I appreciate the necessity for clarity in the source texts as a prerequisite for a reasonable approximation of clarity in the target texts. But these so-called "automatic translators" are not adequate to more than the most routine traducoes. As a professional translator I would recommend that those who feel they have to use automatic tools to give rough translations should concentrate on two basic differences between English and the Hispanic/ Portuguese languages:

1) avoid gendered (masc., femin., neut.) nouns in all cases except where persons are meant.

2) use SPO sentence structures (subject+predicate+object). Avoid genitive constructions which do not show possession.

This means making the Spanish or Portuguese seem very odd but reduces the risk of confusion in the translation software.

To some extent this will be uncomfortable for writing purposes but, it will also force more discipline in preparing the arguments or facts to be translated. It does not prevent poor thinking but it may help focus the statements made.

Cordialemente

Dr. Patrick Wilkinson

Institute for Advanced Cultural Studies - Europe