Embedded Files
Real life Examples: See for Yourself Whether a Professional Translation Is Worth It
Real life Examples: See for Yourself Whether a Professional Translation Is Worth It
Some of these mistakes might not seem like a big deal, but imagine an entire book full of them. It's death by a thousand papercuts. These "papercuts" add up quickly, becoming a constant distraction for your readers.
THE ORIGINAL
THE ORIGINAL
Mi scappò un sorriso e feci finta di niente.
OTHER TRANSLATION
OTHER TRANSLATION
A smile escaped me and I pretended nothing happened.
MY TRANSLATION
MY TRANSLATION
I cracked a smile and pretended not to notice.
previous example
Comments:
We would never say "a smile escaped me" in English except in maybe a more poetic or highly literary context. Given the casual and lighthearted tone of this passage, this phrase is a bit jarring.
There are many ways to translate "fare finta di niente" depending on the context. Here the narrator is simply pretending not to notice that a child is making a mess while he is talking to someone else. To say "pretended nothing happened" implies that some bigger, specific event took place, which would leave the reader confused.
next example
Note: "Other Translations" in this series are taken from real translations, whether by AI tools such as ChatGPT or DeepL, or human translators.
If you find the posts from my "From Garbled to Graceful" series to be helpful, you can receive the new posts by email. I'll send them to you once or twice a month and you can unsubscribe whenever you'd like. Subscribe here!
Let's connect!
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse