| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | I have a new source language: Denglish Thread poster: Tarja Braun
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Lingua 5B 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 12:44
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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Jan Willem van Dormolen wrote:
Well, of course, if the text is intelligible and factually correct, there's no point in reporting anything, as there isn't really a problem. I'm not talking about not-so-idiomatic sources, I'm talking about sources that are multi-interpretable, incomprehensible, or outright wrong.
While I agree there are different degrees of nonnative source text qualities, I wouldn't agree with all the points you made here.
The way you word ideas is closely related to the meaning. The meaning can just slip off in a second if things are phrased in a wrong way. So, it's hard to separate one from the other.
| | | | Tarja Braun
Germany
Local time: 12:44
Member (2008)
German to Finnish
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TOPIC STARTER | Yes - and it can be risky | Mar 4, 2011 |
The way you word ideas is closely related to the meaning. The meaning can just slip off in a second if things are phrased in a wrong way.
Non-optimal wording in documentation for equipment going to a security-sensitive destination can be pretty risky.
| | | | Jean-Pierre Artigau (X)
Canada
Local time: 06:44
English to French
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| Talk to the client | Mar 4, 2011 |
I simply don't agree with the people who say it's not worth reporting the situation to the client.
I think this is the first thing you should do; it is your duty to inform the client about the quality of their own texts; they should know that publishing this kind of garbage for an English-speaking audience can be disastrous, and you just remind them. If they decide to do nothing about it, then it's their business.
And don't forget to keep all the pertinent information c... See more I simply don't agree with the people who say it's not worth reporting the situation to the client.
I think this is the first thing you should do; it is your duty to inform the client about the quality of their own texts; they should know that publishing this kind of garbage for an English-speaking audience can be disastrous, and you just remind them. If they decide to do nothing about it, then it's their business.
And don't forget to keep all the pertinent information concerning this project (or any other work you do) like e-mail messages, original text, etc. just in case somebody sues you because you missed some information in your version. You should be able to defend yourself by showing facts. In Canada the usual recommended practice among translators is to keep everything for at least three years.
[Edited at 2011-03-04 13:06 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 12:44
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Jean-Pierre Artigau wrote:
And don't forget to keep all the pertinent information concerning this project (or any other work you do) like e-mail messages, original text, etc. just in case somebody sues you because you missed some information in your version.
...because you twisted some information as they were twisted in the source nonnative text.
Reporting this is not an issue, the issue is that they usually don't do anything about it. I'd like to hear at least one case here when they acted on it, after a translator reported the English source text is actually only an attempt of English. They never do, and I wouldn't blame the agencies for this particular problem ( they will usually forward your message to the end client); it's usually the end client that can't stand any criticism about their English.
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Hello,
As was already mentioned, "Denglish" is not the correct word. I recently read the word "Globish" (= pidgin English as an international lingua franca) in the news here or at another site.
This seems far more dangerous to professional translators than the MT-fantasies of Google etc. Executives and consumers might simply decide that RBE (Really Bad English) is an acceptable status quo and then most of us will be out of a job.
Sincerely,
Michael
| | | | Tarja Braun
Germany
Local time: 12:44
Member (2008)
German to Finnish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | | Thanks for the link | Mar 4, 2011 |
Hello Tarja,
I ought to also add that it is unfair to single out non-native speakers for producing horrible English. Plenty of this garbage is produced by the English, the Americans, etc.
Regarding Denglish, etc.:
As a translator, my absolute favorite example of Denglish is Reiß and Vermeer's plea for using "Translation" as a collective term for translation + interpretation in German and internationally. The French, Spanish, Finnish, etc. may all be satisfied with this ... See more Hello Tarja,
I ought to also add that it is unfair to single out non-native speakers for producing horrible English. Plenty of this garbage is produced by the English, the Americans, etc.
Regarding Denglish, etc.:
As a translator, my absolute favorite example of Denglish is Reiß and Vermeer's plea for using "Translation" as a collective term for translation + interpretation in German and internationally. The French, Spanish, Finnish, etc. may all be satisfied with this terminological choice, but what about the poor people who had to grow up speaking English?
Have a nice weekend,
Michael ▲ Collapse
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Anyone remember the BBC comedy programme during the war? ITMA, ie, it's that man again, with a star character the German spy Fünf who spoke English in a German sort of way.
'We shall up the gasworks blow', was a favourite phrase.
Denglish sounds interesting. In Sweden swenglish, or svengelska, is quite common; English as spoken or written by some of the natives.
Proofreading English written by a native Swedish speaker can be a bit of a challenge. Knowledge of Sw... See more Anyone remember the BBC comedy programme during the war? ITMA, ie, it's that man again, with a star character the German spy Fünf who spoke English in a German sort of way.
'We shall up the gasworks blow', was a favourite phrase.
Denglish sounds interesting. In Sweden swenglish, or svengelska, is quite common; English as spoken or written by some of the natives.
Proofreading English written by a native Swedish speaker can be a bit of a challenge. Knowledge of Swedish is definitely an advantage.
Michael Wetzel has a point -- although not all people who grew up speaking English were poor... ▲ Collapse
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Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 03:44
English to German
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In memoriam
George Hopkins wrote:
Denglish sounds interesting.
Denglish refers to words only (anglicisms such as "Image Brochure", "downloaden", "managen", etc.) It has nothing to do with quirky grammar or errors by non-native speakers. Using the word Denglish for poor English spoken by Germans is one heck of a translation error. Sorry. Please don't mix it up with Chinglish / Engrish and such.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 03:44
English to German
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In memoriam | This is what is meant with "Denglish" | Mar 5, 2011 |
George Hopkins wrote:
Denglish sounds interesting.
The usage of English words and phrases in some insane mix. Because it sounds "cool". 
| | | | Tarja Braun
Germany
Local time: 12:44
Member (2008)
German to Finnish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Swedish in Sweden and in Finland | Mar 5, 2011 |
George Hopkins wrote:
Proofreading English written by a native Swedish speaker can be a bit of a challenge. Knowledge of Swedish is definitely an advantage.
Swedish is (still) one of the two national languages in Finland. It has adapted the Finnish structure in many cases. "Svenska akademien", svenska = adjective attribute - "Finlands akademi", Finlands = genitive attribute as in Finnish. In Sweden you call Fairtrade "rättvisemärkt", in Finland "rejäl handel", translation of the Finnish "reilu kauppa", etc.
This is a good example how the main language is influencing a minority language, and knowledge of Finnish is definitely an advantage when reading a text written in 'finlandssvenska'.
| | | | | other variants | Mar 5, 2011 |
I frequently work for an agency with an EU-project where we translate all kinds of English written by none natives. So far the worst Englishes seems to be Lavtian English or Lithauanian English.
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Tarja Braun
Germany
Local time: 12:44
Member (2008)
German to Finnish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Lingua 5B wrote:
Reporting this is not an issue, the issue is that they usually don't do anything about it.
I reported the bad source text quality. Customer: "We are aware of it." Period.
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