Classification of translation errors of feature films (based on the film "500 days of summer"). Translation errors that affected the course of history Letter from the translator about the incorrect translation

I will translate only in the right way!

What difference does it make what style the text has and who it is intended for?

English is very difficult! English is very easy!

findings

. You need to translate by word!

Consecutive translation is logical and very convenient, but using this method, you lose half of the meaning of the text and distort its essence. It is very important to first read the work in full, to think in advance about the features of its translation - names, titles, references. important facts, specific vocabulary ... You can even draw a diagram of the plot.

When translating, read the chapter again, then the episode, then re-read the paragraph (you can briefly try to state its essence for yourself, which will later help in translating) and the entire sentence. It may happen that you have to rearrange phrases from the beginning of a sentence to the end, change the order of sentences, or, for the sake of preserving meaning and logic, split some sentences into several or combine a couple of pieces into one.

After writing the translated text in the same manner, reread the sentence first, then the paragraph so that the connection is not lost, then the episode, then the entire chapter. Be sure to track logical and causal relationships.

. So what if I don't know how to translate this name correctly? I'll write randomly. Let it be!

Translation of proper names is one of the most difficult things. Sometimes the name has a special meaning only in the original language, and no matter how hard the translators try, it’s impossible to convey everything exactly. If we analyze the complaints of book lovers about publishers that distorted names or, according to fans, simply mocked characters, then we can single out the golden rule for translating proper names:

If you undertake to translate, then, please, translate everything - and qualitatively.

It looks very funny when some of the proper names were translated into Russian, and transliteration or transcription was applied to some. In other words, you need to translate either all the names and titles, or not translate them at all, but simply write down the original ones in Russian letters. But in this case, if the name has an additional meaning, it contains a pun, or the translator simply considers it important for the reader to know some feature, then it is better to put a footnote and provide an explanation of what it means given name in English. As they say, it’s easier for us, and you are pleased.

And readers will not bombard you with angry letters about how you ruined the name of your favorite character, or - even worse - they will not turn your translation into a joke.

An example of the translation of proper names from the series of children's books "Warrior Cats":

firestar- Firestar

Cinderpelt- Cinder

Ferncloud- Reed (lit. Fern Cloud, but the name chosen by the translators for a fragile cat is more suitable)

Less successful:

greystripe(lit. Gray Stripe, Grey-striped) - Graystripe

Brambleclaw- Blackberry (this is the name of a male character, in English there is a game with the fact that in the word "Brambleclaw" there is a part of "claw" - the claw is the name of the hero's father)

Sorrelpaw(lit. Sorrel Paws) - Copperhead (the name suits the cat in color, but the translators did not take into account that cats hardly have the word "copper" in everyday life)

Example transliteration:

Regina(pronounced "Regina" or even "Regina") – Regina

Atris(pronounced "Atris") – Atris

Example transcriptions:

The Times(newspaper) - The Times

John– John

It is worth noting that at present transliteration is no longer in vogue, moreover, most people perceive this way of transferring proper names as erroneous. The least risky and simplest method is transcription. But it is important to mention that this method is completely unsuitable for children's literature, since not all children, especially small ones, will simply pronounce such names and titles. Therefore, in children's books, it is the translation of proper names that is most often found.

. This word sounds the same in Russian, why bother with its special translation?

One of the most common problems when translating from English is pseudo-international words.

Internationalisms are those words that are the same in all languages, often associated with technological progress and globalization. They were invented by foreign-speaking people and are now used almost all over the world. For example, the words "computer" and "Internet" in Chinese, Bulgarian, Swedish and even Arabic still remain recognizable to foreigners.

What then are pseudo-internationalisms? These are words of English origin that are in our native language, but their meaning is actually slightly different. They cause embarrassment and misunderstanding between native speakers and those who study it.

Many of these words are familiar to you. For example, " accurate" means "accurate", and not at all "neat", " conductor"- first of all, "conductor", and not "conductor", " record"- "record, report", and not just "record". One of my “favorite” mistakes of this kind is when they confuse “ sympathy(which means "sympathy") with sympathy.

Dear translators, do not fall into such language traps. Check the meanings of words to avoid such problems.

. Come on, let it sound strange and illogical. Is this what the author was trying to achieve? All complaints against him.

No matter how pretentious and strange the author's language is, you should not leave it just like that, indiscriminately. If something is not clear to you, it is better to ask the author what exactly was meant: no one will explain the confusing points better.

However, do not abuse this and ask the author every time you are unable to cope with the translation. Still, the inability to find an equivalent and the fact that you came across a rarely used or new expression (which has not yet been entered into dictionaries) are two different things.

Some expressions may be specific to the English-speaking culture, so it's best if you do a little research or ask the author about their meaning. The main thing is not to “calque” and not turn adequate things in English into strange things in Russian.

I'll give you an example:

« It "s a Mickey Mouse operation compared to what goes on in Lyons or Paris ».

Here " Mickey Mouse" is used as an adjective and means something too simple, stupid, petty, frivolous. Obviously, in the Russian translation, we will not write literally "Mickey Mouse Operation".

The first way is to avoid any comparisons, and instead of mentioning the mouse from the cartoon, write:

« This operation is just child's play compared to those in Lyon or Paris. » .

If you have a desire to play with words and keep the tone that was in the original, you can try, but then the sentence will be somewhat complicated:

« Compared to the operations that take place in Lyon or Paris, this one is more like a task for Mickey Mouse. » .

The third way is to change the hero to a more understandable one for the readers you are counting on. For example, you can use the character Kapitoshka or the "prodigal parrot" Kesha for such a comparison.

But, as I said before, sometimes these things happen to whole phrases, in which case they are hyphenated:

"The let-sleeping-dogs-lie approach" .

Modern translators often translate this way - keeping hyphens. In principle, the phrase will still be understandable. This is distinguishing feature English: moving the phrase to the place before the noun, turning it into a compound adjective. This trick is very beneficial - it turns out simply and briefly. Expression "to let sleeping dogs lie" has a Russian prototype "do not wake the dashing while the dashing sleeps."

The most correct and harmonious translation option will be either a complex sentence or turnover, or a quotation - but drawn up according to the rules of the Russian language.

"An approach that is not asking for trouble" .

“A stay-out-of-sin approach.

In no case not:"don't-wake-dashing-while-dashingly-asleep" approach.

. I will translate only in the right way!

"Correct" is a relative term. The main thing is to stick to the golden mean. You should not spit on the whole grammar of both English and Russian, but you should also not translate strictly according to the book.

Firstly, not all textbooks, especially Soviet ones (I don’t want to offend anyone, but due to the closed nature of this state, linguistic sciences developed without the help and advice of native speakers of these foreign languages, that is, they are unreliable, inaccurate and subjective) explain in detail and subtly the features translation various designs. Secondly, the English language develops and changes, so you don’t have time to blink an eye, as it has new trends and new syntactic constructions.

What is really important is the sense of language, when you immediately see the essence behind the form, and you don’t need to go into an English reference book to understand how to translate the construction in a bizarre way - this goes without saying for you. You understand this sentence as if it were in your own language. Of course, not everyone has such a feeling.

How to reach it? Read more in English. Read without dictionaries, try to penetrate there, between the lines, and you will eventually realize that you no longer translate what you read in your head, and you don’t even notice that the text is in a foreign language.

This is what happens when you try to translate strictly according to the textbooks:

"If the turtle had reasoned instead of mindlessly attacking, he would have realized that Shredder was just biding his time."

The original sounds like this:

"If Raphael had been thinking instead of attacking mindlessly, he would have realized that Shredder was merely biding his time" .

An example of a mistranslation of the great and terrible gerund. Undoubtedly, the gerund in English is something very similar to the participle, only in this case the verb is associated with the noun. And, yes, it would be really quite correct to translate such a word as a noun. But let's face it, it's completely out of place here. Why? Because in Russian this word is devoid of such an important verb connotation in this case. The use of a noun is allowed only in some cases, for example:

Reading helps. - Reading helps.

Here we have not so much an action, a process as a phenomenon.

