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Translation fun
Feb. 8th, 2014 10:58 amSaying that I'm not a fan of the quality of most French to English and English to French translation in Quebec is an understatement akin to saying that France has a few issues with their once upon a time friends the Americans. In fact, Quebec translation annoys me enough that when something pushes my hot buttons, I usually just tell Shoshanna "rant number 17" (or whatever number feels right for the occasion) rather than going through the whole rant. She's heard it enough times already that she can probably repeat the rant verbatim, with a few flourishes of her own.
Best blunder this week: One of our local supermarket chains was offering a free "dégustation" in their stores. Unfortunately, the translator screwed up and nobody caught it before their flyer went to press. As a result, French customers were offered a free "tasting", but we anglos were offered a free "tasing". Ouch. One hopes this was an error rather than a deliberate policy statement, but just to be safe, I won't ask for any samples.
The problem isn't with professional translators, most of whom are good to excellent. (Though speaking as an increasingly curmudgeonly translator myself, I often disagree with their choices. À chacun son goût, as the saying goes.) The problem is that most people can't be bothered finding a pro who understands their subject area. Because most Quebecois(es) are bilingual to at least some degree, this misleads them into thinking they don't need to hire a pro. The result, predictably, is a poor translation and sometimes a real howler.
So today's moral: Don't try this at home, kids. If you don't actually have training in translation, and lack mad translation skills, hire a pro. Good translation is only partially a matter of personal tas(t)e.
Best blunder this week: One of our local supermarket chains was offering a free "dégustation" in their stores. Unfortunately, the translator screwed up and nobody caught it before their flyer went to press. As a result, French customers were offered a free "tasting", but we anglos were offered a free "tasing". Ouch. One hopes this was an error rather than a deliberate policy statement, but just to be safe, I won't ask for any samples.
The problem isn't with professional translators, most of whom are good to excellent. (Though speaking as an increasingly curmudgeonly translator myself, I often disagree with their choices. À chacun son goût, as the saying goes.) The problem is that most people can't be bothered finding a pro who understands their subject area. Because most Quebecois(es) are bilingual to at least some degree, this misleads them into thinking they don't need to hire a pro. The result, predictably, is a poor translation and sometimes a real howler.
So today's moral: Don't try this at home, kids. If you don't actually have training in translation, and lack mad translation skills, hire a pro. Good translation is only partially a matter of personal tas(t)e.