Translation is the process of rendering one language understandable to those who speak another. Along the way that process will invariably require that two sets of language, cultures and traditions are blended to make one understandable to another. The implications of this are that the professional translator is faced with the difficulty of how to treat the cultures that are inherent in the process and the differences that are implicit in the verbiage which is available to them.
The cultural implications for the translation of business or even personal text can take several forms. There may not be lexical content which is available for use. The syntax that is available to describe various habits in a given culture may be nonexistent. This means that the translator much be familiar enough with the culture of the target language to determine where to sacrifice cultural differences for the good of the overall translation process.
The translation of any given text requires that the culture must be considered and any problems pinpointed before the translation begins. Taking any problems or cultural changes into account and deciding on a solution to the translation issue that seems to be the most appropriate for any given case must be done in order to keep that solution consistent through the documents or letters which are translated.
What exactly is culture? If you check the dictionary, it will define it as anything from the language and arts of a given people, all the way down to the bacteria and microbes in a culture. The best description might be one that is given by Newmark--"the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression." A culture may not mean a single group of people who speak a given language. Every group, every country, even very localized parts of the country have linguistics that are particular to their culture. These nuances make a vast difference in the kind of translation that must be done and the words which are used to portray a given action or method.
One perfect example of this is the unique difference between UK English and United States English. In the United Kingdom, the word "brilliant" is often used to mean wonderful or exciting-- as in the case of "Your dress is just brilliant.". In the United States that same word is used to mean very bright or very illuminated and it is not frequently used to express excitement. Another and perhaps better example of this is the different French cultures which exist. In Canadian French the word email is translated as Courriel, while in the European French the word most commonly used is email. Those are very nominal differences but not all differences are so. In Europe, the word gosses is used to describe children, while in Canada that term translates as a vulgarity.
This explains better than any other reason how mistakes can be made and how imperative that it is to ensure that the translator or translation company that you use for your business and professional translations is well versed in both language and culture. Local culture can wreak havoc on a good translation. It can render the business less than credible and create a laughingstock of the company who offers the product with just a few slips in speech.
Ensuring that the text which is provided for your product documentation or your legal documents is correct both linguistically as well as culturally is necessary in order to ensure the credibility of your business and your products.
Contributed by my friend at flstranslation.com.