In addition, in the example provided above, the word "reasoned" is incorrectly chosen.

There are several more ways to translate a sentence with a gerund - in the form participle turnover or a complex sentence. It is the last option that suits us best here. And let's still choose a more adequate verb.

“If Raphael had thought instead of attacking sharply, he would have realized that Schroeder was just trying to buy time / stalling / waiting for the right moment” .

Another mistake is repeating the subject. In the example, we have both "turtle" and "he". A typical situation for a novice translator. In order not to abuse pronouns, the Russian language has the number and gender of the verb in the past tense. Does anyone doubt that the action in the second part of the sentence was not performed by Raphael?

Why is the pronoun used in English? It's simple: in this language there is no impersonal proposals. Formally, they exist, but the English still use pronouns to indicate the subject. That's why we translate:

It is getting dark. - It's getting dark.

Here we have a conditional sentence, that is, a complex one. So, in each of its parts there must be a subject and a predicate.

In Russian, this is not necessary at all.

. What difference does it make what style the text has and who it is intended for?

Another important detail. We have already mentioned styles, but now let's talk not about the speech of specific characters, but about the text as a whole. Of course, what you translate plays a role. For example, journalistic literature has its own characteristics, its own phrase construction and its own laws. And when translating, you must first decide on the style.

The second thing about literary text is the language of the author.

It happens when we are talking from the first person, you need to focus on who the main character is - a teenager, a nobleman, a simple worker or a high-ranking official - because these characteristics are displayed in the text, which is almost the hero's speech.

You also need to consider who your readers are, what is the audience. Is the story being translated for children or for adults? If the work, for example, is a fairy tale, and is designed for children, then do not forget that you must use simple and understandable words. When literature is adult, you can not be afraid to introduce complex or specific vocabulary into the text - it is important that it stylistically matches the original.

In translation, problems arise quite often, because English words sometimes have thousands of meanings. Of course, it is easier to choose them, knowing the desired style. You can't go wrong with the choice if you consider that the action takes place in a bar in a working-class New York district or at a reception at the Queen of England. Then, in the first case, choose a colloquial or slang meaning, and in the second, an official or obsolete one. And, of course, the tone itself must be respected.

. a). English is very difficult!

b). English is very easy!

Two Opposite Opinions, But The Error Is The Same - Misperception foreign language basically. Complex syntactic constructions should not be underestimated, just as simple nouns and the absence of cases should not be overestimated.

It's not that English is easy or difficult. No language in the world can be simpler or more difficult than others. Each has its own characteristics. The secret is to understand that this language is different, that it will never be like your native language. Therefore, we do not transfer English chips to a different language environment.

What did you think? What can be replaced in a sentence by every word in Russian, and now you will have a translation? Then why does such a profession still exist? Put a typewriter that will replace words - and that's it! Yeah...

The machine does not feel what to say. It's true. The machine cannot analyze the possible options and choose the most suitable one. The machine does not feel the context.

Therefore, only we, people, are the only normal "machine" for mutual understanding between different peoples.

First of all, we take into account how languages ​​differ, and based on this we make a translation. Not a replacement, but a reincarnation.

Why is it so important?

It's no secret that a lot depends on the translator. The diligence and enthusiasm with which he approaches the matter affects the perception of readers.

It is not enough just to know English well and understand it in order to translate artistic text. You also need to be able to use the means of your native language in order to convey all the features of the work, to convey the whole meaning.

It goes without saying that the original must be liked, as is the translation process. You can do anything better if you enjoy doing the task. When only a sense of duty or obligation controls you, you turn into a robot that mechanically does its job - replaces words. But do you enjoy creating such text yourself?

You may think that this article infringes on the translator's right to own style- after all, “do not let the author down”, “please the readers”. On the contrary: your style is when you select or invent an interesting expression, when you fill the character’s speech with bright colors, when English traditions seem interesting and understandable in the text ... The literal translation will always be the same, but an artistic one, created by painstaking work and well thought out, will contain your individuality.

When you truly love your job, others love it too.

I would like to summarize all the above mistakes and make a small conclusion based on their analysis:

● Adequate translator is tied to meanings, not to analogous words.

