Mistranslation Archives - Language Miscellany

Benefits and risks of AI in translation and interpreting

The American Translators’ Association published a statement on Adoption of Technology and AI in Translation and Interpreting on 20 May 2025. The ATA’s Board of Directors approved the statement on 3 May 2025. The statement notes that the latest wave of artificial intelligence (AI), powered by large language models (LLM), is reshaping many professions, including…… Continue reading Benefits and risks of AI in translation and interpreting

All language versions of EU law are equally valid, unless one version is wrong

European Union legislation is published in each of the EU’s official languages. Each language version is deemed to have equal validity. A court is now being asked to rule on the legal consequences of a translation mistake made in one language version. OnAir case: The legal effects of a mistranslation and its correction in EU…… Continue reading All language versions of EU law are equally valid, unless one version is wrong

Google Translate takes on Goethe

I recently posted my translation of Goethe’s poem Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen blühn? with a commentary on my translation, and the German original Do you know that land where lemons grow? – Language Miscellany In a comment on that post, Paul Pacter supplied a translation he’d obtained from Google Translate. Paul commented…… Continue reading Google Translate takes on Goethe

Translation gaffe at Gatwick

I was shocked to see this beginners’ translation blunder at Gatwick airport. This picture shows a box inviting passengers to donate their spare currency. The largest word on the box says Change. Presumably, this is the original English word. No doubt, the intended message is that passengers should give over their remaining small change. The…… Continue reading Translation gaffe at Gatwick

German and English Academic Usage and academic translation

I have just started reading German and English Academic Usage and Academic Translation (2021), by Dirk Siepmann. This starts with an exercise of translating a short passage of German academic text. It is only one paragraph, though quite a long one: Seit Mitte der 1980er Jahre hat Michel Espagne sukzessive das Themenfeld des interkulturellen Transfers…… Continue reading German and English Academic Usage and academic translation

Menu again

This restaurant in Madrid in 2017 served some unexpected translation delights. Here’s the first delicacy. “Dorada a la Bilbaina”‘ translated as “goldfish to the Bilbaina”.1. I love the thought of a restaurant serving goldfish. But dorada is gilt-head bream.2. “a la X” of course means “X style”. “to the” is a peculiarly poor literal translation.3.…… Continue reading Menu again

Translation and food packaging

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that UK retailer Tesco mis-translated chocolate powder into Czech. Tesco had translated it as čokoládový prašek (‘chocolate powder’) but the official Czech version of the EU Cocoa and Chocolate Products Directive uses čokoláda v prašku (‘chocolate in powder‘). The Czech authorities prosecuted Tesco and after…… Continue reading Translation and food packaging

One criticism of Zamenhof is that he produced a simplified amalgam of Indo-European languages, rather than some blend of a…

An interesting suggestion, which I hadn't thought of. To my ear, just 'that' by itself wouldn't naturally carry that purposive…

Most sources I have seen suggest that Turkish represents a sound produced with the tongue a little higher than for…

Yes, there is a general tendency for many unstressed syllables to be pronounced in British English as schwa, whereas American…

I don't know whether a book like this needs an index. It is more for enjoyment than for reference. Maybe…

Tag: Mistranslation

Bleeding sangría