The word translation comes from the Latin translatio, which itself comes from trans- and fero and when combined mean to carry or bring across. By definition, translation is a written communication in a second language having the same meaning as the written communication in a first language. But is translation a science, an art or a skill?

The translator’s role is not a passive, mechanical one, and for such reason has been compared to that of an artist. Many may argue that literary translation is an art, not a science. Yet translators in other areas may consider their work to also be art. Such is the case of N. J. Lynn, a financial translator, who backs this up with strong arguments in Zen and the Art of Multilingual Financial Reporting.

Transcreation, a freer form of translation, which results in a text linguistically and culturally adapted for a specific country or region, can also be seen as an artistic form of translation. The difference between both concepts is explained in more detail in Translation vs. Transcreation in the Hispanic Market.

Yet in this new century, with the use of computer-assisted translation or machine translation, can we say that translation has become a science?  Or perhaps it has always been a science in the sense that it needs to follow principles and rules of syntax and grammar. For example, some universities offer a Masters of Science in Translation while others a Master of Arts in Translation.

Lastly, the argument that translation is a skill can also be made. It is certain that translation is more than just intuition and a six sense. Practical translation methods or processes can be taught and learned. Furthermore, this skill can be improved with experience.

The answer to this question will most likely depend on whom you ask.

Language professionals are becoming more interested in using open source software in their work. Fortunately, the choice of CAT tools running on Linux has grown considerably over the last few years. Although many have been reluctant to switch from proprietary CAT tools to less expensive or even free open source alternatives, there is no denying that the options available are versatile, simple to use and efficient. This list is intended primarily for professional translators who use Linux in their day-to-day work.

Anaphraseus

An open-source translation memory integrated into OpenOffice.org. Anaphraseus was developed to work with the Wordfast TM format, but it can also export and import files in TMX format.

EsperantiloTM

An open-source translation memory application written in Tcl/Tk. Supports HTML, Open Document Format and XML, and the interchange formats TMX and XLIFF.

OmegaT

A free translation memory application written in Java. Some of its features include translation memory, fuzzy matching, and support for glossaries.

Sun’s Open Language Tools

Open Language Tools was originally developed for the localization of the company’s own documentation and written in Java. File types supported are: HTML, Docbook SGML, JSP, XML, OpenOffice.org: sxw, sxc, sxi; Open Document Format: odw, odc, odi; Plain text.

Transolution

An open-source translation memory application written in the Python scripting language. Almost any content can be localized with Transolution as long as there is a filter for it (XML, SGML, PO, RTF, StarOffice/ OpenOffice).

I recently wrote about the growing Spanish market in the United States and prior to that I discussed the intent of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language (ANLE) to improve Spanish use in this country. I also commented on the mix of English with other languages spoken in the film “Code 46“, which was a good foreshadowing, in my opinion, of the future. And, in passing, I mention the existence of Spanglish, but never stopped to analyze …

What is Spanglish, really?

A common thing in Spanglish is to confuse the meaning between Spanish and English words that sound alike (false friends). An example of this would be the phrase ” vacunar la carpeta” (in English: “vacuum the carpet”) instead of “aspirar/pasar la aspiradora a la alfombra”. Another example of this type of speech would be a sentence in which both languages are used: I’m sorry I cannot attend next week’s meeting porque tengo una obligación de negocios en Boston, pero espero que I’ll be back for the meeting the week after.

I’m always looking for glossaries, dictionaries and other resources that can help working professionals. Thanks to a Venezuelan colleague, in her blog La Traducción al descubierto, I discovered Invertext.com -a dictionary that covers different business areas. It has around 100 terms in English and Spanish with definitions that are constantly updated. All are welcome to contribute. The dictionary is free.

The dictionary covers the following subjects:

• Banking
• Stock Markets
• Accounting
• Money and Currencies
• Corporate Banking
• Retail Banking
• Money-Laundering
• Retail Banking
• Money-Laundering

Readers interested in professional translation  services may find this website useful : Business Translation Spanish.

The Royal Spanish Academy and the Association of Spanish Language Academies present a New Grammar for Spanish Language. This is the first time the academy produces a grammar book since 1931.The two volumes, and a third one being published soon, is a result of eleven year of work from the twenty-two academies of Spanish Language. The new grammar books seeks to unify Spanish language. This is the first time the grammar at an academic level covers all varieties of Spanish Language.

