Have you seen any cringe-worthy translation lately? In the ongoing series Translators’ Hall of Shame, we highlight examples of translation gone wrong around the world.
When translation is great, it’s efficient, effective and trouble-free. People focus on the message itself and get the information they need. But when translation is crummy, it’s embarrassing, dangerous and expensive to clean up. A poor translation raises more questions than it answers and eclipses the original author’s message.
Today I’d like to share two recent cases, which bring into sharp focus how important good translation and a good translation quality assurance process really are.
Planning a Trip to Jumpsuit, Mexico?
Recently, Mexico’s official tourism website featured a strange assortment of place names, telling visitors about locations like Log, Turret and Jumpsuit in a combination of literal and gibberish translations.
Some observers had a good laugh over the incident, but others, like Mexico’s ex-president Felipe Calderón, weren’t in a laughing mood. “Stop making Mexico look ridiculous!” he said.
Mexico’s tourism industry doesn’t need any more bad news. Before the pandemic struck, it was one of the country’s most important industries and supported 11 million jobs. But then the coronavirus claimed more than 57,000 lives and hobbled the industry. Mexico’s states are now reopening one by one and eagerly awaiting the return of tourist dollars.
In response to the translation problems, Mexico’s tourism officials apologized to the public and announced that they had filed a criminal complaint. Some wondered if the translation errors had been introduced in some kind revenge action for non-payment. Whether or not that proves to be the case, this just goes to show how critical translation validation is before releasing a project to the world.
Responsive Translation offers several different validation options, including third-party review. We can also train clients to perform their own validation. To try your own hand at it, check out our free Translation Checkers’ Kit.
Coronavirus Info Mashup
Australia’s Federal government and Victorian government released a series of public health information regarding COVID-19. They wanted to provide Australians with the facts to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic, and reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.
The messages were translated into a variety of languages to help reach Australia’s multicultural communities. However, there were several quality-related problems, which undermined the government’s public health efforts.
For example, Arabic and Farsi texts were inadvertently mashed up in one flyer. A Chinese text in a multilingual graphic instructed people to “Use your language supplied information” instead of actually providing the information. In some messages the Arabic formatting prevented readers from being able to actually read the text.
Where was the quality assurance here? Public health depends on the public’s cooperation, but only when they have access to good information.
For multilingual projects it’s essential that the translation function isn’t siloed, like it seems to have been here, but incorporated into a multi-step process. The translation project manager should serve as the conductor, harnessing the power of translators, editors, proofreaders, DTP specialists and QA specialists to ensure harmony and a successful final product, like we do every day at Responsive Translation.
However, there is a silver lining to this story. Public criticism spurred the Victorian government to action. They announced new funding for translations, cultural training and information distribution, and that translations would start being checked in context. It’s about time!
Have you seen any bad translation lately? Tell us about it. We might feature it in a future blog post.
No Errors Here
While we do like to poke fun at translation gaffes (see: menu translations around the world), we know that errors are no laughing matter. That’s why our clients depend on Responsive Translation every day to provide them with error-free translation that brings people together.
For more information about our foreign-language services and quality assurance processes, please get in touch at 646-847-3309 or [email protected].