● A good translator takes information from native speakers, thinks it over and creates his own version.

● Good translator understands the difference between languages ​​and, knowing how to use it correctly, makes the text simple and accessible.

● A great translator cares about meaning a hundred times more than form.

● A wonderful translator does not follow myths, stereotypes and prejudices.

● An excellent translator is not afraid to sometimes break the rules to fit the style and achieve perfection in translation.

So, dear translators, love your job. Approach it not as a chore, but as an art. After all, you are a bridge of understanding between two parallel and such different worlds, between two languages.

Special thanks to Natash "e and Serpens for their assistance in the selection of material.

AT modern world with advanced Internet technologies and accessible educational materials everyone can learn the language if they want. Anyone has the opportunity to enroll in courses, learn the language on their own using various manuals, or even find a teacher on the Internet. But often all the knowledge gained is not enough to professionally engage in translation activities. The fact is that “knowing the language well” does not mean “being a translator” at all. Sometimes there are gifted individuals who can easily cope with the most complex texts, even without having special education and experience. But they are rather the exception. Quite often, people who are absolutely sure that they know the language and rely solely on their experience and intuition make gross mistakes. However, it is worth noting that everyone "falls into a mess" - both amateurs and professionals.

Those who have to deal with "unsuccessful interpretations" of interpreters either become confused or have a lot of fun quoting such literary "masterpieces" to their colleagues and acquaintances. Translators' mistakes are sometimes so absurd that they are remembered as jokes.

Often, the well-known “false friends of the translator” or “interlingual homonyms” lead to the emergence of blunders. For example, common English word“magazine” does not mean “shop” at all, but “magazine”. Another frequently used word, "lunatic", is not "lunatic" at all, but simply "crazy".

When we see a combination of letters that seems familiar to us, we believe that we have already guessed the meaning of the word, however, this is far from always the case, especially if we are dealing with related languages. Here are some examples of such situations: “shame” in Czech and Slovak means only “attention”, “mountain” in Bulgarian is a forest (actually “mountain” sounds like “planina”). "Shame" in Serbo-Croatian and "Divadlo" in Slovak is theater. “Crush” in Slovak is “a dose of medicine”, “train” is “tram”, and “painting business” is “artistic creation”. "Razboy" in Romanian is "war", not "robbery". The adjective "harmful" means "worthy", not "harmful". "Shtuka" in Polish is "art" and "crypt" is "shop". And the list is endless...

Often, translators and entrepreneurs are hindered by a simple ignorance of the cultural and historical traditions of the country for whose inhabitants they “create” a translation. The well-known Romanian wine producer Murfatlar in the recent past intended to promote his new products on the international market. The wine, which was going to be sold in Russia, Bulgaria and on the territory of several other countries, was called "Infection". The name of the romantic heroine, familiar to most Romanians, was associated by producers with passion and fiery love for a charming lady. However, one can easily imagine the reaction of the Russian consumer to the wine called "Infection". It would hardly have been a wild success.

In an even more stupid position was the Swedish manufacturer of household appliances "Electrolux". The company's vacuum cleaners entered the US market with the slogan "Nothing Sucks Like an Electrolux -" Nobody sucks like an Electrolux.

Absolutely absurd situations also arise when the interpreter is not sufficiently experienced and prepared. For example, the visit of US President Jimmy Carter to Poland in December 1977 almost ended in an international scandal due to the incompetence of the simultaneous interpreter. The translator managed to change beyond recognition the meaning of some of the president's phrases. The words "when I left the United States ..." he translated as "when I finally left the United States ...". The phrase "our nation was founded on ..." began to sound like "when our nation was woven ...". And the sentence "Nearly six million Americans are of Polish origin" took on a completely different meaning: "Poland is the birthplace of ten million Americans." Probably, the Poles remembered this visit of the President of the United States for a long time.

