rohitj - 9:06 pm on May 4, 2006 (gmt 0)

if you translate something twice, the margin of error doubles. For example, if the first translation is off by 5 percent, and then you re-translate it, the additional margin of error would be even greater the second time around. In otherwords, no matter how good a translator is, you can't translate it through twice and expect it to be the same as the original.

hope that explains why the translation of the common saying above was so whacky after translating from english to french and then back to english.

babelfish also provides human translators who are certified and very accurate at what they do. alternatively, going to a decent university, you should be able to find a bilingual person for a lot cheaper.