| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Off topic: Concrete Examples of Translation Errors Thread poster: Simone Leccese
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Lingua 5B 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 18:30
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Who is the target audience of this work?
To fully comprehend a translation error, one needs to know both languages perfectly. Therefore, randoms lists of random language pairs not sure how effective that will be.
[Edited at 2023-09-29 07:36 GMT]
| | | | | Lost in Translation: Investigating Errors and Accountability in Multilingual Media | Sep 29, 2023 |
Hello! It's great that you're working on a thesis focusing on translation errors. Translation is a complex process, and errors can happen for various reasons. I can provide you with some examples of both types of errors you mentioned:
Errors whose fault falls on the translator:
In a video game translation, a character's name was mistranslated, leading to confusion among players.
A book translation contained multiple grammar and spelling mistakes that were clearly ... See more Hello! It's great that you're working on a thesis focusing on translation errors. Translation is a complex process, and errors can happen for various reasons. I can provide you with some examples of both types of errors you mentioned:
Errors whose fault falls on the translator:
In a video game translation, a character's name was mistranslated, leading to confusion among players.
A book translation contained multiple grammar and spelling mistakes that were clearly the translator's responsibility.
In a legal document translation, a key clause was translated incorrectly, leading to legal disputes.
Errors caused by external factors:
In a medical translation, the translator was not provided with crucial context about a patient's medical history, leading to an inaccurate translation.
A marketing translation project suffered from a lack of cooperation from the client, who did not provide necessary product information, resulting in a poorly translated advertising campaign.
A software localization project was delayed due to the client's failure to provide access to the source code, making it impossible for the translator to accurately translate the user interface.
These are just a few examples, but there are many more out there. You might want to explore specific case studies in each category to provide more depth to your thesis. Additionally, you can look for academic papers and articles in the field of translation studies that discuss various translation errors and their causes. Good luck with your thesis! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 18:30
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| can't see the problem | Sep 29, 2023 |
Lingua 5B wrote:
Who is the target audience of this work?
To fully comprehend a translation error, one needs to know both languages perfectly. Therefore, randoms lists of random language pairs not sure how effective that will be.
Well, those providing the examples will explain the mistakes.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 18:30
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Zea_Mays wrote: Lingua 5B wrote:
Who is the target audience of this work?
To fully comprehend a translation error, one needs to know both languages perfectly. Therefore, randoms lists of random language pairs not sure how effective that will be. Well, those providing the examples will explain the mistakes.
Not all mistakes can be backtranslated to be clear to someone not familiar with a language. I won't understand an idiomatic mistake between Chinese and English even if you provide an explanation (not in the right way).
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That's a fair point, Lingua 5B.
The language barrier could potentially be troublesome for certain errors, but I probably won't cover those. (After all, I'd have to be the one to understand them to begin with, otherwise I wouldn't be able to write about them)
For example, the viral GoT one linked by Jeff Whittaker is a pretty good example! Anyone can get it and it's so silly that it somehow happened.
MT ones are always a classic, but doubt I'll focus much on them o... See more That's a fair point, Lingua 5B.
The language barrier could potentially be troublesome for certain errors, but I probably won't cover those. (After all, I'd have to be the one to understand them to begin with, otherwise I wouldn't be able to write about them)
For example, the viral GoT one linked by Jeff Whittaker is a pretty good example! Anyone can get it and it's so silly that it somehow happened.
MT ones are always a classic, but doubt I'll focus much on them other than an "honourable mention" or something similar. I'm aiming for variety, as I've said.
Keep in mind this is a university thesis, so to be honest I'm not sure how many people will actually get to read it other than the teachers I'll be presenting it to on graduation day. I guess the target audience in my case would be them and friends of mine (but I can't picture us reading the *entirety* of each other's thesis, haha). ▲ Collapse
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Lingua 5B wrote:
Who is the target audience of this work?
To fully comprehend a translation error, one needs to know both languages perfectly. Therefore, randoms lists of random language pairs not sure how effective that will be.
[Edited at 2023-09-29 07:36 GMT]
I beg to differ, Lingua 5B. For example, Image 2 titled "Reglement Piscine" and Image 10 titled "Nutrition Facts", are easy to spot, even if you don't know both languages. If you are a native speaker of English, obviously you will understand that the pool instructions in English is weird and that the facility wanted to say the opposite thing. And for nutrition facts for a can of a soda (?), a French native who doesn't know a word of English would be able to figure out (maybe it may take a while) what's wrong with "par 1 Pouvez" and what it intended to say.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 18:30
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
And a translation error between Hindi and Hungarian, if it were backtranslated into English, and wouldn't make any sense in English error wise, you would still be able to understand it?
Personally to me it feels as if someone was telling me a joke, and then took the time to explain to me why this joke is funny. Point lost.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 18:30
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| You don't need to understand the original or the target | Sep 30, 2023 |
just what is wrong and who's fault it is, which will be explained.
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 18:30
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Don't get it | Sep 30, 2023 |
How come you don't need to understand the original in order to understand the error?
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 18:30
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Lingua 5B wrote:
How come you don't need to understand the original in order to understand the error?
You don't need to speak any of the languages in this case, but someone has to explain you
what's wrong with the translation and who's fault it is.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 18:30
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Still don't get it | Sep 30, 2023 |
Zea_Mays wrote: Lingua 5B wrote:
How come you don't need to understand the original in order to understand the error? You don't need to speak any of the languages in this case, but someone has to explain you what's wrong with the translation and who's fault it is.
That method won't be possible with certain types of errors, it can only be done with some errors (but it's still quite different from primary/direct comprehension).
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 18:30
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Lingua 5B wrote: Zea_Mays wrote: Lingua 5B wrote:
How come you don't need to understand the original in order to understand the error? You don't need to speak any of the languages in this case, but someone has to explain you what's wrong with the translation and who's fault it is. That method won't be possible with certain types of errors, it can only be done with some errors (but it's still quite different from primary/direct comprehension).
Just see how people is explaining mistakes on the page linked by the original poster:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TranslationStudies/comments/15rvk7s/examples_of_translation_errors/?rdt=46084
Mistakes related to missing context often happen when you get a string file with no comments on their meaning.
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I’ve just watched one of the many TV shows on flipping houses where “powder room” was translated in Portuguese as “toucador” (a dressing table). Curiously enough (?!) that’s one of the “suggestions” offered by GT…
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:30
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I’ve just watched one of the many TV shows on flipping houses where “powder room” was translated in Portuguese as “toucador” (a dressing table). Curiously enough (?!) that’s one of the “suggestions” offered by GT…
Isn't "powder room" an American euphemism for one of the many things they don't like to talk about - in this case the TOILET?
| | | | Anne Maclennan
Local time: 18:30
Member (2010)
German to English
+ ...
| Another example | Oct 3, 2023 |
In the Dr. Who series the doctor has a robot dog. In the English original the dog is called “K9” - pronounced “kay nine” which gives the sound of the English word, “canine” = dog. The French version of the series has called the dog “K9”, pronounced “Ka neuf”. The translator has obviously missed the play on words or sounds in the original name of the dog.
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