As I promised here’s the last part of the glossary of Neutral Spanish terms, which I shared with you in previous posts.

quitar (take off, take out)
rabo (tail)
rasurar (shave)
refresco (soda,”coke”)
refrigerador (fridge)
renta (rent)
retrete, excusado (toilet)
rosquillas  (donuts)
sabroso (tasty, yummy)
sala (living-room)
salchicha  (hot dog)
sanitario (lavatory, w.c., bathroom)
sofá (couch, sofa)
sortija (ring)
sostén (bra)
sudar (sweat, perspirate)
sujeto (guy,chap)
tienda (store, shop)
tienda (de campaña) (tent)
tina (bathtub)
tocino (bacon)
tontería (silly thing)
traje de baño (swimsuit, bathing suit)
trasero, nalgas (butt, bottom, bum, buttocks)
trozo (piece, bit)
tubo, tubería (pipe, pipes)
velada (evening/night)

I’d like to remind you once more that this glossary was created mainly for subtitling and voice over. Although it’s a useful guide, some terms are debatable.

There are many variants in the Spanish language and one is not better than the other. In some fields, such the movie industry, it would be recommendable to reach some sort of agreement regarding the most common used words (all those in the Dictionary of the Spanish Language of the Royal Spanish Academy). That was the idea behind this Neutral Spanish Glossary.

This third part of the glossary (just one more left) is a continuation of my previous posts. Below are words from letter F to P.

falda (skirt)
fontanero  (plumber)
fregadero  (sink; kitchen)

fresa (strawberry)

frijol (bean)
gafas, lentes (glasses)
galleta (cracker, cookie)
gaveta (drawer)
golpiza (beating, thrashing)
goma de mascar (chewing/bubble gum)
grifo (faucet, tap)
guapo, apuesto (good-looking, handsome)
guisado (stew, casserole)
guisante (pea)
hornear (bake)
hule (rubber)
jalar (pull)
junta (meeting)
la semana entrante (next week)
lanzar (throw)
lavandería (laundry room)
letrero (sign, post)
litera (bunk = built-in bed)
lodo (mud)
lunático (crazy, mad)
mantequilla (butter)
marcharse/largarse    (go, leave)
matrícula    patente (license plate, license number)
mejilla (cheek)
melocotón (peach)
moteado (spotted)
mujerzuela (whore, prostitute)
niña, muchacha, joven (girl)
niño, muchacho, joven (boy)
obsequio    (gift, present)
ocurrir, suceder (happen, occur)
palabrotas (profanity)
paleta (lollipop)
panecillo (muffin, cupcake, bun, roll, etc.)
papel tapiz (wallpaper)
parque (square, park)
pastel (pie, cake)
patata (potato)
pequeño (small, little)
periódico    (paper, newspaper)
perro caliente (hot dog)
piña (pineapple)
piscina (swimming pool)
plátano (banana)
pluma (pen)
preparatoria (high school)
prisa (hurry)
prisión (prison, jail, gaol)

(To be continued, and ended, in the next post. Until next time.)

Spanish is the second most-common language in the United States. There are 45 million Hispanics who speak Spanish in the United States, making it the world’s second-largest Spanish-speaking community. German, Italian, Polish, Russian and Greek are also spoken among older generations of immigrants. Also spoken are Tagalog, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. And let’s not forget that there is also a small population of Native Americans who still speak their native languages.

However, it may surprise you to learn that the United States does not have an official language, even though the majority of the population speaks English. According to an ACLU briefing paper, the proposal was “rejected as undemocratic and a threat to individual liberty” by the Continental Congress. Needless to say, the proposal of any official language in the United States is simply out of the questions.

