InstaLate drops semantically relevant punctuation

The Problem

As of 1.2.2., InstaLate silently drops some punctuation from original dictionary entries that may be essential for proper usage and understanding of the translation.

How to Reproduce

With the dict.cc provider for bidirectional German to English translations, look up German translations of "discover" back to German

What happens

One of the first suggestions reads "jdn. etw. vorfinden".

Whilst there are legit three-word verb clauses like "jdm. etw. überreichen" in German ("to hand over sth. to sb."), the three-word clause "jdn. etw. vorfinden" is no proper German.

The original translation at dict.cc turns out to be

• "to discover sb./sth." -> "jdn./etw. vorfinden"

which is a shorthand for either of

• "to discover sb." -> "jdn. vorfinden"
• "to discover sth." -> "etw. vorfinden"

both of which are perfectly correct.

So, the real issue here is due to InstaLate's omission of semantically relevant punctuation. It affects / in this case, but might affect different punctuation marks in others.

What should happen instead

You should be suggested "jdn./etw. vorfinden", just as it is provided by the original source.

Users should generally be able to rely on InstaLate keeping punctuation intact, because punctuation is usually there for a reason - it contributes to proper understanding or is even essential therefor.