March 11, 2010
Misfortunes of Online Translation!
A Swansea council official asked for an online Welsh translation of a road sign which excluded trucks from a small road but what he received was an email response in Welsh which stated that the language translator was away. Regrettably, the official, not fluent in Welsh himself, mistook this for the sign’s translation and gave the go-ahead for it to be made.
All road signs in Wales are translated from English into Welsh and vice versa, but often the Welsh translations are organised by people who no understanding of the indigenous Welsh language. Managing Editor of a Welsh language based publication, Dylan Iorwerth, who is well-spoken in the language himself said, “When they’re proofing signs, they should really use someone who speaks Welsh”.
Authorities only became aware of the error when it was highlighted by residents who speak Welsh and emails of the erroneous Welsh translation went around the country. What was thought to read, “No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only”, in Welsh instead read as, “I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated”. Iorwerth from Golwg magazine said, “(The pictures) are circulating among Welsh speakers because, unfortunately, it’s all too common that things are not just badly translated, but are put together by people who have no idea about the language”. He added, “It’s good to see people trying to translate (Welsh) but they should really ask for expert help”.
Swansea councils answer was simply that their attention had been drawn to the mistranslation of a sign. Welsh became compulsory in schools in the country in the early nineties following a large revival of the language. It is blatantly obvious though that while the signs are all too evident for Welsh speaking subjects, many residents are not at all fluent with the language. One such sign includes a sign which stated to English pedestrians in Cardiff to ‘Look Right’ while Welsh pedestrians were directed to ‘Look Left’. Another Welsh translation for cyclists at Penarth bewilderingly told them that they had problems with an inflamed bladder. Hopefully the same mistakes aren’t happening for legal translations as that may cause a slightly more serious consequence.
Legal translations should be done with the utmost care by a qualified and trusted legal translation agency. According to the BBC, this is not the only of such incidents, simply the most recent in a series of similar incidents.
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