Translation Resource - Annual Report Terms

July 9, 2008 · Filed Under Work · 4 Comments 

I had to do a short translation today about a forthcoming financial congress. One of the terms stumped me a little so I had a hunt around the web and came across this interesting .pdf document from the Abaxbank:

Abaxbank Annual Report 2001- Parallel Translation - English/Italian

I know its from 2001, but the interesting thing about it, is that it’s a parallel translation with the English and Italian sections, generally, sitting next to each other. This means that it is a very handy resource for translating. You simply search for the Italian or English term you need, and hey presto, there it should be, sitting right next to the equivalent version in the language you need.

UPDATE 10 July 2008 Read more

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Wordfast - a translating system - first steps

January 14, 2008 · Filed Under Work · 3 Comments 

Seeing as I’m becoming more and more involved in the translation of things like technical due diligence reports and other quite repetitive reports, I’ve invested in a Word add on known as Wordfast. You can discover more by clicking on the link.

What is this thing? Well, it’s known in the trade as a ‘translation memory’ application. Basically what it does is remember things you have translated and then proposes an exact or approximate translation of a sentence or ’segment’, as the jargon goes.

I’ve yet to put this system to the test, but I have been going about the rather laborious task of creating translation memories from translations I have already done. Then, when someone rings me up and says ‘Can you do this by…..?’, I shall reply ‘yes’, and get down to work.

Why use one of these systems? Simple, it can speed up translating work appreciably. And it ensures that translations are more consistent, plus it means that I do not have to go hunting around for some expression or other that will not spring to mind. A great time saver in itself.

Wordfast is a wee bit fiddly to get the hang of, but the more you use it, the easier it becomes. And building translation memories allows me to become more familiar with how the system works. Although I’ve yet to become proficient with it.

I’ve also been creating a few glossaries, which I can then print off, send off, etc and distribute while I’m teaching. Although I’m not sure how many people really use my glossaries. The paper versions are OK, but finding stuff can be very slow. However, put a glossary in a .pdf file or even a Word document and by using the ‘find’ functions you can search quite painlessly for the right expression or word. .pdf files are a little safer, as you cannot accidentally overwrite something or delete it, which could be something of a problem with a Word file. You know, the phone rings and two seconds later you have deleted something you should not have. ‘Undo’ may save you, as long as you are aware that you have mucked something up. With .pdf files this cannot happen.

Of course, putting glossaries on the web is one of the best ways of ensuring that all and sundry can access them. So I may have a go at putting some on the new site I’ve been building.

The only trouble is that producing these glossaries is fairly dull, and slow, work. Something for those semi-idle moments when you can’t be bothered to use your brain, I would say.

I also reckon that Wordfast or a variation may well be useful, not only for translators, but for businesses working in an international environment, especially those working with technical expressions, like lawyers, architects and engineers. However, I’m not too sure how such a system could be adapted to work efficiently. If I come up with an angle, I may post here, but if anyone out there on the WWW, especially those from Wordfast, can think of how to do this, then I believe that there may be one heck of a, growing, market for it.

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La Parolaccia - Bad language

September 9, 2007 · Filed Under Culture · Comment 

Our four-year old has added several words to his already quite extensive vocabulary. The trouble is they are ‘parolaccie’ or bad words. Dissuading him from using them is proving just about impossible as he seems to get some perverse pleasure from there use and loves winding us up. Little monster.

The odd thing is that what is considered bad language in Italian is quite wide ranging. ‘Stupido’ or stupid in English, is categorized as a ‘parolaccia’ in Italian, although I do not regard ’stupid’ as being bad language or even being mildly offensive in British English. Try explaining this to a four year old. As you may imagine, it is not easy. Incidentally, ‘idiota’ or idiot in English, which is, again, not really considered particularly strong in British English, has been assigned ‘parolaccia’ status by the Italian language. Whereas ‘cretino’ (cretin) is probably as offensive in Italian as it is in English, I believe, even if it is considered rather archaic in the UK . It is rather confusing, is it not? I will admit to knowing about ‘idiota’ before my son came on the scene, but I did not think ’stupido’ fell into the same category. I was wrong.

It is probably true to say that bad language can be given various levels of strength in Italian. ‘Stupido’ is probably a, let’s say, grade three word, whereas ‘cretino’ is grade two and, then there are the more obscene expressions which could be grade one words. As you might have gathered, a grade one word is potentially the most offensive.

I suppose the moral to this little story is that you do need to be rather careful when translating certain words, in that what may be considered as being a mild swear word in your own language, when directly translated, could turn out to be two or three times more offensive in another language. You have been warned, and this type of information is not to be found in dictionaries, although good texts about different culture do sometimes point out such differences, hence my knowledge of the strength of idiot in Italian, by the way. Alas, I cannot remember the text from which I gleaned this peal of wisdom.

Funny thing language.

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