^ Google translate can be funny. Sometimes I use it, then as a google translator, I edit the translation to improve it. You can sign up to do that. They really need it because there are a lot of mistakes due to the very different structures of the languages.

Yesterday, I checked how google translated the Dissapore article. There was the mention of, "orrechio d'elefante, which google translated into "oyster elephant," when it means elephant ear. It translated the word cotoletta into wiener schnitzel, when it actually means cutlet. Google translate is done by a voluntary international community that I'm part of, and is a hodge podge that can be helpful, but it can also be humorous.

Interestingly, German, and even Danish, share much the same grammatical rules with english. Italian grammar rules are very different, which is why it's a hard language to learn. After I spend time in Italy speaking Italian, I frequently have to rearrange my sentences in english when I'm back in the USA because I put what should be the second, dependent part of the sentence before the first, independent part, which is the normal structure in Italian.

You start doubting your spelling, especially words with double consonants, because you know it's important because you will get one thing if you say peperoni, another if you hold the p longer and say pepperoni, one thing if you say penne, another if you don't hold the n and say pene.

You involuntarily tell people to stop asking for a panini or a biscotti, or asking for an espresso. You can't decide whether to say Rome or Roma, Milan or Milano, Venice or Venezia, because you want to say things the correct way.

Something that caused me a lot of grief on the job recently in California, there is no sugar coating or beating around the bush in Italy. In english if you don't like something you tell your boss, "it's not a bad idea." In Italian it is perfectly acceptable to say, "this is garbage," or something like that.

You constantly have to correct yourself from saying words like, "extremely," "completely," "always," because in Italian everything is benissimo, bellisimo, grandisimo, constantly adding isimo to make everything sound extreme.

And then there are the idioms. In english, it is raining cats and dogs. If in Italy you say that, they will think you are nuts. Instead, they say it is raining sinks and bath tubs.

When someone has a habit of not picking up the check or buying you a drink, in english you say, "hey, it's your turn." In italian, you tell them they have short arms (that won't reach the pocket). Or you say, "Hey, do you have a crab in your pocket? (that keeps snatching back the money)"

These things are where google translate gets very funny. In english you would say, "you made your bed, now sleep in it." In Italian you say, "you got on the the bike, now you have to pedal."

When you want to tell a friend, "tell me the real truth, speak frankly," in italian you tell them to speak without hair on their tongue. In english if someone says something to you and you want to respond that it is of no consequence, you say, "it's not important." in italian you say, "I'll make a mustache out of it."

When someone is greedy, we say they want to have their cake and eat it too. In Italian you say, "you want your wine bottle to be full, but you want your wife to be drunk too."

In english if someone is facing a challenge, you say good luck. In Italian you wish somebody good luck by telling them that they are in the mouth of a wolf, and to get the good luck the person has to immediately respond, "let the wolf croak."

If somebody got disappointed, we tell them they were let down. In Italian you tell them, "you mistook a firefly for a lantern."

These differences in the language can be very funny with Google translate. Not only the words, but the grammatical structure between english and italian is so different that you cannot do word for word translation. Therefore, some say that google translate, with all it's imperfections, cannot be made any better than it is now, because you mostly have to paraphrase, and the meaning of the words thus become very imprecise.

I agree though, you can definitely get the sense of most things, and it is useful. You just have to have a little wariness.