As I said previously I was getting into translation, I actually translated two documents yesterday. It was quite a challenge to correctly word something, keeping the spirit of the Dutch while writing coherent English. The guy who contracted me to work for him send me a number of links, and I found George Orwell’s six elementary rules (“Politics and the English Language”, 1946):
- Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
- Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out.
- Never use the passive where you can use the active.
- Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
- Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
From: Economist.com
technorati tags: translation, work, business, dutch, english
Tags: business, dutch, english, translation, work
July 25, 2008 at 2:31 pm |
One other thing I think people tend to be a bit too eager with is online, or ‘automated’ translation.
Although seemingly convenient and time-saving at first, there are a few points to make regarding automated translation systems.
Software can be used for translation projects, but I would advocate using them for anything that is intending to be published. There really aren’t any corners to cut and often the only way to go is utilising the services of a professional translator.
There are so many cultural nuances that need to be taken into consideration when translating text from its source language into English that any number of things could, and frequently do, go wrong.
Anyway, interesting blog; keep it up.
July 25, 2008 at 2:56 pm |
Absolutely, somebody advised my to have a look at the book Righting English that’s gone Dutch