| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] > | Off topic: The most infuriating word to translate from your source language(s) Thread poster: Deborah do Carmo
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It's on the list of MIRIAMs mentioned by Giles, and (along with intervento, also on the list) it's my most-loathed word in Italian (at least when I have to translate the damn thing!)
It means, more or less:
to develop
to increase the value of
to increase the prestige of
enhance the status of
increase the standing of
enhance the image of
to value
(waste) to recover
set value on
enhance
harness
adding or ma... See more It's on the list of MIRIAMs mentioned by Giles, and (along with intervento, also on the list) it's my most-loathed word in Italian (at least when I have to translate the damn thing!)
It means, more or less:
to develop
to increase the value of
to increase the prestige of
enhance the status of
increase the standing of
enhance the image of
to value
(waste) to recover
set value on
enhance
harness
adding or maximizing value
realize
make the most of
Actually, it means all of those and then some. It's a total bugger. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Heinrich Pesch 
Finland
Local time: 07:34
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
and many other English words.
Heinrich
| | | | Deborah do Carmo
Portugal
Local time: 05:34
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Ditto in PT - valorizar | Jul 26, 2007 |
Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote:
It's on the list of MIRIAMs mentioned by Giles, and (along with intervento, also on the list) it's my most-loathed word in Italian (at least when I have to translate the damn thing!)
It means, more or less:
to develop
to increase the value of
to increase the prestige of
enhance the status of
increase the standing of
enhance the image of
to value
(waste) to recover
set value on
enhance
harness
adding or maximizing value
realize
make the most of
Actually, it means all of those and then some. It's a total bugger.
.... and depending how it's used bugger is the understatement of the year
Lovely list of possible solutions, I'm sure many Romance language translators will benefit from it. Thanks for sharing !
Thanks Giles too - again many similar terms on your list crop up in PT
[Edited at 2007-07-26 09:32]
| | | | | I can't take credit for it | Jul 26, 2007 |
Lawyer-Linguist wrote: Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote:
Actually, it means all of those and then some. It's a total bugger. .... and depending how it's used bugger is the understatement of the year Lovely list of possible solutions, I'm sure many Romance language translators will benefit from it. Thanks for sharing ! Thanks Giles too - again many similar terms on your list crop up in PT
Apart from the last definition, which I added myself, the list is lifted straight from Giles' link, which I've been using for a couple of years and is invaluable.
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Jon O (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:34
Dutch to English
+ ...
'zaak/zaken' can be a real pain sometimes..
Others include 'verrekening' , 'realiseren'...
I'm sure i'll think of more
[Edited at 2007-07-26 10:25]
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it seems that "performance" is a real global problem
| | | | Claire Cox
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:34
French to English
+ ...
Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote:
It's on the list of MIRIAMs mentioned by Giles, and (along with intervento, also on the list) it's my most-loathed word in Italian (at least when I have to translate the damn thing!)
Snap - but in French! "Valoriser" is just one of those words which French authors love and it always seems to mean something slightly different - it's the bane of my life! I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of them off-hand
| | | | Deborah do Carmo
Portugal
Local time: 05:34
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | THAT word ... | Jul 26, 2007 |
Claire Cox wrote:
Snap - but in French! "Valoriser" is just one of those words which French authors love and it always seems to mean something slightly different - it's the bane of my life! I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of them off-hand
So we just need a Spanish to English (and possibly a Romanian to English) colleague now to confirm and this word, in its different variants, will go down in history as one of the most loathed in all the Romance languages
Will be interesting to see which others overlap.
[Edited at 2007-07-26 12:27]
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is one of the German "words" that are hard to translate into English...
It can be continous(ly), continual(ly) permanent(ly), notorious, constant(ly), ongoing, always, all the time, to name just a few...
| | | | juvera
Local time: 05:34
English to Hungarian
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| A slightly different problem | Jul 26, 2007 |
This one is a "Virillom"... a Very Irritating Illogical Mannerism
The Hungarian word "illetve" means: to be precise, or rather, and/or (together, as it is written here), concerning, respectively.