It also happens that the translator simply does not understand the subject area, the materials from which he undertook to translate. Because of this misunderstanding, the meaning of the text is distorted. For example, one of my acquaintances translated from Hungarian an article about recent history countries. He managed to convey the general idea, however, he interpreted one sentence completely differently: "The Trianon Palace became a disaster for Hungary." A person who understands history a little better will understand that this is not at all about a “nightmare, from the point of view of the Hungarians, palace”, but about a peace treaty signed in 1920 in this very place.

Another example: a phrase from the instruction manual for the air conditioner "The distribution has to be of a low impedance, normally the required impedance reaches at a 32 A fusing point" by a specialist who does not understand this technical area, translated as follows: Junction box must have low impedance. Typically, the required impedance is reached at a melting point of 32 A.” It would be correct to translate it: "The distribution system must have a sufficiently high load capacity corresponding to the fuse rating of 32 A." The phrase “However the use of correction data does not change a bad S / N” was illiterately expressed by another translator as: “However, the use of corrected data does not change a bad serial number.” In fact, we are talking about something completely different: "However, the use of corrected data can change the unsatisfactory signal-to-noise ratio."

It happens that the translator makes a gross mistake of literal translation. For this reason, instead of a “pharmacy” (drugstore), a “drug store” appears, and the “chief of the Indian tribe” turns into an “chief of the Indian tribe”. In literal translation English phrase from technical instructions you might get, for example, the following: "Do not store the device in a damp pool, do not expose it to rain or water in general." Whereas the correct option is, of course: "Do not store the device in damp places and do not expose it to water." The phrase "brickwall-type crossover region (steep)" is not translated "steep crossover", but "the crossover has a frequency response with steep slopes."

And another mistake that I would like to dwell on is that the translated text may contain vague or ambiguous wording. As a result, the meaning of the text becomes incomprehensible. For example, instead of using the expression "correct roller machines" (emphasis on "and"), in order to avoid misunderstanding, it is correct to write "roller straightening machines".

If you do not want to receive a text with such errors, contact recognized specialists or who can guarantee you high quality work. If you nevertheless take up the matter on your own, then before you start translating, make sure that you really understand the subject of the document and understand well what is at stake. If you are not 100% confident in your abilities, contact the professionals!

Kurkina AnaTheodora

Erasing boundaries, increasing the intensity of communication require the development of communication skills. Now the speed of translation should be almost instantaneous, because there is practically no time to wait, and the translation itself must be of very high quality. Electronic translation systems, even the most the best ones do not give a full guarantee of obtaining an adequate text. But translation errors, inaccuracies in the transfer of semantic shades can lead to the most catastrophic consequences.
Let's take a look at some of these translation errors which have greatly influenced our world today.

1. martian channels

For the first time, formations on the surface of Mars were discovered by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1877. He called them canali. One of the meanings of the Italian canali is just canals, that is, artificially created hydraulic structures. So, there were their builders! Well, why the Martians built canals can be argued until the end of time, but the main thing is that the Martians, if not already, then, according to at least, were.

One of the adherents of the version of the artificiality of these formations was the American astronomer Percival Lowell, who for many years observed the surface of Mars from his own observatory in Arizona, built images, published articles. The apogee of his research was a book published in 1908. In it, Lowell argued that the canals were used by the dying Martian civilization to irrigate arid areas with water from the polar ice caps. The mass consciousness gladly accepted this idea; it has firmly taken root among science fiction writers.

But it all started with a small mistake. Schiaparelli by "canali" meant trenches, ditches, that is, just a certain difference in natural landscape without indicating the artificiality of origin.

2. Khrushchev promised to bury America

1956, at the height of the Cold War, US Enemy No. 1 Nikita Khrushchev speaks at the Polish Embassy in Moscow. As usual, Khrushchev at a certain point begins to talk about the advantages of communism over capitalism, which ends with a phrase translated as "we will bury you."

This expression instantly circles the world, excites the American public. And there was something to fear, because the statement was interpreted precisely as an undisguised threat. By that time, the USSR had hydrogen bombs, ballistic missiles appear and the first satellite is launched. America is in a panic - the aggressive Russians promised to bury them in a nuclear fire! Perhaps it was this phrase that stimulated the development of the American space program and landing on the moon.

