Although the literal meaning of translation is to carry over, to transfer from one to another, or in other words to shift the medium, it is usually used to express rendering of one language into another. What is considered to be a good translation in the terms of literature and the mutual influence between literatures in the course of history exhibit significant characteristics. Undoubtedly, there were occasions when translations were produced for utilitarian purposes and not for the sake of art. It can be assumed that the original purpose of translation was to convey ideas and new facts to people who were badly informed and concerned themselves with the message rather than with the artistic value of the text.

But such translations are of low artistic value. The translator must go beyond transference of the exact meaning of the words the original document consists of. Instead, he must seek the spirit of the text and overall intended meaning so that the final translation is as much a work of art as the original source document. For example, if Martin Luther has dwelled on conveying the literal meaning of the words in his Russian Translation of the Bible, he would probably not manage to express the overall meaning and the spirit of the text.Another, more detailed example is that of translations from Russian to English. The Russian system of nomenclature differs from the one other countries do and it can be traced in any English to Arabic Translation. For example, in English translations of the novel, “Anna Karenina,” the Russian habit of addressing people by their first name and a patronymic is usually carried over into the English. Therefore, if the character is named Vladimir, the son of Peter, he will be addressed Vladimir Petrovich. While normal to Russians it sounds odd and somewhat confusing to Anglophones. Therefore, the new trend in Portuguese Translation is to forego the patronymic, as it does not add anything to the art of the text.

How difficult it is to translate a text depends immensly on the corresponding medium.. It is more difficult and arbitrary to translate poetry compared to translating a scientific and factual text. Given that the translator is familiar with the scientific field, of course. We can assume that a legal translation is much easier than a literary one. Certainly, a legal translation requires that the translator be trained and experienced in the field of law. Knowlege of legal terminology and of legal system differences is a must. However, a translator of a legal text is not required to seek that language finesse as a literary translator does. When translating a legal text it is more important to find the exact correspondence of the terms rather than to achieve artistic value for the reading enjoyment of the audience. A good legal translator can, of course, be a good fiction translator, too, and vice versa; however, each kind of translation requires a very specific set of skills.

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As a small business owner and consultant in international trade and communication, I get asked occasionally to give speeches to different groups about trends that I see shaping the global economy. Sometimes my speeches are given to groups in different countries where English isn’t the primary language and sometime I’m even asked to give speeches here in America where the audience is primarily non-English speaking business executives. WIth a large number of speeches to foreign speaking audiences under my belt, I thought that I could offer some suggestions for others who are called on to do the same. I believe that you will know some of the advice that I give already and maybe pick up something new.

One of the keys to success is having the audience think of you as clever, gifted, and intelligent. If you have these traits then you already have an advantage over many speakers. Suppose you receive a formal invitation in the mail today to address a large body of Japanese to English Translation workers. If you decide to accept then you should think about the type of person these people want to hear. In most cases, they expect someone who look and talks professionally. They also want to listed to someone who is knowledgeable in their profession. But for most business leaders, speaking before an audience is not easy. If you are a good public speaker, you gain instant credibility and well respected among the community of listeners. Further, the master of public speaking will find that he is more persuasive and informative than other speakers and this will undoubtedly drive his future success.

Because we just introduced the ground work for an effective speech, the next step is to introduce more advanced ideas and suggestions to allow you to improve communication with family, work and friends. When in front of some audiences, you must really be conscious about how you use humor. It’s often a good idea too that cartoons and comic strips, the most universally accepted format of humor, be used when introducing humor into the speech. However, speakers who are unfamiliar with local customs often make embarrassing and sometimes damaging mistakes. To explain what we mean, let’s consider a speech writer who wants to include a comedy act from an Arabic radio station in a speech to be given to a group of Arabic to English Translation agencies. At the time of planning the delivery, it seems like it could be extremely useful in conveying an idea. However, we may not consider the unintended results. You might even turn the audience against you if you accidentally do something offensive. But you would have really had to have done something bad to make the audience dislike you that much. However, if you do include comedy into your speech to an international audience then it is critical that you allow the audience a few extra moments to decode the meaning and find the humor. Finally, if the event planners happen to mention that the group of Russian Document Translation professionals that you will be speaking to speaks English then make to follow-up and learn if it is UK English or American English. If you learn that the Russians did indeed learn British English then you better be extra careful in your choice of words to use in your presentation. In many cases, British English words can have completely different means to people who have been taught US English.

