It just doesn't translate correctly!

Some English words just don't have an equivalent in another language! Translators have such a hard time when English speakers use a word that just does not exist in the native language.

I sat with five experienced Indonesian translators over lunch. These are the cream of the crop of translators from English to Indonesian and vice versa. They are fast and accurate when translating for speakers at seminars and conferences. One of them suddenly asked, "Hey, Indonesian translators. What is the Indonesian word for 'excellence'?" One replied immediately, "Unggul." A quick retort, "No. 'Excellence' is not 'perfect'." Then came a string of synonyms in Indonesian for the English word 'perfect'. The faces around the table showed frustration.

English speakers like to use this phrase:

We must be excellent because our God is an excellent God!

Completely impossible to translate into Indonesian! My Indonesian is far from perfect, but I can tell you that there is no equivalent word in Khmer either! What a headache!

I used to teach a lesson entitled "Excellence in the Workplace". The material was three pages long, but explaining the concepts took an hour or more. At the end of the class, I would just hope they got it. When you live in a culture where the general idea is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", then how do you instill in the young that mediocre just isn't acceptable? Language is the way to communicate, but sometimes language just fails us miserably.

Maybe body language or "show and tell" really is the way to go when communicating to someone of a different culture and language. Sometimes "show and tell" is best even in your own culture. My young Vietnamese friends were trying to explain the ring tab of a drink can to their Vietnamese classmate. After a few minutes, their friend was still puzzled as to what they were talking about. He thought they meant the cover of a canned drink (what's that?!). Finally, I showed him my small collection of ring tabs, and he understood immediately.

I love learning languages. I am far from being a polyglot. I am still learning to be more fluent in some of the languages I speak. The journey will go on until the end of my life. The more I learn, the more I find how limited our languages can be. One of those five translators around the table said, "You know, Indonesian is only one-third of English." We had a really good laugh when he said, "Lord, we thank You for your mercy, grace and compassion." While this prayer is common among English speakers, it is a nightmare for the one who is listening to his prayer being translated into Indonesian. You see, the word for "mercy", "grace" and "compassion" is generally the same: "kasih karunia". You can use "anugerah" or "kemurahan", but in general, "kasih karunia" will suffice for the general audience. So, the translator risks being labelled as "no good" when it is not his fault.

"Lost in translation" is a very real thing. However, it motivate us to learn more languages and learn them well, rather than make us throw up our hands in surrender. Being able to communicate in another language even at a basic level brings satisfaction that cannot be described.

Here's to learning a new language! Fun Language Tools