Why translation is difficult

Asian languages, for example, have many words to describe feelings and sensations that are hard to translate into other languages using a single word. Whether you need to translate literature or medical content, each text comes with difficulties and requires specific language skills.

Choosing the right words depending on the context and the purpose of the content is an art that translators master over years of working in this industry.

Idioms, phrasal verbs, unique words, and humor are the most difficult to translate. But so are medical terms, industry-specific terminology, and jargon. You need context and research, as well as in-depth knowledge of the language pair, to keep the meaning of the original content and deliver it in an easy to read format in the target language.

Challenges in translation often arise from the multiple ways people use specific words to express concepts and ideas. Translating Idioms Idioms are linguistic expressions, specific to each language or culture.

The Calibration Dichotomous Items CDI method is one such assessment, based on the practice of calibrating segments of translation and norm-referenced assessments Eyckmans, Anckaert, and Segers As its name clears, CDI assumes the text segments dichotomously, i.

In order to identify text segments, discriminating power is the right option in CDI method. According to Lord and McDonald , discriminating power can be measured for all types of scores.

It means that the researcher compares the number of participants pilot study along with high test scorers who correctly answered the item with those of low scorers who correctly answered the same item as upper-lower index Lord CDI method does not institutionalize a time-saving process; hence, this method will be full-fledged utilizable in summative tests. PIE method is a system designed by Hendrik Kockaert and Winibert Segers which is highly suitable for summative assessment.

PIE method is based on the number of preselected items constrained in evaluation. To understand the function of PIE method in translation assessment, one has to be concerned about the role of multidimensional quality metrics MQM as a new framework for translation quality assessment Mariana, Cox, and Melby The remarkable traits of the intended paradigm are as follows: 1 it is an exhaustive paradigm for translation quality assessment; 2 all metrics in this paradigm draw on the same hierarchy of errors; 3 it is customizable to the needs of the user; and 4 each metric in this paradigm is related to some sets of specifications which are fundamental for elaborating on the standards of quality ibid.

As another point in translation evaluation, PIE method is also a calibrated and dichotomous method both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced. Therefore, the lower the p-docimology in translation evaluation, the higher confidence one has that the results did not occur haphazardly. To put it in another way, p-docimology alludes to the percentage of participants who answer the item correctly. If the high scorers on an individual item have the high total scores and if the low scorers have the low total scores, therefore, the item is discriminating in the same way as the total score.

In order that the item discrimination is to be useful, the item must correlate at least 0. In this direction, items having low correlation or negative correlation with the total score should be deleted due to the fact that they are not contributing to the measurement of the attitude ibid. In order to calculate the discrimination power of an item, two indices will be contributing: 1 discrimination index D and 2 discrimination coefficient.

Ebel argues that:. The discrimination index D is computed from equal sized high and low scoring groups on the test. Subtract the number of successes by the low group on the item from the number of successes by the high group, and then divide this difference by the size of the group. To summarise, the PIE method is an attempt at figuring out goals such as the ideal length of the source text number of the words , the ideal number of preselected items in the source language, the ideal p-docimology item difficulty 0.

According to Kockaert et al. Mental workload and the way to measure mental workload have become a sensitive and important issue in the field. Defining this term would not be the absolute license; however, there must also be some ways to measure it. Of many suggested techniques for measuring mental workload, there exist three categorizations for measuring workload as 1 physiological, 2 subjective, and 3 performance-based measures.

Physiological measures utilize the changes in the body to objectively measure the level of workload pertained to a task. Most research done in this area can be grouped into five areas measuring: 1 cardiac activity, 2 respiratory activity, 3 eye activity, 4 speech activity, and 5 brain activity Miller Cardiac activity can be measured through blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability.

Respiratory activity can be measured via respiratory rate and oxygen concentration. Eye activity is measured through interval of closure, eye blink, and horizontal eye movement HEM eye movement scanning for instrumental panel Hanking and Wilson According to Brenner et al.

However, three of the mentioned factors pitch, loudness, and rate are the most affected ones in speech measurement. So far, however, these two measures are not studied as extensively as possible.

In this direction, subjective measures are resilient for different people with different capabilities since it is related to ability, state, and attitude. Subjective measures can be grouped as 1 unidimensional and 2 multidimensional ratings. The former is considered as the simplest since it has no intricate analysis techniques. The latter is regarded as time consuming and has a complex rating with three to six dimensions De Waard MCH is utilized to measure cognitive and perceptual workload Wilson and Eggemeier According to Hart and Staveland , NASA-TLX utilizes six category dimensions to evaluate mental workload: 1 mental demand deciding, thinking, recalling, searching, etc.

