Manuals and Their Strange Language: I wonder if it would help to click on Google's "Translate this article" when reading a manual. I was looking through the manual for my Sony WX9, and...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I wonder if it would help to click on Google's "Translate this article" when reading a manual.

I was looking through the manual for my Sony WX9, and I saw this line.

"The flash strobes once every two times."

Old Timer Loc: Greenfield, In.

From my limited experience with translation it is hard to get the exact meaning in translation unless you are well versed in both languages. Most translator are have learned to translate words and not sentence structure of both languages, hence verbs and nouns in particular not being in the proper context.

Steve_m Loc: Southern California

jerryc41 wrote:

I wonder if it would help to click on Google's "Translate this article" when reading a manual.

I was looking through the manual for my Sony WX9, and I saw this line.

"The flash strobes once every two times."

Well, that's how English sounds if you don't know the meaning and translate from dictionary.

OviedoPhotos

Of course they could hire professional translators.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

jerryc41 wrote:

I wonder if it would help to click on Google's "Translate this article" when reading a manual.

I was looking through the manual for my Sony WX9, and I saw this line.

"The flash strobes once every two times."

twowindsbear

They DID hire a pro translator.

They got exactly what they paid for.

From the lowest bidder.

That's my WAG, and I'm sticking with it.

Martino Loc: Northwest Florida

Writing technical manuals is a difficult task, even in your native language.

Leitz Loc: Solms

jerryc41 wrote:

I wonder if it would help to click on Google's "Translate this article" when reading a manual.

I was looking through the manual for my Sony WX9, and I saw this line.

"The flash strobes once every two times."

That's to keep the flashtube cooler, prolonging its life.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

twowindsbear wrote:

They DID hire a pro translator.

A kid from Thailand.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Many years ago my wife and I purchased a dining fly {from a Chinese manufacturer, of course} to put over the picnic table when we were camping. The first time we put it up, we came to the line "tie flame ties". "Flame ties??" we asked. Once it was completely up, we noticed server ties hanging down ... right next to the frame. "Frame ties!" we said as I tied them. Some Chinese translator had written it as he would say it!

A few years before that, President Carter was visiting overseas when he started a speech saying in the local language "When I abandoned the United States".

When my wife was talking about these two situations with my brother-in-law, who is a translator of Oriental languages, his comment was that you should always have translations done by someone who is a native speaker of the target language, so he should translate work from Japanese or Chinese to English ... but not in the opposite direction.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Old Timer wrote:

Most translator are have learned........

Yuh huh.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

rehess wrote:

"Frame ties!" we said as I tied them. Some Chinese translator had written it as he would say it!

As someone recently reminded me, it is the Japanese who have trouble with R and L.

Steve_m Loc: Southern California

rehess wrote:

Many years ago my wife and I purchased a dining fl... (show quote)

When JFK said his fames "Ich Bin ein Berliner" he actually said "I am a jelly doughnut"

Steve_m Loc: Southern California

jerryc41 wrote:

As someone recently reminded me, it is the Japanese who have trouble with R and L.

Yes. They don't hear the difference in the sound. Just like most of European don't hear difference between v and w.

quagmire Loc: Greenwood,South Carolina

flied lice