We\u2019ve all been there\u2014staring at a Google Translate saying, \u201cWhat in the world is this supposed to say?\u201d A bad translation can lead to utter confusion and a total miscommunication of the original message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This problem grows even larger when whole documents have been translated this way, like an instruction manual or legal transcription. But, how can you be sure that this is just simply a bad translation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are 5 helpful clues that you\u2019re reading a bad translation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Verbs and Subjects Aren\u2019t Matching<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In a short sentence, this is fairly easy to understand, such as \u201cI doesn\u2019t have any cats.\u201d However, this becomes particularly important when you\u2019re writing out instructions: \u201cReplacing part A and B with C and D.\u201d Ok, while I\u2019m replacing them, what should I be doing? Help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making sure the verbs and the subjects agree in your translated sentence is a great first route to see if you\u2019ve gotten a poor translation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Improper Terminology<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This one can either make your translation sound entirely too formal or just make no sense at all. While we can call a \u201ctrashcan\u201d a \u201ctrash receptacle\u201d (albeit very formal!), it would be confusing to call it a \u201cwaste dispensary.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, the sentence can just barely miss the mark, and it can make all the difference in the world. \u201cTrash\u201d and \u201cwaste\u201d are certainly interchangeable, and \u201creceptacle\u201d and \u201cdispensary\u201d are, too. However, it is confusing to use them both!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Inappropriate Word Order<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yoda might be able to get away with it\u2026 \u2018good order must translators stick.\u2019 But awkward flow can lead to poor reading comprehension and potentially a total miscommunication of the original message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If readers don\u2019t quickly understand a sentence, they may be apt to skip over it to see if the rest of the paragraph will help the sentence make sense. This could mean that the audience will miss out on key details. Sentence flow and structure are very important for stories, articles, and conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Wrong Prepositions<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, in languages such as Spanish, the preposition \u201cit\u201d may be improperly translated to \u201che\u201d or \u201cshe.\u201d Without an entire language lesson, it\u2019s because nouns are feminine and masculine in Spanish and many other languages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This means \u201cTiene una boca grande\u201d (\u201cIt has a big mouth\u201d)<\/em> might get translated to English as \u201cHe has a big mouth.\u201d Geez\u2014that was harsh, right? The original message was about a bottle, but now it sounds like we\u2019re talking about the guy<\/em> holding the bottle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Missed Target Audience <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If the target audience doesn\u2019t understand the message, it might be because the document is not in the dialect they understand. You and I both understand English, so \u201cHave you been asleep?\u201d is a perfectly normal sentence. However, if I wake up and you\u2019re asking me \u201cHath thou been asleep?\u201d, I will probably giggle before answering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, I will probably wonder if I woke up in the wrong era or in a costume party! A target audience can become much more nuanced than this, though. Your audience may not want a full humorous story about poor translations; they may want a simple list of commands to look for, such as \u201censure the target audience is not missed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Avoid Bad Translations with Alamex We hope that you\u2019ve taken away some helpful tips on how to spot bad translations in your everyday life. When you hire Alamex for your translation services, we will ensure all this and more is proper, correct, and flows perfectly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We want you to communicate confidently through us. Check out what services we provide<\/a> and shoot us a message<\/a> if you see something you might need. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019ve all been there\u2014staring at a Google Translate saying, \u201cWhat in the world is this supposed to say?\u201d A bad translation can lead to utter confusion and a total miscommunication of the original message. This problem grows even larger when whole documents have been translated this way, like an instruction manual or legal transcription. But,…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-1","description-off"],"yoast_head":"\n
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