Performance in the field of mental workload refers to the effectiveness of fulfilling a specific task Wilson and Eggemeier Primary and secondary measures are the assets to measure performance in mental workload. However, according to Yeh and Wickens , the assumption behind the primary and secondary measures is that people have constrained resources. In this respect, primary task performance refers to the capability of mental workload to perform the main task Rehmann Primary task performance can be utilized in the driving situations involving Time-to-Line crossing TLC and steering wheel movement De Waard The present article has scrutinized the sources of translation difficulty and the ways to measure them operationally.

However, there have so far been few theoretical studies in the field of translation difficulty. In this direction, the present research has shed light on measuring translation difficulty by classifying them into four groups as 1 the sources of translation difficulty, 2 the measurements of translation text readability, and 3 the measurement of translation difficulty by means of translation evaluation products such as holistic, analytic, CDI, and PIE methods, and lastly 4 the measurement of mental workload.

Importantly, PIE method by utilizing Televic-KU Leuven software TranslationQ paves the way for assessing translation difficulty systematically since it scrutinizes the items difficulty and index discrimination which are the most important factors in determining the difficulty of translation. Research in the field of translation difficulty can enhance the concentration of translation processes and can help considerably to our perception of translation as process-oriented in terms of the connection among the behavior of the translator, the characteristics of a text, and the quality of translation.

This research further contributes to and has implications for translation pedagogy and teaching, where translation difficulty should be carefully considered. Anckaert, Ph. Le Disez, W. Segers Eds. Le bon sens en traduction pp. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes. Search in Google Scholar. Ary, D. California: Wadsworth. Biber, D. Linguistics, 27 1 , 3— Blascovich, J. In: Lewis-Beck, M. Bryman, A.

Thousand Oaks, Calif. Bormuth, J. Reading Research Quarterly , 1, 79— Bowker, L. Meta , 46, 2. Brenner, M.

Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine, 65 1 , 21— Campbell, S. In: Anderman, G. Clevedon; Buffalo, N. Ceschin, A. PhD Thesis. Coleman, M. Journal of Applied Psychology , 60, — Conde, T. The Journal of Specialized Translation , Cruces, S.

Domingo Pujante Gonzalez et al. Valencia: Universitat de Valencia, — Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Dale, E and Chall, J. Educational Research Bulletin , 27, 11— Darwish, A. De Waard, D. University of Groningen: Groningen. Dragsted, B. Ebel, R. Ervin, S. Public Opinion Quarterly , 16 4 , — Eyckmans, J. Angelelli, H. Juggling anthropology and linguistics. Being both psychologist and writer.

False friends are these terms which, at first glance, get translated literally, but actually have very different meanings. In Britain, you are advised to visit a physician when you look pale, and not to buy a casket if you are suffering from sunstroke. Here are some things you can try, though: Do a comprehensive search online, and shortlist a few providers.

Get quotes from all of them and compare rates, experience and previous customer reviews. Strike a balance between the two, and come to a decision. Another things you could do is to use the same provider for all your translation work, so that you have more bargaining power.

TranslateDay provides Legal Documents Translation for all kinds documents. It has been able build an untarnishable trust with their prompt and accurate interpretation. It has become a fast rising player in the translation industry. Amazing Article..!!! Your details are very good. Template also very good, color matching is well. I will keep visiting your site often. This is a great article thanks for sharing this information.

Thank you so much for sharing these informative solutions with us. I would also like to thank you for sharing this informative content with us. I would like to thank you for sharing this amazing article with us.

The whole content was informative as you gave the solutions to the most common problems that are faced. I would thank you for sharing this article with us.

Thanks for sharing this article with us. The whole content was informative as you gave the solutions, it is very helpful for those who can face the same problem. These are the translation problems […]. This poses one of the most important problems for translators when translating these words. Here is an example: Almost a quarter of the population in the US does not […].

And this number is rapidly increasing thanks to the differences in delivery and pronunciation in local cultures around the […]. There are no universal rules that can be applied to every problem of translation. Translators may approach the same problem in two very different ways and still be able to solve it […]. Your email address will not be published.

Get your accurate translation now! Top 10 Translation Problems and Solutions April 10, Estimated reading time: 10 minutes Just as in every field, there are several translation problems in the translation industry ; some are faced by the translators, and some by the clients; while other ones may be considered structural problems because they pose a problem for translation itself.

Without further ado, this is our Top 10 on the major translation problems and their solutions: Table of Contents 1. Structure of the Language 2.

Cultural Differences 3. Compound Words 4. Verbs made up of two words 5. Missing Terms 6. Words with Several Meanings 7. Lack of Technical Knowledge 8. Limited Time 9. Personal Challenges Quality Vs Expense. Adoption Certified Translation Service Do you require adoption certified translation or adoption papers translated?