Harnessing the knowledge of the masses with Google

One of the common problems of writing in a foreign language is that of using the right expressions in the right context. As an example, is the English expression child’s play, a simple task or act, gioco di ragazzi or gioco da ragazzi in Italian?

While linguistic websites will undoubtedly provide the answer, sometimes the most efficient way to get the answer is to tap the knowledge of the masses available in Google or a similar search engine.

In the process of cataloging multiple billions of pages, the major search engines have amassed a fairly good sized data sample of how often an expression is used and usually provide the context of the search phrase in the search engine results snippet or abstract.

By comparing the number of search results returned for an expression and the context of the expression, it usually becomes clear which expression is correct.

Returning to our example, consider Google exact match searches¹ for

Immediately, we can see that of the billions of pages indexed on the web², gioco da ragazzi is much more commonly used than gioco di ragazzi.³ Looking further at the result summaries, we see that gioco da ragazzi is used in the context of something simple. Gioco di ragazzi is used in the context of a child’s game. In this particular example, both expressions are valid, but they convey two different meanings.

Single word searches can be used to check spelling and/or usage. Consider web usability. Not the concept, but the word. Italians love to use English words, even when a valid Italian word exists. So do we need to translate usability as usabilità or can we leave it as usability?

So if we want to be ganzo we could use the English usability, although the Italian is probably the wiser choice. Remember, Google is your friend!

See also: Tim O’Reilly, Blogging and the Wisdom of Crowds.

¹Search results from 8 May 2007. They will change over time.
²It is true that Italian pages are only a subset of the total, but the concept is still valid
³Not to be confused with keyword research which is focused on what web users type when they query a search engine for information.

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