Problematic Words in Translation
As professional translators, we answer questions often, and many times, the questions have no simple answers. In this forum, I will post frequency asked questions each week, and open comments for translators to reflect based on their experience in the language, as a translator or as student of the language and the trade of document translation and voice interpretation. The best answers will be posted below.
Week 4: March 11, 2020: Difficult and Complicated Terms to Translate
Question 4 (Week 4): What are some of the most difficult words or phrases to translate from either Spanish to English or English to Spanish? What are common errors in translation? Do false cognates cause problems in translation? What are solutions used in order to avoid this issues?
Some certain words and phrases are hard to translate from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English because they only pertain to one specific language. For example, dichos or sayings are hard to translate from Spanish to English. Although there is a literal translation, the essence of the dicho is not kept when translated. Slang is also one of those things that cannot be translated between languages because it only pertains to one, and there is not even a literal translation for it most of the time. Sentence structure differs in different languages, which causes errors in translation. Misspelling words or mistranslating a word is also another error in translation. Translating without paying attention to the style or tone of the document can also be problematic. False cognates cause problems in translation because these words sound very similar; however, they have different meanings. One way to avoid false cognates is to do research and not just assume to know the translation of a word. Answered by EH
Idiomatic expressions can be very difficult to translate from Spanish to English or English to Spanish. Many time these certain sayings do not make sense when translated literally into another language. They can sometimes cause a problem in translation if the translator is not familiar with the saying. False cognates can cause problems in translation as well. In order to avoid making a mistake, if a translator encounters a word they do not know, even if it looks similar to a word in the other language, they should look it up to avoid making an error. Answered by GW
Any colloquial or area specific phrases and words are going to be more challenging to translate. Some of them, just as in English, stem from nonsensical phrases that have evolved over time, meaning their literal translations are odd or noncoherent to the nonnative speaker. A lot of errors in translation revolve around these colloquialisms or from an interpreter’s lack of knowledge about a specific culture or word choice. The southern cone uses some phrases as profanity that are harmless in other Spanish speaking cultures. False cognates do cause issues in translation, specifically in settings where the interpreter is just translating word for word without understanding the context of the phrase. Both English and Spanish have many false cognates, therefore interpreters must be cognizant of the overall meaning of a conversation not just translating it word for word. Answered by AS
Phrases and words can be difficult to translate , the reason is you have to look at the context of the phrase or word. People try to do a literal translation sometimes which if it makes sense in English it would not make sense in Spanish. An example of this are jokes that have word play in them. You can’t translate a joke and even if you do it will make no sense. False cognates may also cause an issue because the words look similar but do not have the same meaning. This can cause a lot of mistakes and completely change the meaning of the sentence just by using one wrong word. Answered by JV
In the English language, some words like “it,” “he,” or “I,” the words become difficult to translate since Spanish does not use those words. However, if it is translated to English because the way the words are said is non-existent, so one has to know how it is being said in English without missing words and having a phrase that does not make sense. Most times, words may not exist, especially if English is translated to Spanish; it will not be exact because Spanish may not have the words said the same way in English. Usually, translation loses some words to Spanish but can mean missing words in English if not translated correctly without the assumption of correct grammar.
There is also the case of verbs and their tenses, while English may have three verb tenses, Spanish has 15 tenses that are used for various Spanish Dialects. So even translation with verbs from Spanish to English may be confusing to some, and from English to Spanish, it would be difficult if there are variations of 1-word span to 5 words, and need to be translated correctly translated with the proper dialect. Answered by KH
It is a term that describe a man who wears a shirt untucked. The word originated in Caribbean Spanish but is becoming more widespread. Answered by RT
You don’t, but it can translated to waking up early in the morning. It is common in Ecuador, Colombia and other countries to use the term to refer to waking up earlier then normal. Answered by TS
There is no exact translation, but the term sobremesa refers to the concept of chatting after a meal, usually for an extended time.
some of the most difficult words or phrases to translate from either Spanish to English or English to Spanish are mostly the sayings and quotes because it really isn’t the literal interpretation/translation. If there are singular words without context it could be translated to word that would not make sense in a phrase. Something that would help with those is having the full context and knowing to what accent of Spanish/English you are translating to not offend anybody.
