This is a post by my colleague Miguel Almeida. You can check his LinkedIn at the end of the post.
Translation is often invisible, and when it’s not, it’s usually — but not always — for the wrong reasons. When this happens, the consequences can range from hilarious to incredibly expensive. Enjoy.
Number 1: Centuries of a heavy head
“And when Moses came down from the mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord.” (Exodus 34:29 [DRA])
We can’t talk about translation visibility without mentioning this one. A translation that gave rise to interesting paintings and statues that you can still see at the San Pietro in Vincoli Church in Rome, Italy.
The culprit? The patron Saint of translators, St. Jerome, who translated the Bible from Hebrew into Latin. The original word “קרן” could mean, among other things, “ray” and “horn”. St. Jerome opted for the latter and, instead of radiating light, Moses grew horns.
But there are two sides to this story.
One side claims that it was a translation mistake and that St. Jerome should have gone with the “radiating light” idea. Others point out that, at the time, horns had no connection to the Devil and were, instead, associated with strength and authority and, hence, St. Jerome’s translation was intentional and perfectly accurate.
We will probably never know the original author’s intention when using that word, but a recent version of the Bible certainly favours the “radiated light” approach:
“As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” (Exodus 34:29 [NRSV])
Number 2: US$ 10,000,000 per word
Following the 2008 financial crisis, the banks’ reputation was in the gutter, but HSBC bank was not one to sit around and do nothing.
In 2009, HSBC opened its wallet and poured millions into a rebranding campaign. The gist of the new branding concept was: “Some of man’s greatest achievements have been achieved by one simple philosophy: assume nothing”.
Yes, that’s perfect! It will shift the focus from the recent past to a brighter future. It will inspire trust. It will lead to action. Except, it hit a brick wall. In certain countries, the encouraging, forward-looking slogan “assume nothing” was mistranslated to a lukewarm and uninspiring “do nothing”.
Realising it had just spent millions telling people to do absolutely nothing, HSBC bank launched another multi-million-dollar campaign to repair the damage. Fortunately, they’ve learned their lesson and now seem to be doing fine with “together we thrive” – correctly translated, of course.
Number 3: The butterfly effect
Every time there’s a hiccup in the stock market, one of Jeff Bezos’ billions evaporates. Marketplaces like the stock market or the foreign exchange (Forex) market are unpredictable, volatile and prone to a variety of influences. Here’s a perfect example of the butterfly effect and how a simple translation shook up this trillion-dollar industry.
In 2005, a reporter from the China News Service wrote a speculative piece on the impact of an appreciation of the Chinese currency. What she didn’t know was that her article would spark frenzied billion-dollar trades.
People’s Daily Online (an official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party), translated that speculative article into English. The translation stated, in an authoritative tone, that China had decided to revalue its currency. What followed were chaotic market movements, concerned calls and panic around the globe. Traders frantically bought Asian currency, the dollar plummeted, and investigations ensued until the misunderstanding was uncovered.
A simple change in tone was enough to move billions, devalue an omnipresent currency, and send ripples throughout the world.
Number 4: Scared Poles, fleeing presidents and confused interpreters
The cold war was in the air, and the recently-elected United States president Jimmy Carter decided to “warm up” the diplomatic relationship with Poland, but his interpreter, Steven Seymour, took it a little too far.
President Carter opened his speech with the usual “I am glad to be here”, but his interpreter—whose first and second languages were not Polish—announced that the President had abandoned the United States and there was no turning back.
The confused looks from the audience turned into shock as the interpreter revealed that Jimmy Carter was happy to grasp at Poland’s genitals. And, to top it off, as the President smiled saying that wanted to know more about the desires of the Polish, Mr Seymour said that Jimmy Carter was sexually attracted to them.
And this was how, by the end of the speech, all the might of the United States, the diplomatic etiquette of a presidential visit and the hours spent preparing the perfect speech were reduced to a single thought in the minds of all those Poles: The United States president is a pervert looking for asylum in our country.
Thank you for reading. And don’t lose hope – translations can be visible for the right reasons too, but we will explore that another time. Until then, better to be safe than sorry. Next time you need translation or interpretation services, don’t wing it! 😉
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