My new project: Robles Traducciones

Hello!

Today I'm happy to tell you about my new translation project "Robles Traducciones". I have created a new account on Google+ in order to offer my services as a translator.

In this blog, I have told you about different types of translation, software for translators, proofreaders and editors, problems and translation mistakes, own experiences and curious cases... I have had also the opportunity to have some experiences as a translator and now I prove professionally through "Robles Traducciones".

If you have followed me a little, you will know that my work languages ​​are English and German, and of course the Spanish as my mother tongue. If you need a professional translation into or from any of these languages, ​​do not hesitate to contact me via roblestraducciones@gmail.com. Now I show you too some advertisements, so you can share it if you are interested or if you know someone who may be interested.

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I will keep on sharing with you curiosities and interesting issues about translation.

Thank you.

Controversial false typo: Spanish literary prize (Premio Planeta)

Good evening. Social networks have today echoed a typo in one of the headlines of spanish tv news Antena 3. The headline said: Hoy se folla el premio planeta (Today it fucks the Premio Planeta. In Spanish, the verb fallar [award] is similar to follar [fuck]). Later it was known that it was a fake. But if it had been real, it would have possibly been a typo and the word emerged from this change in a single letter it would have caused many jokes. What I'm going to do in this post is to analyze this (false) mistake.

As I said, it would have been a typo. When we write in a computer it is not difficult to press a key in place of another one, and even more if we write fast. But, why would have emerged this controversial word? The headlines have a very limited format, that is, in a very short space they should explain the news as clearly as possible. Therefore, if we talk about the result of a contest (in this case the spanish famous literary contest that brings the publisher Editorial Planeta), the word fallar is short and concise. In another context, it would have been possible to use synonymous (settle/solve the contest, decide the winner), but in a headline it would have been too long. In addition, the presenter says always more information.

In any case, although this hasn't been a mistake of the tv program, we must revise everything we write, and if we even have some mistakes, remember el que tiene boca se equivoca ;)

Translation mistakes (III): how to change the cartridges in the printer

Good morning. Today I'm going to show you a fragment of a flyer that explains how to change the cartridges in the printer. Because of the information that I deduce of the complete text, I think that it is a translation from French. French is the first language, in which everything is explained and, in case of doubts, it refers to a website with domain .fr.

Here I show the text:

As you can see, there are punctuation mistakes: (*Felicidades! because in Spanish we use both exclamation points, blank space between colon and the rest of the text, capital letter after a comma), grammatical errors (*es remanufacturado) where it would be better the passive voice, accentuation (*vació when the correct word here is vacío, *pagina, *esta) and bad expression in general.

Now, If you want to see my proposed correction into Spanish, click here.

Translation tips

Today I show you two english words that are very similar in its orthography and pronunciation. “Cheese” and “chess” share vowels and consonants and maybe people who don't have english as native tongue could have problems to write them. It is important not to confuse both words in a source text or in a translation.

For example, in a recipe in English it would be strange to read *Fried chess with strawberry jam (in Spanish ajedrez frito con mermelada de fresa), and what we really want to say is Fried cheese with strawberry jam (queso frito con mermelada de fresa) ;)

Happy Wednesday.

Community Manager Course

Hi!

Today this post is different in comparison with the posts that I usually write. However, I have found a relation with translation and I hope you like it.

I'm doing a course of Community Manager online (Cursos de Community Manager Gratis) because I think that can be good for me nowadays (social media are part of our life in internet), specially for my facet of writer. One of the exercices of this course is to create a blog and talk about the experience with these classes.

In the weeks that I'm doing this course, I have realized that the figure of Community Manager is very similar to the translator's or interpreter's figure. For those who don't know it, a Community Manager is a person who represents a company or a brand in social media. This person publishes news, advertisements or relevant information of the company for the users and at the same time collects the opinions, suggestions or complaints of these users to inform the company about it. We can say that it is the bridge between the company and the clients, in both directions. We can say the same of a translator or an interpreter, who keep contact whit two persons, companies or institutions and move the message, in this case, in different languages.