For some unfathomable reason, the word became fashionable.
My impression is, that people wanting to sound more distinguished but don't know any better, got into the habit of using it at every opportunity, particularly in official documents. Some sentences contain ... See more This one is a "Virillom"... a Very Irritating Illogical Mannerism
The Hungarian word "illetve" means: to be precise, or rather, and/or (together, as it is written here), concerning, respectively.
For some unfathomable reason, the word became fashionable.
My impression is, that people wanting to sound more distinguished but don't know any better, got into the habit of using it at every opportunity, particularly in official documents. Some sentences contain it two or three times, because they use it instead of "and" and equally, instead of "or", but hardly ever for what it really means.
Alternately, I heard it on a TV cookery demonstration.
It sounds exactly like this: "Add a little salt and respectively pepper." I beg your pardon!
I often hear meteorological reports, where every other word is "illetve", and it is painful to listen to.
In translation the difficulty is to decide what the writer actually means, is it "respectively", could it be "or"; does it means "and", (that is usually the case), or do they actually mean and/or?
If it is a simple "and", why the h*** cannot they write AND?
It really makes me furious, and I frequently have to write a footnote or sometimes even a disclaimer to cover my back. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Steven Capsuto
United States
Local time: 00:34
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
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| More about "constipado" | Jul 26, 2007 |
Jack Doughty wrote:
In Spanish: suffering from a cold.
In English & French (constipated, constipé) unable to defecate
This is doubly challenging since the English/French definition is also the most common meaning of "constipado" in certain Spanish-speaking countries, so you have to figure out which meaning is intended through context.
| | | | Seamus Moran
Ireland
Local time: 05:34
German to English
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| There are a lot of them in German | Jul 26, 2007 |
One that annoys me is "gezielt" - that's what cropping up in my present translation. I'm almost talking to the word, saying "not you again".
Another word foe is:
"dabei" - it has so many different meanings and it really isn't that important as a word
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Irene N
United States
Local time: 23:34
English to Russian
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| Due diligence | Jul 26, 2007 |
It sounds so incredibly stupid in Russian... Unless adressed to the reform school students:-)
Re perevodchik:
In proper Russian it takes 2 words, literally "oral translator" and "written translator" but in generic text, even in the media when you need to say "there have been 3 perevodchik(a)" assigned to the conference", president brought his own perevodchik etc.", you won't add a specification, it is sort of assumed.
We have our own jargon - ustnik (from ... See more It sounds so incredibly stupid in Russian... Unless adressed to the reform school students:-)
Re perevodchik:
In proper Russian it takes 2 words, literally "oral translator" and "written translator" but in generic text, even in the media when you need to say "there have been 3 perevodchik(a)" assigned to the conference", president brought his own perevodchik etc.", you won't add a specification, it is sort of assumed.
We have our own jargon - ustnik (from ustny - oral), syncronist for simo-trained, and just perevodchik, whom or about whom you then ask if h/h does one, or another, or both.
I understand that "written" sounds awkward but in this particular case the same adjective is used in Russian to describe a written text and someone who does (written) translation.
[Edited at 2007-07-26 13:14] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Daniel Bird
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:34
German to English
... nearly always gets me scratching my head (a little like "dabei" above)
D
| | | | | Travaux - another headache | Jul 26, 2007 |
Hilde Granlund wrote: is another headache-inducer, that's right. 
Would you believe - for me "travaux" (or "obras") and "métier" give me headaches - yes, of course, I know what they *mean*, but referring to construction, it sounds wrong to me to call them "works" and "work" doesn't convey the magnitude. I sometimes resort to "project" and "operations". And "métier" - trade? not exactly "profession" - oh hell!
At the moment I'm having a problem with "bourgeois" too. The word exists in English, of course, but with all sorts of pejorative overtones - townspeople, perhaps? Same with "paysan" - we don't (did we ever?) have peasants in England - it conveys Morris dancing and general tweeness. Same with "artisanal" - craft-related? Oh, hell again ...
Love,
Jenny.
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