From BBC online Thread poster: isahuang
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isahuang
Local time: 18:33
English to Chinese
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Dear Colleagues,
As I was searching for news about the Beagle2 lander, I found this on bbc's website. There is a discrepancy between the original English and the Chinese translation.
He told reporters: "Mars Express is our primary route of communication. It's the one we spent most of our time over the last four years testing.
皮林格教授对记者说："'火星快车号'是我们的基本通讯途径。在过去四年来，我们一直都是通过它来进行联络�... See more Dear Colleagues,
As I was searching for news about the Beagle2 lander, I found this on bbc's website. There is a discrepancy between the original English and the Chinese translation.
He told reporters: "Mars Express is our primary route of communication. It's the one we spent most of our time over the last four years testing.
皮林格教授对记者说："'火星快车号'是我们的基本通讯途径。在过去四年来，我们一直都是通过它来进行联络的。"
Interested colleagues can check the following links for more information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3351023.stm (for English)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/chinese/news/newsid_3351000/33515931.stm (for Chinese)
[Edited at 2003-12-28 02:39] ▲ Collapse
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Denyce Seow 
Singapore
Local time: 06:33
Member (2004)
Chinese to English
| Oh me gosh!! | Dec 28, 2003 |
How can this happen??? Come on, not with BBC?? Geez!!
I have problem opening up the two links you provided. Sometimes I get problems accessing some websites, especially geocities. But just from reading this example quoted here, I almost shot up from my seat!!
My thoughts:
1. If this translator is qualified enough to translate for BBC, then he/she should not have the slightest problem interpreting "It's the one we spent most of our time over the last four years te... See more How can this happen??? Come on, not with BBC?? Geez!!
I have problem opening up the two links you provided. Sometimes I get problems accessing some websites, especially geocities. But just from reading this example quoted here, I almost shot up from my seat!!
My thoughts:
1. If this translator is qualified enough to translate for BBC, then he/she should not have the slightest problem interpreting "It's the one we spent most of our time over the last four years testing." It's a simpler sentence compared to the first sentence. So, what was the problem??? CARELESS MISTAKE??? Hmmm???
2.Can you imagine if Country X's translator does a bad (and I mean BAAAAAD) translation of an official document, sends it to Country Y and it reads W.A.R. instead of P.E.A.C.E.??
I am always concerned about the quality of work, either of mine or of my peers all around the world. We are not only putting words into a foreign language, we are conveying ideas, instructions, feelings, information, etc. For example, in instruction manual translations...... you are not only responsible for making the reader understand the language, you are responsible for making him/her understand the procedure, process and/or operations.
All in all, what I want to say is that, as a translator, we have to take pride and responsibility in what we do. We are not merely there to juggle two languages. We are carrying a lot more on our shoulders. ▲ Collapse
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Yongmei Liu
United States
Local time: 15:33
English to Chinese
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| I can almost see it in my mind ... | Dec 28, 2003 |
denyce wrote:
... I almost shot up from my seat!!
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Aha Yongmei, what else did you see??? I only said about the jumping part but I didn't mention the cursing and the swearing...
Was just reading Joy Luck Club and there was this part which really made me laugh my head off (I don't mean this in a bad way...):
"So she picked up one of the strips of paper and read it aloud, first in English: "Do not fight and air your dirty laundry in public...." Then she trans... See more Aha Yongmei, what else did you see??? I only said about the jumping part but I didn't mention the cursing and the swearing...
Was just reading Joy Luck Club and there was this part which really made me laugh my head off (I don't mean this in a bad way...):
"So she picked up one of the strips of paper and read it aloud, first in English: "Do not fight and air your dirty laundry in public...." Then she translated in Chinese: "You shouldn't fight and do your laundry at the same time..."
Well, anyone out there can make this mistake but if a TRANSLATOR makes this kind of mistake (refer to Tingting's example), then all I can say is, "Pack up, go home....ciao!!"
OPPS, I posted this with sundari's account!! Forgot to log in with my own name! She's my housemate/colleague/friend and I am sure she agrees with me.... Right, steffiiii??????
[Edited at 2003-12-28 19:08] ▲ Collapse
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isahuang
Local time: 18:33
English to Chinese
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TOPIC STARTER | shouldn't happen with BBC | Dec 28, 2003 |
denyce wrote:
How can this happen??? Come on, not with BBC?? Geez!!
I have problem opening up the two links you provided. Sometimes I get problems accessing some websites, especially geocities. But just from reading this example quoted here, I almost shot up from my seat!!
I understand why you cannot access those links. It is bbc, and is blocked by those "smart" guys in Beijing. So is geocities. Geocities often carry some naughty stuff which "some people" would regard "unhealthy".
Back to the translation problem, I often found some of the Chinese translations on BBC Chinese website kind of awkward. By that, I mean you can tell it is a piece of transaltion work, and is not originally written in Chinese. The sentence structure looks closer to English than Chinese. But I guess it is already accepted in some overseas Chinese media especially run by non-Chinese. However, the misinterpretation of the one I found in BBC shouldn't happen. It is BBC, people turn to BBC not only for news info but also for language study.
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Yongmei Liu
United States
Local time: 15:33
English to Chinese
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| The Joy Luck Club movie is such a tearjerker! | Dec 28, 2003 |
I hated it! I hate when people cry! Waaaaahhhhhhh!
sundari wrote: Aha Yongmei, what else did you see??? I only said about the jumping part but I didn't mention the cursing and the swearing... Was just reading Joy Luck Club and there was this part which really made me laugh my head off (I don't mean this in a bad way...): "So she picked up one of the strips of paper and read it aloud, first in English: "Do not fight and air your dirty laundry in public...." Then she translated in Chinese: "You shouldn't fight and do your laundry at the same time..." Well, anyone out there can make this mistake but if a TRANSLATOR makes this kind of mistake (refer to Tingting's example), then all I can say is, "Pack up, go home....ciao!!" OPPS, I posted this with sundari's account!! Forgot to log in with my own name! She's my housemate/colleague/friend and I am sure she agrees with me.... Right, steffiiii?????? [Edited at 2003-12-28 19:08]
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McKinley (X)
Local time: 06:33
Chinese to English
Was just reading Joy Luck Club and there was this part which really made me laugh my head off
Reminds me of that line in the movie Wedding Banquet, they\'re getting married and she\'s supposed to say \"in sickness and health, till death do us part.\" She says, \"till sickness and death!!\"
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