Community Manager and translator: both face the users, each one in a different field, and keep the contact between the persons who are interested in this bilateral relationship. 

False friends (III): english-spanish

Palabra original (inglés) Original word (english)	Traducción correcta (español) Correct translation (spanish)	Falso amigo (español) False friend (spanish)
Billion (1000.000.000)*	Billón (1.000.000.000.000)
Carpet	Alfombra	Carpeta
File	Archivo	Fila
Jam	Mermelada	Jamón
Target	Meta, propósito, objetivo	Tarjeta

*In the example of billion, the translation problem isn't in the spelling of the word in Spanish, but in the concept. Whilst in English, one billion is a thousand million, in Spanish is a million of millions.

False friends (II): German-Spanish

Today I write a new post about false friends, this time between german and spanish. Some days ago I talked you about one of them in the post about the Steppenwolf. As you could see, the translation of some word into its false friend can produce a strange target text to the reader and with a different meaning than we expected.

Palabra original (alemán) Original word (german)	Traducción correcta (español) Correct translation (spanish)	Falso amigo (español) False friend (spanish)
alt	viejo	alto
Firma	empresa	firma
Gymnasium	Enseñanza de grado medio	gimnasio
Mantel	abrigo	manta, mantel
Rat	consejo	rata

False friends (I): English-Spanish

False friends are words in a language, which are very similar to other words in another language, but actually have a different meaning. Today I show you some of these words in English that have a false friends in Spanish. It is very important to consider these words before translating, because if we translate the false friend, we would change the meaning of the text.  

Palabra original (inglés) Original word (english)	Traducción correcta (español) Correct translation (spanish)	Falso amigo (español) False friend (spanish)
Actually	Realmente	Actualmente
Constipated	Estreñido	Constipado
Embarrassed	Avergonzado	Embarazada
Eventually	Finalmente	Eventualmente
Sensible	Sensato	Sensible

Translation mistakes (II): Steppenwolf

One of the things in which probably agree all translators, is that since you become a translator, in reading is added a critical touch (consciously or unconsciously). I'm currently reading the book Steppenwolf of Hermann Hesse, and I couldn't avoid detecting a mistake in the translation into Spanish.

The original language of the book is German, so the mistake appears in the word "Gimnasio". The German word is Gymnasium and in the German education system it refers to the high school system. In Spanish, it makes no sense the translation as "gimnasio" (gym), because there is no level in our educational system with that name, and what really refers is the ESO (Obligatory Secondary Education) or the Bachiller (High school) (no equivalent 100%).

As you can see, in translation you have to take into account the cultural implication of some words. Maybe in this case, a novel, the mistake goes unnoticed, because it is simply a comment of one of the characters and it doesn't have relevance for the story. However, if this mistake appears in an academic record or in a CV, it will have more importance and other consequences.

Here you have more information if you are interested in knowing a little more of the German education system.

Interpretation (VI): whispered

Hello everybody!

Today I finish the serie of posts dedicated to explain different types of interpretation. Whispered interpretation, or chuchotage, is a simultaneous interpretation, in which the interpreter translates in the interested's ear what the speaker says in the source language. This kind of interpretation it is transmitted to one person or to a little group, because it is not used an additional interpretation system (in comparison with the cabins that are used in simultaneousinterpretation).

Here I show you a picture of an example of how could be a whispered interpretation:

Interpretation (V): consecutive

Good morning!

Consecutive interpretation is an interpretation modality, in which the interpreter listens a speech in the original language and takes notes of what the speaker says. Once the speech have finished, the interpreter translates it to the target language based on his notes.

For this kind of interpretation it is important, not only to understand correctly the original speech, but having a good memory. For reasons of time and speed of the original speech, it is not possible to make notes of everything, but it would be perfect take notes of the main ideas and to remember the minor ones.

In order to take notes it is recommendable to know abbreviations, because we will take less time to note an idea. Even we can invent our own abbreviations. If the speech is about concepts that we can visualise easily, we can use drawings or symbols. However, if the speech is about abstract ideas, it would be advisable to have some symbols previously prepared to remember its meaning. Although if you have time, it will be better to write the word in order to not confuse it later, during the translation.

When I speak about concepts that we can visualise easily, I mean, for example, the environment. Specifically, in the university we have translated speeches about climate change. In the next image, you can see some of my notes.

Some idea of the speech's topic?

Now I show you the meaning of my notes. Obviously there are only main ideas of the speech, that later will be completed with ideas that I don't have written, but I remember.

Every interpreter can use his own notes, because the important thing is that, once the speech have finished, he could understand it to make a correct interpretation. In addition, the notes must be a support, a reminder, and not the opposite. Sometimes we don't understand our own notes (because we have written it quickly or because it is a new concept that we have written fast and then we don't remember it) and that can damage our interpretation. Like other types of interpretation, the consecutive interpretation requires a lot of practice.

Interpretation (IV): sight translation

Sight translation is a interpretation modality, in which the interpreter reads a text in a foreign language and he translates it whilst reading. This kind of interpretation is similar to the simultaneous interpretation, but in this case there isn't a speaker who speaks in another language not even is necessary a booth, because the interpreter translates directly facing the interested people in the text's content.

Although its name is “sight translation”, it isn't a translation properly speaking, because the information in the target language it isn't written, but it is transmitted orally. 

Interpretation (III): simultaneous

Good evening!

Today I'm going to speak about simultaneous interpretation, after speaking, a few weeks ago, about liaison interpreting and relay.

Simultaneous interpretation is the oral translation, which is performed at the same time that the speech in the original language. For this type of interpretation it is necessary a cabin, from which the interpreter listens to the speaker through headphones and while he's listening, he translates at the same time. The audience who don't understand the original language can hear the translation through headphones. The interpreter must wait a short time to listen to the speaker and the to star the translation, but not to much time, because the speaker will continue with the speech and it is important that the interpreter don't lose the thread. This gap is known as décalage.

The reason that I speak today about simultaneous interpretation is because yesterday took place at the University of Alicante the conference Terrorismo ayer y hoy: el desatino de la Fracción del Ejército Rojo en la Alemania de los años 70 (Terrorism yesterday and today: the mistake of the Red Army Faction in Germany in the 70s) Our teacher and the students of the subject Interpretation (III) gave speeches in German, while other students did simultaneous interpretation into Spanish. Myself gave a speech in German and I interpreted another one into Spanish. 

This was the interpretation cabin where we interpreted. As you can see, we were behind the audience and we listened to the speaker thought those headphones. The speaker spoke from the table that you can see at the bottom, and the audience could hear the interpretation in Spanish.

Each situation is different and every place have a different equipment. But this way you can see how it is a simultaneous interpretation and what it is necessary to make it possible. I hope you like it and hopefully also get you close to this fascinating world.

Optical Reader app: translation of words

¡Hello!

Today I want to talk you about an app that I have discovered recently in my mobile phone: Optical Reader. This app allows you to capture text and scan QR codes through the viewfinder of the camera.

The reason to explain you how it works, it is because the app includes an option, in which you can activate dictionaries and choose the source language and the target language. If the app detects a word, it will translate it. In the next video you will see it clearly:

However, the app don't detect the sentences, the syntax or the combination of words, but every word separately. In the following video, I show you the fragment of a instructions manual in English, in which appears the term “power cord”, that it will be translated “cable de alimentación” in Spanish. For this example, I show you another option that the program offers: a screen capture of the text, in which all the words are detected and translated.

If we suppose that a person who don't understand English uses this app, he could think that, if we join the translation of both words, “power cord” means “cuerda de poder” (in English can be something like “power string”, literally). The word “cord” in Spanish has several meanings and this fact complicate the effectiveness. Maybe it will be easy to realize that in Spanish this translation is not correct, but if the language combination were different, maybe we don't knew what is the real meaning.

All this kind of apps can be very useful, but we must distinguish what is its real function. Optical Reader translates word, but don't make translations.

Interpretation (II): relay

Good afternoon!

Today I'm going to talk about the relay interpretation. This type of interpretation is used when there isn't an interpreter who can translate from the source language into the target language.