Although the literal meaning of translation is to carry over, to transfer from one to another, or in other words to shift the medium, it is usually used to express rendering of one language into another. We have to underline the role of the characteristics of a good translation in the literary sense and of the influence of one literature on another throughout centuries. Undoubtedly, there were occasions when translations were produced for utilitarian purposes and not for the sake of art. One of the hypotheses about the origin of translations is that they were undertaken out of educational purposes – to communicate new ideas and new facts to a badly informed public who did not care much about artistic form.

But such translations are of low artistic value. The role of the translator is not to produce a collection of the exact counterparts of the words, used by the author of the original text. A good translation must covey the same meaning as a whole and inspire the same feelings as the document created by the author of the text. Had Martin Luther’s Russian Translation Services of the Bible been a literal word-for-word translation, it is highly unlikely that the true intended meanings would have been conveyed.Or, let us examine some examples of Russian-English translations. The Russian system of nomenclature differs from the one other countries do and it can be traced in any Arabic Translation Services. Russians address people by their first and their father’s name, which can be easily seen in the English translation of “Anna Karenina”, for example. In the Russian system of addressing people some inflexions are added to the name of the father, therefore, Vladimir, the son of Peter will be called Vladimir Petrovich. We can guess that an English speaking person will find such a way of addressing people quite exotic and strange. That is why there is a new trend in Portuguese to English Translation – to keep to the system of nomenclature of the target language for patronimic adds no significant artistic value to the text.

Every medium carries its own difficulty of translation.. It is more difficult and arbitrary to translate poetry compared to translating a scientific and factual text. If the translator understands the subject matter, of course. A legal translation is considered to be much easier compared to the translation of fiction. There is no need to mention, that this will require training and experience in the legal sphere. The translator must be fluent in manipulating legal terminology and understand differences in legal systems between countries. The language of legal translation does not need to be refined or of artistic value. When translating a legal text it is more important to find the exact correspondence of the terms rather than to achieve artistic value for the reading enjoyment of the audience. Certainly, one translator can be good at translating both legal and literary texts, however, he or she must be trained and experienced in the specific set of skills each type of translation requires.

[Read more →]

As a small business owner and consultant in international trade and communication, I get asked occasionally to give speeches to different groups about trends that I see shaping the global economy. Sometimes my speeches are given to groups in different countries where English isn’t the primary language and sometime I’m even asked to give speeches here in America where the audience is primarily non-English speaking business executives. WIth a large number of speeches to foreign speaking audiences under my belt, I thought that I could offer some suggestions for others who are called on to do the same. Even though some of this seems common knowledge, some might be some fresh ideas to help you.

One of the keys to success is having the audience think of you as clever, gifted, and intelligent. If you have these traits then you already have an advantage over many speakers. Suppose that you have been asked to talk talk to an association of English to Japanese Translation workers. These people paid money to hear you come and talk and they expect to see a person with great accomplishments. But for most business leaders, speaking before an audience is not easy. A talented public speaker will receive wide acclaim by the audience and become well known among his peers in the industry. He or she will also be a better motivator and manager of people, whatever the career assignment, simply because so much of good management today requires good communication skills.

While these were some simple suggestions, we are now going to address some more relevant concepts that will help you better take advantage of the moment through the use of words and visualizations. One thing that we want to stress is that when planning your speech, be particularly careful about how you incorporate comedy. Commody can help you to connect with and reach the audience and it can be done effectively through the use of cartoons and comic strips. Never make the mistake of blindly incorporating humor into an otherwise good speech because it may have accidental consequences. To illustrate this, let’s consider a late night television comedy show that takes place in the Arabic speaking world. While we may think it is a good idea to incorporate it into our speech to English to Arabic Translation companies, it may be a terrible idea that backfires. Before you know it, a holy jihad breaks out in the meeting room and one side is throwing chairs at the other side. In the end, you are either one who is blamed and told to never return. Luckily, it would take a lot to make a group of people from any country become this irritated over your speech. However, if you do include comedy into your speech to an international audience then it is critical that you allow the audience a few extra moments to decode the meaning and find the humor. Always keep this in your mind too. Even though you might be talking to a bilingual audience consisting of Russian Translation workers, they have been educated in British English and not American English. If the event organizers tell you that the Russian Translation workers were trained in US English the you are probably safe. However, if it turns out they were taught UK English then you really need to review your presentation because UK English words can have completely different meanings.