Many people don’t understand how mistakes can be made in document translations and this article attempts to provide some of the reasons. Because a translator realizes that translation is subject to error, he talks about translation from inside the process, knowing how it’s done, possessing a practical real-world sense of the problems involved, some solutions to those problems, and the limitations on those solutions (the translator knows, for example, that no translation will ever be a perfectly reliable guide to That’s why during the 1990′s leading scholars in the subject began working together to develop a curriculum that would promote higher quality methods. This led to the development of a degree in translation studies with the goal of giving greater precedence to ensuring that word meanings and cultural nuances are carried over.

As more German Translation studies programs were developed, a formal curriculum was developed that included a history of translation theory, beginning with the ancient Romans and encompassing key twentieth-century structuralist work. Once coursework in the historical aspects of translation were completed, students would move on to take courses that address common problems in literary translation, medical translation and other forms of legal and scientific translation.

One of the most fundamental lessons in a translation program involves reliability. To put that differently, translation students must know the causes of error because future actions and decisions will be based on the translation. Perhaps the first lesson that students learn is that simple word by word translations have tremendous disadvantages. For an explanation of why this is so, one simply needs to use an internet translation product. Sometimes translation workers must use this type of translation strategy when involved in medical translation, Legal Translation or another form of highly technical translation. The following true story attests to the difficult issues encountered by professional translators.

Several months ago, a major healthcare provider sought the assistance of a Medical Translation worker in the United States. Consequently, the project required some travel to Dresden, Germany. Although his native language was English, he spent a semester in college at a German university. However, it’s important to note that while this person was a native speaker of English, his German language skills were somewhat limited. At the hotel, a service desk attendant asked him if the temperature in his room was acceptable. He understood the question, how he would reply in his native language and the translation of those words into German. Since he was quite warm, he responded answered by saying that he was feeling a tad bit too hot. He made a common mistake that people from English countries overlook. There is a huge different in what he should have said, “it is warm to me.” and what he actually said, “I am hot.” Unfortunately, the service worker looked befuddled and amused which suggested that the reply was incorrect for the occasion. What the American had done was made a sexual remark instead of indicating something about the temperature of the air. In German, there is a big difference between the two statements, even though in English the statement “it is hot to me” is a bit awkward and cumbersome.

Translation and interpretation can be extremely difficult, but the common reader usually doesn’t understand the complexity that is involved. In this paper, we attempt to explain some of the more common reasons for translation error and some new courses to aid translators. Translation is different things for different groups of people. For people who are not translators, it is primarily a text; for people who are, it is primarily an activity that is more of an art than a science. Due to the large number of errors found in translations of literature works, leading universities began to develop translation programs of study. This led to the development of a degree in translation studies with the goal of giving greater precedence to ensuring that word meanings and cultural nuances are carried over.

In time, German to English Translation programs become more and more common place and it became common for degree programs to include courses in the history of translation theory and continuing into modern times. New coursework was later amended to study programs plans that emphasized specific problems of literary translation through a close, practical analysis of texts that tackles crucial problems of translation and extensive suggestions for further reading.

In the first semesters of the program, students learn that a text’s reliability consists in the trust a user can place in it, as a representation or reproduction of the original. Students also learn the downfalls of word for word substitution. Most computer based translation applications are based on word for word substitution and we all know how imperfect those can be. These issues are encountered on a regular basis by professional translation workers when dealing with highly technical subject matter like Legal Translation. The following true story attests to the difficult issues encountered by professional translators.

About a decade ago, a junior in a translation program received a Medical Document Translation internship with a leading research organization that is located in Germany. Although his native language was English, he spent a semester in college at a German university. He was a native speaker of English and knew some German – probably enough to make some very embarrassing mistakes. When his hosts asked him if he was comfortable, he knew how he wanted to respond and he knew the appropriate words for “comfortable,” “hot” and “cold.” Since he was quite warm, he responded answered by saying that he was feeling a tad bit too hot. Like most people from the English-speaking world, he didn’t realize that in German he should have replied by saying “It seems very hot to me.” instead of “I am really warm.” While they seem similar in English they are drastically different in German. Unfortunately, the service worker looked befuddled and amused which suggested that the reply was incorrect for the occasion. Indeed, the German translation of “I am hot,” conveys a sexual meaning, whereas “it is hot to me” conveys the meaning that the temperature is too warm. In German, there is a big difference between the two statements, even though in English the statement “it is hot to me” is a bit awkward and cumbersome.