BabelFish sillyness

The complex art of translation and BabelFish

I can't imagine what a fool I have made of myself when I have used BabelFish to compose letters and emails in other languages. It is particularly bad with poetry. If you take the original text and translate, then translate the translation back to English you get some really funny sentences! As an example

Original English
Pitched towards death, with shallow breath, he said "Heather I wrote you a letter"
Chinese traditional
Throws toward the death, with the oligopnoe, he said that as soon as I write you to seal the letter with the madrona flower
Dutch
Thrown to dead, with shallow breath, he said heathland I you a letter wrote
French
Launched towards death, with the not very deep breath, he said Heather that I t' wrote a letter
Russian
It is constructed to death, with the shallow respiration, he said heather I it wrote to you the letter
Japanese
Being thrown by the how shallow to breathe and death, the he was the heath to which I write the letter
Korean
With shallow suction joined in and pitched with a dead, he me said the plant of the Heath inside which sweeps the letter in you
Eng to Chinese simple, back to to chinese traditional, then back to English
Throws toward the death, with the oligopnoe, he said " The madrona is colored, as soon as I wrote you to seal the letter