What are some of the most difficult words or phrases to translate from either Spanish to English or English to Spanish? Literal translations are difficult to do because there are many words in Spanish that do not have an accurate word in English, and vice versa. two examples would be “sobremesa” which is the conversation after you’ve finished eating, and “madrugar” which is a time very early in the morning, like around dawn but not dawn. I think a common mistake in translation is doing it word for word. This can mess up the flow of the document, or overcomplicate what it’s true meaning is. Another common error is not being fluent enough in the language you’re trying to translate, it’s important to have a full understanding of a language in order to do an accurate translation. False cognates do cause problems to inexperienced translators, because of the similarity between two words. In order to avoid these issues, it is important to find an experienced translator. Make sure to ask for previous work or references when hiring.
One of the most common mistakes in translation among inexperienced specialists or specialists who use machine translating is attempting a word for word translation. This may be typical for legal or technical documents but it’s a bad choice for literary writings. Such translations can deliver wrong messages to the reader. It’s important to focus on a target language to avoid this mistake. Grasp the meaning of the source text, its context, and then translate the whole idea, not each word. It’s even better to skip some words if they’re not contributing to the overall meaning.
Fair’/ ‘Fairness’ ; many languages have similar words to define the concept, but none seems to be able to cover the idea as this English word does.Keeping the same word order of the source language
Using the same punctuation as in the original text ,Keeping the same sentence length,Using the same idioms as in the source language,Not changing the verb tense,Keeping the same format of dates, names, currencies, These are some very common mistakes. There is many false cognates, but the best way to fix it would be if it was reviewed thoroughly and well peer reviewed as well
Any colloquial or area specific phrases and words are going to be more challenging to translate. Some of them, just as in English, stem from nonsensical phrases that have evolved over time, meaning their literal translations are odd or noncoherent to the nonnative speaker. A lot of errors in translation revolve around these colloquialisms or from an interpreter’s lack of knowledge about a specific culture or word choice. The southern cone uses some phrases as profanity that are harmless in other Spanish speaking cultures. False cognates do cause issues in translation, specifically in settings where the interpreter is just translating word for word without understanding the context of the phrase. Both English and Spanish have many false cognates, therefore interpreters must be cognizant of the overall meaning of a conversation not just translating it word for word.
In the English language, some words like “it,” “he,” or “I,” the words become difficult to translate since Spanish does not use those words. However, if it is translated to English because the way the words are said is non-existent, so one has to know how it is being said in English without missing words and having a phrase that does not make sense. Most times, words may not exist, especially if English is translated to Spanish; it will not be exact because Spanish may not have the words said the same way in English. Usually, translation loses some words to Spanish but can mean missing words in English if not translated correctly without the assumption of correct grammar.
There is also the case of verbs and their tenses, while English may have three verb tenses, Spanish has 15 tenses that are used for various Spanish Dialects. So even translation with verbs from Spanish to English may be confusing to some, and from English to Spanish, it would be difficult if there are variations of 1-word span to 5 words, and need to be translated correctly translated with the proper dialect.
Phrases and words can be difficult to translate , the reason is you have to look at the context of the phrase or word. People try to do a literal translation sometimes which if it makes sense in English it would not make sense in Spanish. An example of this are jokes that have word play in them. You can’t translate a joke and even if you do it will make no sense. False cognates may also cause an issue because the words look similar but do not have the same meaning. This can cause a lot of mistakes and completely change the meaning of the sentence just by using one wrong word.
Idiomatic expressions can be very difficult to translate from Spanish to English or English to Spanish. Many time these certain sayings do not make sense when translated literally into another language. They can sometimes cause a problem in translation if the translator is not familiar with the saying. False cognates can cause problems in translation as well. In order to avoid making a mistake, if a translator encounters a word they do not know, even if it looks similar to a word in the other language, they should look it up to avoid making an error.
Some certain words and phrases are hard to translate from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English because they only pertain to one specific language. For example, dichos or sayings are hard to translate from Spanish to English. Although there is a literal translation, the essence of the dicho is not kept when translated. Slang is also one of those things that cannot be translated between languages because it only pertains to one, and there is not even a literal translation for it most of the time. Sentence structure differs in different languages, which causes errors in translation. Misspelling words or mistranslating a word is also another error in translation. Translating without paying attention to the style or tone of the document can also be problematic. False cognates cause problems in translation because these words sound very similar; however, they have different meanings. One way to avoid false cognates is to do research and not just assume to know the translation of a word.