And it was again a translation error. Khrushchev simply used a common expression in the sense that communism will outlive capitalism as a more promising direction.

3. Carter and the Poles

1973, the Cold War is still raging, but characters have changed. Now for the first time american president travels to a communist bloc country. Jimmy Carter is holding a press conference in Poland, where it was planned to communicate with real communists, answer questions, etc.

Carter was accompanied by a freelance translator (for $150 a day). It turned out that he speaks little Polish and makes an incredible amount of mistakes. The translator interpreted Carter's phrase about the morning departure from the United States as the unwillingness of the president to return home at all. Carter's desire to listen to the opinion of the Poles, the translator presented as the desire of the Poles themselves. In general, this disgrace could not continue further and the translator was changed. This time, Carter did not manage to hear a single phrase from the new employee - the translator simply stubbornly remained silent. It turned out that this time the Polish employee owns, he had problems understanding the president. I had to invite a certified translator of the Polish president and continue the ceremony, and Carter became a favorite object for Polish jokes.

4. "No comment" in Japanese

In July 1945, the Potsdam Declaration had already been prepared. It demanded that Japan surrender without any conditions, the alternative was the complete destruction of the country.

Journalists constantly demanded that Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki comment on this matter, demanded that he make a statement. Finally, Suzuki called a press conference and delivered a short speech, roughly translated as “No comment. No decision has been made yet." It can also be interpreted as "ignoring due to disrespect". It was in this form that the phrase was translated to the US government.
Naturally, Truman did not really like this wording and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place.

5. Translation errors in medicine

Search problem common language for the doctor and the patient in general is fraught with the most dire consequences. It is especially relevant for countries with a multinational and multilingual population. So in the US, more than 35 million people speak Spanish. At the same time, one regularly has to deal with a situation where the doctor and the patient own different languages. In these cases, translators are hired, but they do not speak medical terminology.

In New York, there was a case when a young man only managed to complain of nausea and lost consciousness. The translator interpreted this as "alcohol intoxication", as a result of which the patient received completely unnecessary treatment for alcohol and drug intoxication. In fact, a blood clot in the brain caused nausea ...

In the same place in the USA in 2009, a law was passed, according to which pharmacies were required to provide instructions in an accessible language to everyone in need. Naturally, pharmacists decided to save money and used electronic translators en masse. The effects were just creepy. Instead of taking drugs orally, it was recommended to take a little. Instead of one dose, the instructions demanded to drink the drug for pressure 11 times a day. But the proportion of potentially dangerous errors still ranges from 53% to 77%!

6. GAN4

In China official language is enough complex system hieroglyphic writing. There are also many homophones in this language - words with a similar sound and a radically different meaning. The language is actually very difficult to master and in the middle of the 20th century a standard for romanization was developed Chinese. As part of this approach, a system has been developed for recording the sound of hieroglyphs using Latin letters, superscripts indicate tone.

But such a record often chooses a completely wrong interpretation in electronic transfer systems. A prime example volume is the notorious GAN4, which means "fuck", and GAN1 - "dry". The result is a very entertaining texts ....
Apparently from this principle are formed and

Translation is a complex task, and errors in its execution can be very serious.

1 The $71 Million Word

In 1980, 18-year-old Willy Ramirez was admitted to a Florida hospital in a coma. Ramirez's family and friends tried to explain his condition to the rescuers and doctors, but they all spoke only in Spanish. One of the hospital staff, bilingual, was called in to translate. This person mistranslated the word "intoxicado" as "intoxicated", which implies the effect of alcohol or drugs.
A professional translator would have understood that it was more about food poisoning - this is exactly what Ramirez's relatives tried to explain to the doctors. As a result, doctors began to do everything that was supposed to be done with a drug overdose, and some of the symptoms really looked like this. And later it turned out that the guy had an intracerebral hemorrhage. So, due to a small translation error, Ramirez was confined to a wheelchair and received compensation for improper treatment in the amount of $ 71 million.

