Poll: In your translation, do you avoid using words/phrases that are common but you personally dislike? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "In your translation, do you avoid using words/phrases that are common but you personally dislike?".
View the poll results »
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I deeply dislike using unnecessary foreignisms and undefined acronyms and abbreviations. I also avoid using new or modern words just for the sake of it. I deeply dislike words like “implementação”, “alocação”, “empoderamento”, “priorizar”…
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 20:57
Spanish to English
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"Everyone can English", but not everyone writes good English!
I keep an eye out for expressions that Scandinavians use all the time, but which in fact are Scandi-English and not used on the other side of the North Sea (or the Atlantic).
There are lots of expressions that have come down from the Vikings, the Bible and the rest of our common heritage, which we happily use on both sides, but there are false friends among them!
Concrete is one of them, in the ... See more "Everyone can English", but not everyone writes good English!
I keep an eye out for expressions that Scandinavians use all the time, but which in fact are Scandi-English and not used on the other side of the North Sea (or the Atlantic).
There are lots of expressions that have come down from the Vikings, the Bible and the rest of our common heritage, which we happily use on both sides, but there are false friends among them!
Concrete is one of them, in the sense of particular or specific.
A translation about concrete green areas in urban spaces made me laugh!
Another is a double passive - it is expected to be adopted or that kind of thing.
Being a native speaker of English is no guarantee of good English, either. Some expressions sound clumsy in my ears, no matter how often they are used. I have my style and my self respect, so I avoid them, and that goes for all my languages!
[Edited at 2021-08-25 13:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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I think there is a misunderstanding here. The question is about words/sentences that are correct but that you personally dislike, and not about words/sentences that are incorrect but used commonly, right?
I always respect the target language's rules and usage, no matter if I like how it sounds or not.
Like that time when I had to translate a professional discussion between four persons working in the same field, and three of them were visibly young while the last one wa... See more I think there is a misunderstanding here. The question is about words/sentences that are correct but that you personally dislike, and not about words/sentences that are incorrect but used commonly, right?
I always respect the target language's rules and usage, no matter if I like how it sounds or not.
Like that time when I had to translate a professional discussion between four persons working in the same field, and three of them were visibly young while the last one was a bit more aged. I had trouble choosing between formal and informal way of addressing each other, because I feel like in French people the same age will usually address each other with the informal "tu", while when speaking to someone older than you, you have to use the formal "vous". And because of that older fourth person present, I had to use the formal pronoun everywhere and it felt so weird between the younger ones. ▲ Collapse
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I don't have any words that I "personally dislike." They all have their place or they wouldn't exist. That view may come from many years studying linguistics. In my translations, I strive to write what is most natural in English.
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 20:57
Member (2009)
English to German
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Of course only if the customer has no objection.
My favorite anti-word is Handy (in German). Admittedly, a cell phone can come in quite handy, but... a handy came in handy??? Other than this one word, all other words in any of my languages are viewed without any "negative feelings".
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:57
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| I would never write that | Aug 25, 2021 |
ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "In your translation, do you avoid using words/phrases that are common but you personally dislike?". View the poll results »
I would never write "you personally dislike". There is no way to dislike something other than personally.
I throw this in the same linguistic sewer of illiteracy as:
"I for one"
"She's coming over to visit my wife and I".
To answer the question: I would never write anything, in any of my translations, that I couldn't bear to read.
P.S. Why has there never, ever, been a poll question "what are you reading at the moment?"?
[Edited at 2021-08-25 15:58 GMT]
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Filia García
Puerto Rico
Local time: 14:57
Member (2020)
Spanish
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| The message as intended by the messenger: Staying on track. | Aug 25, 2021 |
It is tempting to allow our language preferences to shape a translation, but we should beware and refrain from doing so when translating. Delivering the message as the messenger intended is at the core of an accurate translation, and messages are bound by context and shaped by tone, cultural background, and intended audience.
However, if I find a content error in the source, my first approach is to contact the client and ask what they intend to deliver?
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 15:57
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| The client's preference is the last word | Aug 25, 2021 |
I do have some words I dislike, and I never use. And I hate many literal translations used regularly in my language. However, it's the client who decides. If they want to follow the trends and use the false friends, I'll have to do it, too.
| | | | AnnaSCHTR
United States
Local time: 13:57
English to Czech
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| Personal dislikes are irrelevant | Aug 25, 2021 |
There are words I like less than others but my job is to convey the meaning of the source text with maximum accuracy.
Tom in London wrote:
P.S. Why has there never, ever, been a poll question "what are you reading at the moment?"?
Not a poll question, but a threat about books would be nice.
But not one of those literary virtue-signalling "what are you reading?" threats where everyone goes on and on about reading The History of Comparative Linguistic Philosophy in 52 volumes.
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Letting my personal preferences interfere with the accuracy of a translation would be unprofessional.
Sure, given several equivalent alternatives, I may choose the one I find more personally appealing, but my job is to render the text accurately, not to make it more politically correct.
Like neilmac I loathe management speak, but if I'm given a Greek text that is written in that way, with frequent use of unnecessary foreign words and awful neologisms, then the translati... See more Letting my personal preferences interfere with the accuracy of a translation would be unprofessional.
Sure, given several equivalent alternatives, I may choose the one I find more personally appealing, but my job is to render the text accurately, not to make it more politically correct.
Like neilmac I loathe management speak, but if I'm given a Greek text that is written in that way, with frequent use of unnecessary foreign words and awful neologisms, then the translation will be like that, too.
Though I'm more likely just to turn the job down. ▲ Collapse
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