German Instructors Stress Modern Translation Skills To Improve Accuracy
February 8, 2010
When it comes to errors in the interpretation of documents, the general public has difficulty in understanding how they can be made. This article will attempt to do so. In addition, new college offerings will be discussed. Translation is different things for different groups of people. For people who are not translators, it is primarily a text; for people who are, it is primarily an activity that is more of an art than a science. Because people from academia saw the weakness with which translations were being performed, a need for improved translations was recognized. Eventually, complete degrees began to be offered in universities that had the objective to teaching the skills necessary to deliver quality translations that are equivalent to source documents.
Over the next ten years a growing number of colleges pursued the expansion of their German Translation programs and developed a formal program guide for students who sought degrees in translation sciences. The programs are typically arranged so that students are exposed to ordinary and simple problems of translation projects and are then exposed to more complex and difficult problems in later classes. Throughout the course of the program, students must complete an extensive reading list.
One of the most fundamental lessons in a translation program involves reliability. To put that differently, translation students must know the causes of error because future actions and decisions will be based on the translation. Early on, all program participants discover that translation must take place at the sentence and paragraph level, rather than at the word level. For an explanation of why this is so, one simply needs to use an internet translation product. Sometimes translation workers must use this type of translation strategy when involved in medical translation, Legal Document Translation or another form of highly technical translation. The following true story attests to the difficult issues encountered by professional translators.
Several months ago, a major healthcare provider sought the assistance of a Medical Translation worker in the United States. Consequently, the project required some travel to Dresden, Germany. Because the new translator had some German language skills and proficiency in English, his translation skills were acceptable.As you might imagine, the person had excellent English language skills but his German skills were somewhat limited. At the hotel, a service desk attendant asked him if the temperature in his room was acceptable. He understood the question, how he would reply in his native language and the translation of those words into German. He felt confident that if he responded that he was a bit too hot, that the correct meaning would be conveyed. However, as most Anglophones do not realize, in German, it is necessary to say “it is hot to me,” and not, “I am hot.” The two statements carry very different meanings in German. However, once the American’s reply was met with the type of laughter that suggested that he had said something wrong. Indeed, the German translation of “I am hot,” conveys a sexual meaning, whereas “it is hot to me” conveys the meaning that the temperature is too warm. You can be assured that the American will think twice the next time he thinks about how he might respond in German.