2. "Your lustful desire for the future"

In 1977, US President Carter visited Poland, and the State Department hired a Russian translator who, in principle, knew Polish, but without nuances, and had never worked with this language professionally before. As a result, in his translation, Poles heard such gems in Carter's speech as "Your lustful desire for the future" (instead of "The way you want to see the future") or "When I finally left the United States" (instead of "When I left the United States"). Needless to say, Carter's speech was remembered by the Poles for a long time.

3. "We will bury you"

At the height of the Cold War, the then head of the Soviet state, Nikita Khrushchev, made a speech, one of the phrases of which, translated into English, sounded like “We will bury you.” This phrase, and even taken out of context, was perceived unequivocally as a threat of a nuclear attack, scared the Americans to death and significantly complicated the already tense relations between the two countries. However, the translation in this case turned out to be too literal. In Russian, it sounded like this: “Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you." Khrushchev only meant that socialism would outlive capitalism.

4. Panic in the foreign exchange market

A poor English translation of Huang Hyandong's article by a Chinese news officer and instantly circulated on the Internet caused a real panic in the foreign exchange market. The original was a conventional, theoretical review of some financial statements with some thought and careful assumptions. In translation, the article turned out to be much more specific and categorical.

5. What was on Moses' head?

Blessed Jerome, the patron saint of translators, studied Hebrew and translated the original into Latin. old testament”(before that, everyone used the Greek version of the third century). As a result, the Latin text became the basis for hundreds of subsequent translations of the Bible into national languages. And in all these translations one famous mistake has passed. In the original, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, his face "shone". But the Hebrew "qaran" - shone, radiated, radiated. But in the Semitic tradition, vowels are not written, so the word looked like "qrn" and St. Jerome confused it with the word "qeren" - horn. Because of this mistake, for several centuries Moses was portrayed as horned.

6. Chocolate for him

In the 50s, chocolate manufacturers began a campaign to popularize Valentine's Day among their compatriots. But due to a mistake in translation, the Japanese decided that on this day, according to Western tradition, women present chocolates to men and began to do the same. This tradition has taken root and continues to this day.

7. "You must defeat Cheng Long"

Japanese version computer game Street Fighter II characters say something like this: "If you don't slay the rising dragon, you can't win!" By mistake of the translator, who did not particularly delve into the context, the words "rising dragon" turned into "Cheng Long" in translation. Gamers went crazy trying to figure out what kind of character this Cheng Long is and how to defeat him. And in April 1992, as an April joke, Electronic Gaming Monthly published complex and confusing instructions on how to find the mysterious Cheng Long. And only in December of the same year, the editors of the magazine admitted that it was a hoax. It's scary to think how many precious hours have been wasted.

When you read an English translation of a Spanish bar menu, you can't help but laugh, it's so awkward. You can read a lot of funny and ridiculous cases on the Internet about what happens when people think that translation is a simple thing and can be done using Google Translator. But it is no longer a laughing matter when it comes to serious issues.

It is hard to believe that in the modern globalized world, and in particular in the European Union, translation errors continue to be made in matters of international relations. However, there are such facts. In November 2013, the entire Spanish press (under the influence of news agencies) wrote that official representative The European Commission called the statement of Minister Werth "garbage". In fact, EU Education Representative Dennis Abbot used the word rubbish, which can indeed mean "garbage", but in this context the correct translation would be "absurdities, absurdities". It is not the same. Abbott tried to fix it, but without much success.

This mistake, which, in general, only plays into the hands of the press, does not go beyond the scope of a curiosity, but what could happen with such a misinterpretation in the event of an escalation of tension? What happens when a bad translation is mistaken for a correct one? Here are seven of the worst translation mistakes in history.

1. Horns of Moses

During the late Gothic period and up to the second half of the Renaissance, Christian artists and sculptors depicted Moses with horns on his head. And the reason for this was a mistake made, oddly enough, by the patron saint of translators, Saint Jerome.

His translation into Latin of the Vulgate (Common Bible) was the official text catholic church for one and a half millennia (from 382 to 1979), but it contained a curious error. The expression keren or, which in Hebrew means the shining face of Moses, was erroneously translated as "horns". It was nonsense, but who would doubt the sacred text?

