Separated by a common language July 6, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings.15 comments
This morning I was asked by a client if I translated into UK English. This is a new client, so I don’t fault them for asking. However, I have lost track of the times I have been asked to translate something into UK English. I don’t know if it is a German thing, but German clients seem to think one can run the Word spellchecker over a document and it’s UK English. As anyone who follows the blog Separated by a Common Language knows, UK English and US English are most definitely not the same. It goes beyond throwing a “u” in color or favorite or spelling tire with a “y” instead of an “i.” Just as with the word potato in German (Kartoffel in Germany, Erdapfel in Austria), there are lots of different words for the same concept (truck vs. lorry, eraser vs. rubber, paper towel vs. kitchen towel). They also regularly use words like “whilst” and “amongst.” Someone who has grown up in another culture may not know the different word even exists despite growing up watching all kinds of British TV. It just isn’t the same as growing up in the culture and just knowing it.
The grammar is also quite different. UK readers can read my posts and understand them – and I can understand theirs. However, as I learned when I was an intern at a translation agency in Bonn, the Brits have very different rules when it comes to comma placement, which tends to mirror German much more closely than US English. Heck, they even put their periods/full stops outside the quotation marks and apostrophe signs instead of inside them like we do in the States. I tore up several translations by excellent translators and after discussing the changes with them quickly learned that it was the perfectly correct way to state it in UK English. It was a valuable lesson for someone just starting out. I learned to be much more judicious with my editing.
So when my client wrote me this morning I shook my head for a second, but sent off a cheerful reply explaining, “No, I am an American and live in the U.S. I don’t translate into UK English. Sorry.” They won’t know I don’t if they don’t ask, right? No need to be snarky about it. I just wish that German clients would learn that asking me to translate UK English is like asking someone in Hamburg to translate into Austrian or even Swiss German.
TGIF: A Wicked Deception June 22, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.4 comments
I posted this video back in July 22, 2008, but it deserves some fresh attention. It’s just too funny to languish in the archives.
This film by Matt Sloan capitalizes on Babelfish for its dialog. It translates from English into French and German, then back into English. It was filmed on location in Trouville, France. Enjoy!
“I want to neglect the remainder of my life with you!”
Accurapid Translation Journal June 18, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Translation Sites.2 comments
The July issue of the Accurapid Translation Journal is out, featuring Chris Durban’s Fire Ant & Worker Bee advice column and (of particular interest for those interested in becoming a translator) Danilo Nogueira’s Letter to a Would-be Translator. The Translation Journal features a total of eighteen feature articles by authors from Brazil to Iran and China, and access is free of charge and you don’t have to register. Enjoy!
Bonus TGIF cartoon June 15, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.2 comments
This reflects my current mindset. I’ve been going through a phase in which I started doubting whether I should continue as a freelancer. This Adam@Home cartoon speaks to me.
TGIF: Epic translation fail June 15, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.12 comments
I’m glad there are no videos of me teaching German out there. This poor woman…
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Lost in Google Translate: U.S. show’s attempt at Hebrew runs afoul June 14, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.2 comments
It’s a busy day for international translation blooper news.
The Israeli news website Haaretz.com is reporting that the Showtime show “Episodes,” which stars Matt LeBlanc (formerly from “Friends”) featured a Jewish headstone in a recent episode. Apparently the show’s producers used that wonderful, all-knowing, never-failing translation tool Google Translate to write the caption. As the article explains, “In the third episode of the U.S.-British co-production’s second season, one of the scenes takes place in a cemetery, where a headstone is visible and inscribed in both English and what appears to be an attempt at Hebrew, reading “Beloved husband and father, dearly missed. However, the Hebrew text was both written in reverse and badly translated, as blogger Shahar Golan pointed out: “At first the Hebrew words did not make any sense, until I realized the letters were in reverse order: left to right, instead of right to left.”” Apparently they wanted to say ‘he will be dearly missed’ but the literal translation into Hebrew was ‘he was pickled at great expense.‘ Good on Shahar Golan for catching it and writing about it on his blog. Thanks to Rina Ne’eman of Hebrew Language Services for sharing this with us on Facebook!
Translation is even important on the Stock Exchange June 14, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.3 comments
As one of my friends commented on Facebook this morning, “I was wondering how long it would take this Spanish company to realize that their stock wasn’t selling well in America.” This just goes to show you how important having a good translator (or at least someone who is well-versed in both cultures) is. Apparently, Banco Santander, S.A. has announced it is changing its NYSE ticker from STD to SAN effective with commencement of trading this morning. Apparently no investors wanted to buy STDs.
