Translation Problems With

Different Languages

Languages are unique

• There are hundreds of

languages in the world.

• Each language requires

a different approach in

translation.

• Unique challenges with

unique lingual

attributes.

Translation services or independent translators

• Whoever you hire to do translation will have to

address the problems with the associated language.

• Be aware of problems beforehand so that you know

what to look for.

• Have some sort of quality assurance mechanism in

place.

Spanish problem 1

• Spanish verb conjugations work differently.

• Verbs are in infinitive form in Spanish, then conjugated.

• Works differently in English

Solution:

• Translation goes sentence by sentence.

• Don’t always be literal.

Spanish problem 2

• Spanish word count is 25-30% longer than English word count.

• Can cause problems with websites or documents with limited word count.

Solution:

• Machine translation can help reduce wordiness.

• Quality control processes such as editing can reduce word count.

French problem 1

• So much similarity between French and English.

• Mistranslations can happen when a similar phrase is assumed to have the same meaning.

• Meanings have evolved separately, but have same roots.

Solution:

• Don’t make assumptions.

Chinese problem 1

• Difference between sentence structures.

• English is mostly SVO structure.

• Chinese can be OSV or any other variation.

Solution:

• Understand when it’s more natural for what part of the sentence goes where.

Chinese problem 2

• Leaving out grammatical aspects of a Chinese sentence is common.

• Different things are left to context in Chinese than in English.

Solution:

• Anything that is left out in an English sentence should be included in translation.

• Once translation is done, unnecessary words will be taken out.

Japanese problem 1

• English uses a SVO sentence structure.

• Japanese uses a SOV structure.

• Translation will seem unnatural to English speaker.

Solution:

• Know that the verb will appear at the end of the sentence, instead of the middle.

Japanese problem 2

• Japanese patent translation requires proper form.

• No prepositions are equivalent to English prepositions.

• Subject isn’t necessary for every sentence.

Solution:

• Know which instances require leaving a subject out.

• Know which particles function similarly to prepositions.

Bottom line

• Learn what you need to know about each foreign

language translation ahead of time.

• Hire a company that has excellent quality

assurance and control.

• Look for someone that has native lingual

experience.