Translation Comes in Many Different Forms

Today is #InternationalDayofTranslation ! But #translation comes in many different forms 🌈. Some are worth celebrating and some are not.

Just look at all the different compounds that can be made using the Japanese word for translation (訳) and you’ll see why.

❓ First of all, how do you say translation in Japanese?
🙋 Answer: 翻訳 (Translation)

The second Kanji (Chinese character) “訳” by itself means translation.
By adding another character as an adjective, you can cover a wide spectrum of different types of translations.

Here are some examples (with their opposites.)

直訳⇔意訳 direct translation ⇔ free translation
全訳（完訳）⇔抄訳 full translation ⇔ excerpt translation
正訳⇔異訳 authorized translation ⇔ alternative translation (of Buddhist scriptures)
粗訳（荒訳）⇔精訳 rough translation ⇔ precise translation
名訳⇔悪訳 good translation ⇔ poor translation
新訳⇔旧訳 new translation ⇔ old translation
未訳⇔既訳 not yet translated ⇔ existing translation                                      

To my great frustration, there seems to be more vocabulary to describe poor translations than there is to describe good ones, e.g.

👎
誤訳 wrong translation
駄訳 shabby translation
迷訳 confusing translation (translation being not exactly wrong but off the mark)
珍訳 peculiar translation (often one that makes you laugh)

But watch out. 😆 The following terms are tricky to use.

超訳 hyper translation (translations which outsmart their original texts for creativeness)妙訳 strange or funny translation (it can also be an exquisite translation, a bit like translation as an acquired taste).

♿ And don’t forget these in order to ensure information accessibility.

音訳 conversion of written text into audio (it can also mean transliteration, though)
点訳 Braille translation 🦯

📚 Translations of literature often come with the following compound words:

共訳 (co-authored translation), 対訳 (parallel text translation), 改訳 (revised translation), 重訳 (relay translation), 転訳 ([transculturally] transformed translation), 定訳 (orthodox translation), 翻案 (adaptation or #transcreation in our industry term)

Other unusual terms:
反訳 longhand transcription from shorthand notes
下訳 draft translation ... some translators like to include this production phase
拙訳 poor (humble) translation … but in highly sophisticated Japanese it can also be a figure of speech meaning “my (our) translation”

❗ 逆翻訳 back-translation … often created by cunning clients using Google Translate & Co. as a kind of half-baked quality control

Last but not least, there’s my range of services: 😉

#独訳 #German translation
#英訳 #English translation
#和訳 #Japanese translation

I wouldn’t claim that my translations are all-time classics (名訳) but you can be assured that my output is always 適訳 (appropriate translation)!

#InternationalDayofTranslation #TranslationServiceSArai