For example, we suppose that there is a conference in Germany, where a Japanese company wants to sell its products. The speaker only speaks Japanese, the audience only understand German and it is not possible the intervention of an interpreter with the language combination Japanese-German. In this case, it could participate two interpreters: the first one could make an interpretation from Japanese into English, and the second one could make another interpretation from English into German. In this example, the relay language is English.

In this type of interpretation it is important to consider that is not a direct interpretation from the original speech, but is an interpretation of the relay language interpretation.

Interpretation (I): liaison

If you like science fiction and you have seen the Star Wars films, you will know who's the character in the picture.

It's C-3PO, a protocol robot who claims to know more than 6 million forms of communication. In the films he's an interpreter between characters who speak different languages of the galaxy.

And that's what I'm going to talk about today. The interpretation is oral translation and there are different types: sight translation, whispered intepretation, relay, simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation and liaison interpreting. It's the last one which makes C-3PO in Star Wars, and I had also the opportunity to practise this type of interpretation in the practice for the university.

Liaison interpreting is a modality that involves oral translation between two or more people who don't speak the same language. It's usually the translation of conversations, short fragments are translated into one language (it can be the mother tongue of the interpreter or direct translation) and into the foreign language (inverse translation). In my case, I did my practices in a hospital with a large number of foreign patients, so I translated the patient's symptoms to the doctor in Spanish, and the questions and answers of him, or treatments, among other things, to the patient in another language, in English or German.

In this type of translation, the interpreter has a essencial role, because he's between two people who don't understand and he should give them voice. It's a task that requires, not only knowledge of the languages that are speaking, but of the subject, because the interpreter must transmit the conversation in the proper way, in order that nobody had a lack of information.

The interpretation is not easy, as if it was installed in the brain and we already could be interpreters (as in the case of C-3PO). It requires a lot of practice, concentration, sensitivity and knowledge of the subject.

Volvo Ocean Race experience

Hello!

I take advantage of the moment, because today begins the 4th leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Sanya (China) to Auckland (New Zealand), to speak of this international event that I was lucky to be part of.

For those who don't know about it, the Volvo Ocean Race is the round the world race. This latest edition began last October in Alicante, where I was a volunteer. Seven teams travel the world from port to port only with the help of the wind and his expert handling of boats Volvo Ocean 65. The teams are:

- Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing

- Dongfeng Race Team

- MAPFRE

- Team Brunel

- Team Alvimedica

- Team SCA

- Team Vestas Wind

The reason to speak about the event in this blog is its international character and the necessary management of languages and translation and interpretation.

The Volvo Ocean Race gather, not only the employees who work there, who come from different parts of the world, but also tourists and sailing enthusiasts. I personally had the opportunity to practice languages, especially English, with workers and visitors. Although I didn't make any translation work, I know that behind this event it was a team of translation to help every visitor to be a part of it.

The slogan Back to the sea has a corresponding Spanish version “Volvemos al mar”. And the same with billboards, information of the Race Village and the agenda of its activities, visits to the museum...

The Volvo Ocean Race experience was great to meet people, to learn to work together, to be part of such an important and globally event, and of course to understand the importance of translation and interpretation that makes it possible.

Here you have the link to the official website of the Volvo Ocean Race, in case you want to know how is going the competition. 

Okular: how to work on PDF documents

Okular is a document viewer. The specific utility that I want to show you is that thanks to Okular you can work on documents in PDF format.

If you usually work with Linux, you can find the program and install it in the Software Manager.

Once you have installed the program, when you open it, you will see the following screen.

Now you can open the file that you want to work in clicking on "file" and looking for the document in your folder. I chose a legal translation text that talks about marriage contracts in German. This is an exercise that can be very helpful for translators, for example, to mark and remove vocabulary of a text and make notes or marks that later will help you for the translation.

In the top menu "tools" you will find the "review" function. When you press it, it will appear some tables on the left side of the document, that you have to select to make different marks on the text.

Among the functions that you can use, you can add notes to the document, highlight text and replace text, make freehand marks, underline text or make straight and different ways marks.