This is part 2 from the previous post. Included here are terms in Neutral Spanish from letters C to E. I’d like to remind you that this list is specifically for subtitling and voice over; there may be different options. Feel free to leave your comments or suggestions to add to the list.

cabello (hair)
cafetería (coffee shop, café, cafeteria)
calcetines   (socks)
calle  (block)
camarero  (waiter)
cantinero  (bartender)
carretera (route)
cartera (wallet, billfold)
club de desnudistas (strip joint/bar)
cojín (cushion)
col (cabbage)
columpio   (swing)
computadora (computer, PC)
condón (condom)
conducir (drive)
consentir (pamper, spoil, mollycoddle)
costoso (expensive, costly, dear)
cubo (bucket)
chaqueta, abrigo (jacket)
chispas de chocolate (chocolate chips)
demorar (take long)
deprisa, velozmente  (quickly)
derramar  (spill)
desdichado (miserable)
desnudista (stripper)
detener, detenerse (stop)
dinero (money)
dulce (candy, sweet)
ebrio (drunken)
económico, poco costoso (cheap)
echar de menos, echar en falta (miss)
el biquini   (bikini)
elevador (elevator, lift)
emparedado (sandwich)
enfadado  (angry, upset)
enseñar/mostrar (show)
enviar (send)
escoger (choose, pick)
escuela (school)

(To be continued…)

An additional note on Neutral Spanish. I’d like to share with you the first part of a list of neutral terms (not exclusive), complied for the use of the movie industry, mainly for subtitling and voice over. As I mentioned in a previous article, these terms are only a standardized version, that is, the translation most commonly used by the largest amount of people. There are other possible translations.

Some terms might sound strange and you might think that “yours” is the better word. In other cases, you’ll think it strange that you already use what’s considered to be “neutral”. Whenever you need to translate into Neutral Spanish, you should look for a term that has the same meaning for an Ecuadorian, Uruguayan and Hispanic speaker in the United States and Spain. Even if a word sounds more lindo, chulo, mono, majo or rico than the other, you should choose el más bonito (the “prettier” one).

This list can help you with this task. Here’s the first part (letters A and B):

acera  (sidewalk, pavement)
adinerado  (rich)
afortunado  (lucky)
aguacate  (avocado)
aguardar  (wait)
alardear  (brag)
alcalde  (Mayor)
amar  (love)
amarrar  (tie, tie up)
anciano  (old person)
apartamento  (apartment, flat)
apenado  (embarrassed)
apodo  (nickname)
apresurarse, darse prisa (hurry)
arete  (earring)
atemorizar (to scare)
ático, desván (attic)
atrapar, sujetar, tomar, asir  (catch, grab, hold, take)
automóvil  (car, automobile)
autobús  (bus)
ayuntamiento  (city hall)
barbacoa  (barbecue)
barbilla  (chin)
barniz de uñas  (nail polish, nail barnish)
batería  (battery)
beber  (drink)
biberón (bottle [baby])
blusa  (blouse, shirt)
boda  (wedding)
boleto  (ticket, plane ticket)
bolos  (bowling [game])
bolso  (purse, handbag)
bonito  (pretty, cute, nice)
bragas  (panties, knickers)
brincar  (jump)

We’ll continue with this later.

Remember the Telephone Game? Most of you probably remember it from childhood. You would whisper a short sentence into someone’s ear and so on until it went full circle. When the message reached the last person it was totally different from the original and it had everyone laughing out loud. You’re probably thinking, “Yes, I remember that game. But what does it have to do with Machine Translation?” Machine Translation is playing a fast-growing role in the translation industry. Some companies admit that it’s only partially effective (some say 70%); I beg to differ. Let’s play the Telephone Game and see what happens after 10 consecutive translations of the same text.

If you have a text you need translated, we recommend professional translation services from our company, Trusted Translations.

To wrap up my previous post, I’d like to make a brief comment on this subject.

A translation targeted towards different Spanish speaking regions or countries should be translated into “Neutral Spanish”. As I mentioned before, it’s very important that the client be aware of this. What we’re talking about is a standardized version of Spanish, especially in terms of vocabulary, so that all Spanish speakers can understand its meaning. We already established that there is only one Spanish language, but it’s spoken differently throughout the world. Grammar -the syntax itself will be basically the same regardless of any variations. But the choice of certain terms and idioms (phrases, loanwords, sayings, idiomatic phrases, etc.) will need to be adapted in order to reach a middle ground. The use of the RAE Spanish dictionary (Royal Spanish Academy) is essential. This is the bible and guide for translators in search of what Wikipedia defines as “a version that tries to avoid terms that may be identified with specific countries (“ordenador” is most used in Spain while “computadora” in turn is used in America) or linguistic regional phenomena (the Latin American voseo)…”.

