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Poll: Do you believe that no word is untranslatable?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 01:19
English to Spanish
+ ...
An expression, untranslatable? Nov 10, 2016

As Barney Stinson would say: Challenge…accepted!

On my tweet feed, I often see words in German, Icelandic, Inuit or other languages that seem untranslatable. I also prefer to think of untranslatable expressions (for reasons expressed by Julian and for other motives) because words are just part of the reading elements I am given to translate.

Sadly, many translators continue to see words as individual entities that are either translatable or untranslatable. I can't spe
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As Barney Stinson would say: Challenge…accepted!

On my tweet feed, I often see words in German, Icelandic, Inuit or other languages that seem untranslatable. I also prefer to think of untranslatable expressions (for reasons expressed by Julian and for other motives) because words are just part of the reading elements I am given to translate.

Sadly, many translators continue to see words as individual entities that are either translatable or untranslatable. I can't speak about songs or poetry, but in my fields, all expressions can find a functional translation (after all, technical writing is about function).



[Edited at 2016-11-10 14:37 GMT]
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Xuan Zhao
Xuan Zhao  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 06:19
Member (2016)
Chinese to English
+ ...
Each word needs a cultural context Nov 10, 2016

There isn't a translation which match the sense of its original version. We only could help to make understand as translators.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 02:19
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Many words are untraslatable Nov 11, 2016

And if the translator insists in translating them, nothing good will come out of it. It's not advisable at all for some words. We can use parenthesis or footnotes to explain. In my language, for example, some translations of words like "home theater", "brunch", "know-how", among many others, are but a transalation joke. I believe 60% of "No" in the poll is pretty significant.

Mario: I agree with you that there is no such a thing as a non-translatable expression, or a non-translatabl
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And if the translator insists in translating them, nothing good will come out of it. It's not advisable at all for some words. We can use parenthesis or footnotes to explain. In my language, for example, some translations of words like "home theater", "brunch", "know-how", among many others, are but a transalation joke. I believe 60% of "No" in the poll is pretty significant.

Mario: I agree with you that there is no such a thing as a non-translatable expression, or a non-translatable message. But I considered the question is about "words" or "terms" individually. I would certainly vote "Yes" for expressions or messages. But I doubtlessly vote "No" for individual terms or words.

[Edited at 2016-11-11 18:30 GMT]
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Oriol Vives (X)
Oriol Vives (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 06:19
English to Catalan
+ ...
That's just Catalan, dear. Nov 11, 2016

Leticia Klemetz, CT wrote:

And the "prou" expression in Mallorquí is not quite the same as "stop, that's enough" (and that's 4 words for 1).


So yeah, you will hear it in València, and in Catalunya too.


 
MikeTrans
MikeTrans
Germany
Local time: 06:19
Italian to German
+ ...
No, no... Dec 12, 2016

Every time we need to explain an expression we are not translating. My doctor in Austria once asked me what a "Wurstsemmel" is in Italian. I had to explain him that Italians don't eat and mostly don't know this kind of popular 'panino austriaco'. Of course this translation is a wrong one: it explains, but doesn't translate...

Mike


 
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Poll: Do you believe that no word is untranslatable?






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