Meditation #1
Procedure: Using Babelfish, translate a text from English into the language (other than English) with the largest number of speakers in the United States. Take the resulting translation, translate it back into English, and use this as the source text when repeating the process, this time using the language with the second largest number of speakers. Repeat until the text is mangled to your satisfaction. (If a language is missing from Babelfish, you can skip it.)
Suitable texts for this piece: any legislation or constitutional amendment that would make English the "official language" of the jurisdiction in question (municipal, state, federal). This is the text I used for my performance of the piece—an amendment to the United States Constitution, proposed during the 107th Congress:
The English language shall be the official language of the United States. As the official language, the English language shall be used for all public acts including every order, resolution, vote, or election, and for all records and judicial proceedings of the Government of the United States and the governments of the several States.
Here's the result:
Language of office S.U.A. It English. They entire danger of motions, is which it it does obtain by close one and that it benefits, language and the English witness of office are assumed? You will air order including/understanding differently, dissolution, voice or government S.U.A. of the document of the government of danger landscape architecture and also situation and a certain compensation everything certifyd it.
The translation chain: English -> Spanish -> Chinese -> French -> German -> Italian -> Korean -> Russian.
Here's a reading, performed by yours truly (download here).