Can anyone stop the ever growing Spanglish movement in the U.S.? After all, Spanglish is not a language but rather people who speak English and Spanish badly. The North American Academy of the Spanish Language (ANLE, for its initials in Spanish) has taken on this challenge. Seen by some as the “language police”, the Academy has teamed up with the U.S. government to improve and standardize the use of Spanish particularly in government public service communications. Their mission is to help implement the use of correct Spanish for the 40 million Hispanics living in the U.S.

For more information, please visit: www.nydailynews.com/latino/2009/05/14/2009-05-14_academy_to_become_spanish_inquisitor_.html

It is commonly believed that any bilingual person can translate. However most fail at written translations. This is because such informal translation is oral, not written. For an informal translator, any translation which communicates the main idea of the message suffices. But in a professional translation, the original document must be understood thoroughly and accurately. There are professional standards which a translator needs to follow. And while bilingual interference may not be as important in an informal translation, it is a serious problem in professional translation. Later I’ll continue on the subject by talking about the importance of Consistency.

In a previous post, Justin had mentioned that there are language differences in countries where English is the official language (e.g. in England, the Unites States, Australia and Canada). There are also differences in countries where Spanish is natively spoken, for instance Spain, Latin America, and even Spanish speakers in the United States.

Although a large part of the Spanish language is shared by its speakers (what we call “Neutral Spanish”), there are many words, phrases, idioms, and mannerisms that are not found in all linguistic varieties.
Before we begin translating a text (novel, document, web page, etc.), it is important for the client to define the target audience in order to localize the product for that specific market, by accounting for the differences of each market.

What does localization mean?

One word can be used to talk about the same thing in different parts of the world. For example, peanut can be maní in South America, cacahuate in Mexico, or cacahuete in Spain. Although the national varieties of a term may be understood, even if it sounds odd, some may not recognize the term or will find it to have a negative or offensive connotation, which leads to a misunderstanding of the text. A translator who is a native Spanish speaker or a specialized translator will identify the difference and know which version to choose in order to produce a translation adapted to that target audience without losing the meaning or the tone of the original. However, if you want to cover a broad spectrum of Spanish speakers, a neutral version of Spanish is the solution. But we can continue to discuss that some other day.

Certain processes require a certified translation, meaning that the translation must be accompanied with a notarized translation certificate of authenticity and accuracy. This may include an Apostille, a signed certificate from a sworn translator, or a host of other requirements. If you are having a document translated, it is extremely important that you know if certification is necessary! You don’t want to waste time and money on a translation only to learn later that it is not good enough.

So when do you need a certified translation? Well, you should always double check with whoever is requesting or will be presented with the translated document. They are most often required:

• For government agencies

• In legal proceedings (depositions, Court transcripts, etc.)

• For immigration processes (Green Cards, Visas, INS documents, etc.)

• Official Certificates (School Diplomas, transcripts, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates, Divorce Records, etc.)

Note that these are just a few of the possible cases. Always make sure you have all the details and find a respectable translations company that can provide you with a certified translation.

There is no question that the Internet has brought people from around the globe closer (virtually) than ever before, but there are still quite a few barriers to be conquered when one is looking to market  software internationally. English is the unofficial “computer language” of the 21st century, but what if your menus and code were originally written in Mandarin? Or you have software in English but really want to attack the Japanese market? Translating your software is a surefire way to truly take your product global.

A software translation may seem like a daunting task, but I’ve compiled a list of 5 questions to ask before you give a translation agency your project.

1)Will the finished product be tested in-house?

2)Will the translation hinder customer functionality in any way?

3) How will layout and design be affected? This is especially important when translating software into or out of the Roman alphabet.

4)Will the software be globalized, localized, internationalized?

5)Will the translation include things like software manuals, license agreements, warranty agreements and disclaimers?

Social networking giant Facebook has taken a somewhat novel approach to providing its service in other languages. It is employing crowdsourcing, or community-based design, to take popular phrases from the site (tag a photo, nudge a friend) and translate Facebook into more than 65 other languages.

When the Facebook application first appeared, it only took the masses two weeks to produce Facebook in Spanish. Using that momentum, users created French Facebook in 1 day. The application is known as Translations for Facebook Connect, and allows users to submit suggested translations to Facebook, whose staff then allows users to vote on which translations they like the best.

The translations are intended to draw more and more people to the networking service, and with over 320 million current users in 2009, it appears that Facebook is truly taking over the globe.