Guest Post by Carmen Marra
Anybody with an understanding of the translation field and of what the
translating process implies, is well aware of the difficulties which are to be
faced when trying to translate idioms. Translating means not only reading and
understanding the literal meaning of the words of the source language, but also
trying to convey a meaningful message. Behind every national language and every
single country, there is a different culture
and that is the reason why most of the times it is impossible to
translate word by word, especially when it comes to idioms.
Idioms are very
complex expressions and this makes them especially difficult to translate into
another language as they do not necessarily have an equivalent. Like metaphors,
idioms are phrases which have cultural meaning independent of the words that
make them up. There is nothing in the words per se that conveys the meaning,
but instead it is based on a certain cultural knowledge shared by some people.
As idioms are culture-bound, they are specific to a particular culture and background
and their meaning is always more metaphorical than literal. You therefore need to understand what idea the
idiom carries in order to find the closest equivalent in the target language.
So, how do you translate idioms?
Unfortunately there is not a universal rule, but using a good dictionary,
doing some research on internet or even better asking a native speaker could be
helpful. I am an Italian translator who specialises in Italian Translations and I am going to provide you with some examples
in both English and Italian.
Let’s take into consideration the English idiom “once in a blue moon”. It describes the idea of something which
happens very rarely. Before taking into
the account the possible Italian equivalent, let me explain shortly the origin
of this expression. After conducting some research on Internet, I found that
the “blue moon” expression with the ‘very rarely’ expression is old and it
dates back to medieval England.
Actually, very occasionally the moon appears to
be blue and this happens after a volcanic eruption, when the dust particles
diffract the red light, making the moon appear bluish. If I translated the
expression literally into Italian, people would probably look at me as if I was
crazy. The closest Italian idiom to the English one with the same meaning is “ad
ogni morte di papa” which makes reference to the death of the Pope. As Popes
usually stay in power for a long time, their death is an event which occurs
rarely.
Here are few more examples of English idioms and their closest
equivalents in Italian. I will also provide a literal translation, just to show
the differences as they are often amusing.
ENG: To knock on woods Literal
Translation Bussare sul legno
IT: Toccare ferro Literal
Translation To touch iron
ENG: To drink like a fish Literal Translation Bere
come un pesce
IT: Bere come una spugna Literal
translation To Drink like a sponge
ENG: To sleep like a log Literal
Translation Dormire come un tronco
IT: Dormire come un ghiro Literal
translation To sleep like a dormouse
As a conclusion, I would say that it is
impossible to translate idioms accurately without a good knowledge of the
cultural background they are linked to. It takes more than just to know words to be a real
linguist…
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