# No, I DON'T want you to translate that! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** ai\ **Created:** [March 27, 2024, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439 "2024-03-27T08:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/1 "2024-03-27T08:37:37Z")
This might be too mild for a pitting, but I play around with studying languages. I’m no great linguist, I just enjoy learning about languages, it’s brain exercise. As part of that I sometimes go to websites, especially news, in a language I’m studying. All well and good and one of the benefits of the modern internet. Except now EVERY FREAKIN’ TIME I try to go to one of those web pages I get a pop up urging me to have it translated. Over and over. STOP IT!!! What, no one is allowed to use multiple languages? How dare I attempt my own translation! Here, don’t worry your feeble human brain with that, let our AI mangle the meaning for you! (Actually, machine translation is getting better) It’s a trivial thing except it’s as annoying as hell. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/2 "2024-03-27T11:30:40Z")
Without knowing your OS, browser, and example sites there’s not much we can do but offer sympathy. FWIW, I have none of that pop-up experience when I visit various non-English websites using MS Edge on Win10. I will suggest that perhaps you’ve enabled a “helpful” browser feature that isn’t so helpful. Which suggests there is a way to turn it back off, if only you can discover what it is. Meantime, here’s sympathy. Like you I hate “helpful”; When I want help from a machine I will demand it. Until then, stay the ^&%&^%&^ out of my way you ignorant pile of silicon slag! By @discobot, that “helping” shit oughta be illegal! ---
**Author:** ![discobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/discobot/32/570_2.png) [@discobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/discobot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/3 "2024-03-27T11:30:42Z")
Hi! To find out what I can do, say `@discobot display help`. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/4 "2024-03-27T11:41:06Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Which suggests there is a way to turn it back off, if only you can discover what it is. [**I’m sorry LSLGuy, I can’t do that.]** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARJ8cAGm6JE) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/5 "2024-03-27T12:42:06Z")
As a web developer who sometimes works on websites in other languages and tests them in various browsers and devices, I occasionally get this translation pop-up as well, so I can relate to the OP. I imagine there’s a way within the browser settings to turn the feature off, though It hasn’t yet been annoying enough for me to seek out how. Alternatively, the OP could maybe get VPN software and set it to a country that speaks the language of the site they are visiting. I use the free version of a VPN called Proton, which is slower than their paid version, but still seems speedy enough for my occasional needs. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/6 "2024-03-27T16:50:34Z")
If you are using chrome, you can go to chrome://settings/languages and click off “Use Google Translate” (or specialize the setting to just the languages you want translated) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/7 "2024-03-27T17:16:52Z")
I can relate, I’ve seen that message often enough. I always clicked NO! (when I meant _stop being so paternalistic!_) and it became more and more seldom. Haven’t seen it for a while, hope this does not jinx it again. Wonder whether I should have asked to translate everything into Hungarian, Finnish or some other impossible language. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/8 "2024-03-27T17:17:37Z")
@leahcim 2 posts up … Thanks for that tip. In MS Edge the special link **edge://settings/languages** has a similar set of options. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/9 "2024-03-27T19:25:00Z")
I use neither Chrome nor Edge and apparently for the browser I _do_ use some genius recently decided to make it very difficult to disable. Apparently I’m not the only one complaining. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/10 "2024-03-28T19:48:07Z")
I almost exclusively use Edge. I’ve seen that message pop up but not often. I usually don’t visit non-English websites on purpose, but I have gone to them by accident and usually when I do I don’t get that popup. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/11 "2024-03-28T22:02:54Z")
Agree with this pitting. I have been trying, without success, to convince the programmers of the world that people can operate in more than one language at a time. I think there’s something about programming that really rewards binary thinking, so “English Y/N?” makes sense to them, and “If N then French Y/N?”, but what I really want is just give me the option to translate if I happen to want to, but otherwise leave me alone. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/12 "2024-03-28T22:07:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I use neither Chrome nor Edge and apparently for the browser I _do_ use some genius recently decided to make it very difficult to disable. Apparently I’m not the only one complaining. ⁢ That makes me curious what browser you use. There are two popular ones left: Firefox and Safari (which comes with iOS and macOS). I haven’t noticed Firefox offering to translate anything. I could see what you describe being an Apple thing, though. They love to add features and not let you turn them off. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-want-you-to-translate-that/999439/13 "2024-03-28T22:09:23Z")
I do not use anything Apple if I can avoid it (and I’ve largely been able to avoid it). I use Firefox. Apparently there’s no easily accessible toggle for this, you have to get into advanced configuration to do it. If it’s not doing it for you perhaps you’re running a different version.