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some news & thoughts

The Translation Police: English/Spanish Division

4/10/2013

 
Picture
As seen on a Public Transportation Bus in South Florida
Spanish is the second language in the United States and ranking 2nd in the world spoken by 329 million (Chinese 1.21 Billion, English 328 million). Therefore, it should be translated properly and not butchered by “professional translation companies” and independent translators/interpreters charging all kinds of money for a below mediocre translation, which tragically happens on a daily basis in a variety of industries around the world and in this great country of ours affecting the professional image of many corporations and even government agencies and entities. If you are a native speaker and read a label on a product or in the contents of a webpage written in what I call “Tarzan English” (me Tarzan you Jane), you would not think so highly about or even trust the source of the product in question.

We will post such mistranslations on a weekly basis. We welcome your comments and are open to different suggestions of what you think would be the proper and most accurate way of translating the phrase in question.  

This is not about proving somebody wrong, but rather making sure that at least a minimal standard of professionalism is kept in this so crucial and important Industry of ours.
 

     MISTRANSLATION OF THE WEEK
Only in Ameri-Qua!

By the way, ‘TOQUAR’ doesn’t even exist in the Spanish language.

SUGGESTED TRANSLATION BY THE PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATION GROUP:
Por favor espere a que se encienda la luz verde. Luego toque la cinta amarilla para abrir.







Paolo Salvador
4/10/2013 06:00:20 am

Great post! I see crazy translations all the time. Looking forward to the thread Alex.

Merrill Clark link
4/11/2013 05:55:27 am

Hombre, no nos toquas! Keep up the good work. Possible to set up an email of your weekly maltraducciones?

Alex
4/16/2013 01:23:05 pm

Thank you Counselor! We will soon have to embed a newsletter option for those readers like yourself who wish to receive weekly 'maltraducciones'! I'll keep you updated. Until then, keep a lookout for this week's spectacle.

Alfonso Tena
4/25/2013 07:50:26 am

En mi opinión tampoco usted traduce correctamente

Real
4/25/2013 11:59:34 am

You should consider providing the English translation of the Bad Spanish Translation for those who can use the laugh but do not speak Spanish. Without that, people cannot see that any mistake was committed with the translation.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Alex Montalvo is the Director of the Professional Translation Group based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Since 1999, he has provided legal document translation and interpreter services at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's six locations in South Florida. Prior to entering the translation industry, Alex was an English language teacher and instructor for U.S. Citizenship courses in Miami, FL. He is the co-author of 'The DOs and DON'Ts of the Immigration Process' set to be released this year.  

    View my profile on LinkedIn

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