14:36 Nov 15, 2011 

Really, we understand the meaning. I'm translating a whole series of brochures that use the words "tipico" and "caratteristico" every other line. I've encountered it probably almost every day of my working life over the past 12 years. There's no easy equivalent in English, so we're working around that each time, based on the context. Peculiar is another great false friend.

14:30 Nov 15, 2011 

As an Italian speaker, "caratteristico" means to me that the place has peculiar traditional features of the area. Its charm derives from having maintained its original or traditional appearance unaltered, not from a charm or beauty that was perhaps acquired later on. In this sense, Neptunia's suggestion (traditional) is by far closer to the meaning than "charming"

14:22 Nov 15, 2011 

then it has to be clear from the context why and is probably derogatory. As in "It's a typical village. Everybody knows everybody's business and all people do is gossip about each other". Or "He's still in bed." "Typical, he's never done a day's work in his life".
Cynthia as native English speakers who have learnt Italian, we know this word "caratteristico" well, because when learning Italian, we have heard people say "E' molto caratterisco" and we haven't understood anything and we have aske "Ma cosa vuol dire 'molto caratteristico', caratteristico di che cosa?" And when people replied, we learnt how the word is used in Italian. By itself it can be used to mean characteristic of the local area, just as "tipico" can be used in the same way without qualification. "Vini tipici", = "local wines", while "typical wines" could be red, pink or white, 12% alcohol and no nutritional value.

14:15 Nov 15, 2011 

This is certainly a perfectly valid sentence, but it has a different meaning. If you read the examples from Google you can see that it is used in the typical sense of typical meaning "common, usual, regular". I can see why, with all the mistranslations of this word around Italy, one would start to think that typical is a good translation for tipico in these contexts.

14:10 Nov 15, 2011 

If you say, "It is very typical", one will naturally ask "typical of what?".

Bu if you say "It is a typical village", I think the sense is quite clear, it is a village that is full of local characteristics and enjoyable as such. I am sure Beatriz's text refers to a particular area, so obviously the place/village is typical of that area.

13:42 Nov 15, 2011 

Really, there's a whole semester of translation theory just in this discussion! I do agree that "full of local character" is better than "charming" in this context, in which it is likely the answer to why you would want to go to a certain tourist destination, as the emphasis is on being "tipico". But in other contexts, it can work for the reasons Jim explained so well. I translate a lot of furniture descriptions and there I often use "defining" or "distinctive". True that native speakers can often understand the nuances of their language better, but it's the nuances of the target language that are more important to create natural-sounding writing.

13:31 Nov 15, 2011 

As you say '"Caratteristico" is not necessarily charming', but often a writer uses the word with its secondary derived meaning, just as one uses a metonym (nobody ever actually drinks the bottle). And since you cannot simply translate with the word typical alone, because it doesn't work, then "charming" is often the most accurate interpretation, although not always. It depends on the context.

13:22 Nov 15, 2011 

Yes I gave away my bi-lingual Garzanti. I still have the Sansoni bi-lingual and Devoto Oli. However, now I have almost unlimited access to the raw data on which they are based, I only ever use them for pointers, suggestions or reminders. You say, '"Caratteristico" is not necessarily charming' and I agree with you. But when you say, "the charm of something may derive from its being typical so it is simply a secondary characteristic." your English doesn't make any sense, because I don't know what you mean by "typical". I have to ask "typical of what?". Usage of the word "Typical" in English is different. You cannot say simply "It was very typical" without specifying typical of what.

"No good translator should ever work without one, or better two, one for each language (source and target)". I used to be forever in and out of the Devoto Oli and the Oxford Shorter mono-linguals, but seldom feel the need these days. Just occasionally, to check.

11:14 Nov 15, 2011 

Usually non native translators can understand the source language better and this is the case. "Caratteristico" is not necessarily charming, the charm of something may derive from its being typical so it is simply a secondary characteristic. I agree that bilingual dictionaries may be misleading but monolingual ones are usually very helpful to really understand the meaning of a term. Non good translator should ever work without one, or better two, one for each language (source and target)

09:44 Nov 15, 2011 

I gave my Garzanti away many, many years ago.

09:43 Nov 15, 2011 

Can you provide some more of the text please?

09:39 Nov 15, 2011 

This discussion would be interesting for students of translation, as it illustrates the complexities of translation and why Google and dictionaries aren't enough and can be misleading, and why translators should only traslate into their native tongue.

09:28 Nov 15, 2011 

Caratteristico means "typical" in Italian, not charming or similar things

GARZANTI

Definizione

agg. [pl. m. -ci] che è peculiare di qualcosa o di qualcuno, che fa parte del suo carattere o della sua natura: parla con un accento caratteristico
§ caratteristicamente avv.

HEOPLI

A agg.
Che costituisce il carattere distintivo, sostanziale o formale, di una persona o di una cosa: il verso c. della rana; sono fiori caratteristici di questi luoghi; ha un modo di camminare c.


SININIMI E CONTRARI

SINONIMI E CONTRARI
caratteristico agg.
Sinonimi: distintivo, particolare, endemico, folcloristico, individuale, locale, peculiare, precipuo, proprio, speciale, specifico, tipico, singolare, pittoresco, forte || Vedi anche: esclusivo, topico, popolare, tradizionale, classico, personale, determinato, precisato, ad hoc, bizzarro, buffo, curioso, distinto, diverso, eccezionale, incredibile, insolito, misterioso, nuovo, originale, raro, strano, stravagante, unico, parziale, singolo, naturale, preciso, stesso, suo, vero, dato, deputato, tipo, turistico Contrari: anomalo, anormale, generale || V. anche comune, naturale