2. Khrushchev's threat

In 1956, when the Cold War was at its height, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev delivered a speech at the Polish embassy at a banquet attended by many ambassadors. Western countries. The guests were literally dumbfounded when they heard from Khrushchev: “Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"

In the context of a fierce arms race, the Western press took his words as a direct threat, but the Soviet side was quick to say that Khrushchev was misunderstood and his words were taken out of context.

In fact, the Soviet leader was referring to Marx's phrase from the Manifesto communist party that the bourgeoisie produces its own gravediggers. The correct translation of his speech—which does not have to be literal—would go something like this: “Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will live to see you being buried." It cannot be said that this is a very friendly phrase, but in any case it was an ideological slogan, not a threat.

3. Jimmy Carter's Wet Dream

When the US President traveled to Poland in 1977, the State Department contracted with a Russian-speaking translator who knew Polish but had never worked professionally with it.

At that time, Poland was part of the socialist camp, and Carter tried to win over the people with a friendly speech. But the translator got stuck. Carter began his speech by saying: "I flew out of the US this morning," and the interpreter translated "I flew out of the US, never to return there again." When the president said, "I've come to get your opinion and wishes for the future," the interpreter made it clear that Carter was sexually attracted to the Poles. Even the innocent phrase about how happy Carter is about visiting Poland has become that "he is happy that he saw the intimate places of Poland." It was terrible.

I had to urgently invite another translator. He knew Polish well, but did not know English. Again, everything was bad and not even funny. He just couldn't translate.

4. Channels on Mars

In 1877, the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli made one of the first descriptions of the Martian surface. It seemed to the director of the Brera observatory in Milan that he saw seas, continents and channels on the Martian surface.

In 1908, the American astronomer Percival Lowell revised the results of Schiaparelli's work and came to the conclusion that the channels were built by intelligent beings to carry water (which was scarce on the Martian surface) from the polar regions to the desert regions. This statement gave rise to many myths and legends about the Martians, despite the fact that it was the result of a translation error.

Schiaparelli never considered the Martian canals a thing human hands. In fact, he used the Italian word canali, meaning a pass or gorge, that is, an exclusively natural object.

5. The word that led to the atomic bombing

July 26, 1945 countries anti-Hitler coalition published the Potsdam Declaration, which set out the terms of the surrender of the Japanese Empire, emphasizing that in case of refusal, it would face "rapid and complete destruction."

The declaration was a typical ultimatum. Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki called a press conference and said, “No comment. We keep thinking about it." The thing is that the representatives of the allied countries understood his words differently. Suzuki made the mistake of using the word mokusatsu, which can mean "no comment" but also "we reject it". It wasn't until 10 days after the press conference that President Truman made it clear to the world what "quick and utter destruction" meant. We will never know now whether the course of events would have changed in the event of a correct translation.

6. Treaty of Waitangi

Sometimes translation errors are unintentional, and sometimes they are made to change the true meaning of something. Significant in this respect is the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed by the Maori of New Zealand in 1840. In fact, this document meant the transformation of the island into a British colony.

The British and Maori signed two copies of the treaty, one in English and the other in Maori. Both texts are similar, except for the most important detail. The Maori text says that locals agree to the presence of the British on the island in exchange for permanent protection from the British Empire. The English version says that the Maori become subordinate to the British crown in exchange for protection from the British Empire. So what: trick or treaty?

Source 7The Word That Was Worth $71 Million (And One Human Life)

In 1978, Willie Ramirez was admitted to a Florida hospital. The patient was in a very serious condition, and his relatives could not explain what was happening to him, because they did not know English. They told the doctors they thought Ramirez had food poisoning. Medical staff who supposedly understood Spanish and English languages, translated the word "poisoned" as intoxicated, which in English is used only in relation to people who have taken an excessive dose of drugs or alcohol. Although those close to Ramirez believed that he had gastroenteritis, in reality it was a cerebral hemorrhage. But the doctors, believing that the patient had gone too far, prescribed a completely wrong treatment. Due to this negligence, Ramírez suffered a paralysis of four limbs (tetraplegia), and the hospital had to pay him $71 million in compensation.