coin. Sadly, the most effective economic solution – higher prices – eliminates one of Shein’s biggest selling points. Low prices do not factor in negative externalities in the clothing industry, such as water pollution generated from garment production or landfills created by improper textile waste disposal. The most direct way to internalise these externalities is raising clothing prices so that they reflect the complete cost of production.

However, that will most likely be unpopular among Shein’s customers drawn to the brand for its affordable designs. Profit-driven companies and investors cannot risk alienating most of their customers, especially in an industry as competitive as fashion, unless there are tangible benefits such as higher quarterly revenues. At most, Shein will continue posting non-committal statements on using recycled textiles and energy-efficient logistics systems, if only to ride the tide of fashion retailers claiming to care about the earth.

Looking past the veneer of gaudy satin and plastic organza, Shein calls into question the eternal struggle between impulse and reason. Should we give in to our monkey brain telling us to buy cheap shiny trinkets? Should we pause and think about the true cost of our purchases beyond what we’re spending on our clothes and shipping? How much are we willing and able to pay for internalising all these externalities?

Clearly, investors believe that our monkey brain will win. They think that Shein will continue profiting from a sufficiently significant group of consumers craving lightning-fast fashion at rock-bottom prices – enough to warrant a $100 billion valuation.

On the other hand, Shein is well-positioned to lead the way towards more sustainable fashion practices. Suppose Shein is truly able to capture the hearts and wallets of consumers through astute analytics and social media strategy. Then it should still be able to attract and retain customers if it raises prices to reflect the higher cost of ethically-produced clothing and also show measurable outcomes from changing their production practices. If successful, this pivot could even become one of the greatest moments in fashion, given Shein’s massive cult following. Will Shein’s investors and management be bold enough to take the next step?

Finance

Musk & Co. LBOratories

Posted on by Lijia / 0 Comment
Only the best for the richest man in the world.

Elon Musk successfully purchased Twitter for $44 billion. He put up $21 billion of equity while debt comprised the remaining sum. This is probably definitely the biggest LBO in recent history; as big as KKR’s takeover of TXU at $44 billion in 2007. Netflix is probably eyeing the deal too, hoping to get material for their next special, “Poison Pill” or “Love me Tender” or whatever sounds cool.

Sure, Musk is a billionaire and can do whatever he pleases with his money (and other people’s, if they trust him enough). That’s the beauty of financial markets; otherwise even peasants like me won’t be able to impulse-buy giant bags of Lucky Charms marshmallows online. But it’s quite concerning that another ultra-wealthy investor now owns one of the biggest social media networks.

Musk now joins the ranks of Zuckerberg, Murdoch, and other media moguls. He can also add “owning Twitter” to his bucket list after “creating SpaceX” and “dating Grimes.” We know that wealth and power tend to be concentrated in the same hands. This is just another rub in our faces that yes, that’s true. Let’s see if Musk delivers on his promises to uphold free speech and improve Twitter’s user features, though “free speech” is a malleable and occasionally dangerous concept.

Fundamentally, are Musk’s intentions really noble? He wrote that he isn’t in it for “the economics”. Twitter stock languished below $40 for much of this year and was slapped with losses in 2020 and 2021, though they seem to have decent cash flows and working capital in that time period. If Musk can turn the company around and garner sufficient investor confidence, then he could make a tidy little profit on exit. After all, a big part of finance is doing enough work to find the next willing and able buyer for one’s venture.

But I suspect he’s really in it because of his ideals around free speech and to some extent, just because he can. For an idiosyncratic public figure that has ample stuff for ten lifetimes, it would be weird to buy Twitter solely for a profit opportunity and inherit all the gnarly controversies along with it. I’ll end this stream of consciousness with my go-to quote when I have nothing else to say and want to seem smart – “It’s too early to tell” said by Zhou Enlai.