In the world of translation, close and close enough can be light years apart. The difference between translating “never use in water” and “use in water” could be a life and death translation error when accompanying an electronic device.<\/p>\n
Putting the comma in the wrong place on a business contract could cost you millions of dollars, or not having the right line formatting could void a patent application altogether. On the other hand, there are many times that if the audience gets the gist of things, then the translation really was close enough.<\/p>\n
Translation Considerations<\/strong><\/p>\n There are a number of different options available to the person looking to translate a text. The three main options are computer translation, computer-assisted translation, and human translation. As you might assume, these are in the order of accuracy from lowest to highest.<\/p>\n Certain documents require the highest accuracy in translation:<\/p>\n For these types of documents, ensure your translation services include:<\/p>\n When documents need to come close to perfect, but do not necessarily have to sound like they were written in the target language, then computer-assisted translation with an appropriate amount of post-editing is acceptable. After all, even if the language sounds a bit stilted, if the message is clear, concise, relevant, and meaningful then you have done your job in many circumstances.<\/p>\n If you are translating an internal memorandum and spelling, grammar, and format are not important, then you could save time and money with a quick computer translation. Even then, a light post-edit is highly recommended since machine translations are known to add, delete, or swap out key data. In this case, the culture of your industry and the established norms or your business would dictate whether close was close enough. Some employers insist that every piece of communication represents the company and a single mistake cannot be tolerated. Others will opt for saving time and money, insisting upon highly accurate data, but not worrying about grammar or formatting issues associated with internal memos that are translated.<\/p>\n Consider the Untranslatable<\/strong><\/p>\n There are words, thoughts, and ideas that simply cannot be expressed in another language. In this case, close is all you can hope for. Some examples of these words are:<\/p>\n When the words do not have a direct translation, a phrase or explanation is the best you can do. Even then, because your words lack the “feel” that goes with the language, your translation is only ever going to be close.<\/p>\n Cultural Divides<\/strong><\/p>\n There are times when culture necessitates that translation not be exact. This is true even in variations of the English language. The title of the film “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” was found to be offensive in England since the word ‘shag’ in considered a vulgar reference to coarse sex. The movie was renamed “Austin Powers: The Spy Who —” and in Singapore the title was changed go “The Spy Who Shoiked Me” where shoiked means to make me feel good.<\/p>\n In addition to things that offend, some cultures have very strict rules of etiquette. In American English, there just isn’t a way to fully appreciate the regality of a monarchy as they do in Britain, the honoring of the elders as in Japan, or the strict obedience to the government in China. There are no words to express these things that are just a part of life, so the translator has to adjust the language and make it as close as possible to the meaning while still maintaining the cultural sensitivities that are critical to the language and people.<\/p>\n The Limits of Language<\/strong><\/p>\n Sometime, language cannot be as specific as we want it to be because the verb tenses or adjectives don’t exist in our language. This is not the same as the word not existing because the word exists, just not to the degree it exists in another language. Two examples are the Inuits and snow and the Zulu and colors.<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n