How to translate
If
you wish to translate between English and Spanish in either direction there are
a few factors you need to keep in mind: the construction of the sentences, the
semantics of each word, the idioms in English and the “modismos” in Spanish.
You need to have available, and within reach, a few reference sources in both
languages. One thing that is highly recommended is to use a computer with a
word processing program. This will allow you to edit the text easily without
having to retype the whole document.
Let’s
assume you will be translating from English to Spanish. First you need to read
each paragraph and get a clear idea of what it tries to say or describe. Look
up any words that are not familiar to you and find the translation of each word
into Spanish. Make a note of each word and its translation. Change any sentence
that is not clear into its proper, correct grammar equivalent.
Translate
each sentence in the paragraph literally and without regard for the meaning,
you will be altering each sentence later when you start the editing process.
Make sure that you do use the proper gender and number. For example: make sure
you translate “the girl” to “la niña” and “the boys” to “los niños”. Do this for the whole document. You’ll end
up with a document in gibberish, but you’ll change that when you begin to edit.
Go
to the beginning of the translated document and start reading it. Change each
sentence in a way that will express a clear and meaningful thought.
Go
back to the beginning and read the document again. Make sure to note any
conflicts that become apparent. Check names, subjects, objects and make sure
they all match in the whole document.
Read
the translation again and make the proper grammar and punctuation
corrections.
The
above are some suggestions that might help you create a translation that is
faithful to the original meaning. Still, the best teacher one can have is
experience. After you accomplish a few translations the process will become
easier and quicker.
Peculiarities of the
Spanish Language
There
are many notable differences between these two languages. Spanish has seven
tenses and it uses number and gender in the pronouns, adjectives and adverbs. Spanish
is not based on usage, it is defined by the “Real Academia de la Lengua
Española”. Contrary to what you’ve been told there is only one Spanish and it
is actually titled “El Castellano” Any person with some level of education,
from any Spanish speaking country, will speak and understand it. The main
difference among Latin nations is in the nouns used to describe things. Each
Spanish speaking country has its own set of words to describe impersonal
articles, events, etc. The basic structure is maintained, though. Also, all the
verbs, pronouns, adjectives and the grammar are common to all.
If
you start analyzing the big words in Spanish, you’ll see that the English
equivalent is very similar. It’s in the small, daily usage vocabulary that we
find the biggest challenge. I’ve seen translations done by computer programs
and they leave much to be desired. One of the biggest problems with using these
programs is in semantics. You can use them if you’re aware of their inability
to handle semantics. Let me give you an example. I was recently working with a
clip art program that comes with a manual. It’s easy to tell that the
translations of the different categories of clip art in that manual were made
with a program. They translated “letters” as “cartas”. Now, you will say that
“letters” means “cartas” in Spanish and that is partly true, but it also means
“letras”, which is actually the semantic translation of “letters” in that
particular instance. Another, and very common mistake is to translate “cards”
as “cartas”. You will say again that “cards” does mean “cartas” in Spanish, but
it also means “tarjetas”. The point is that you have to be aware of the correct
context of each word.
Another
problem with Spanish is its punctuation. English has almost no punctuation.
Spanish has extreme rules of punctuation. The accents need to be always shown
wherever they are supposed to be, and the rules must be strictly followed.
Another
stumper in Spanish is the proper usage of verbs, articles and pronouns. Spanish
has three, yes, three auxiliary verbs. “Ser”,
“estar”, y “haber”. Ser y estar both mean “to be”. “The girl is pretty”
means “la niña es bonita”, not “la niña está bonita”. “The yard is very pretty”
means “el patio está muy bonito”, not “el patio es muy bonito”. “The man is
sick” means “el hombre está enfermo”, not “el hombre es enfermo”. “Haber” is
used mainly in the compound tenses. “He”, “has”, “había”, “habías, “hubiese”,
“hubiera” are some of the forms. There are many more.
I
guess you must be extremely confused by now, but that is the problem with
Spanish. The verb “estar” is used to define conditions and descriptions in
humans and in impersonal subjects. It gets even worse in other forms of the
auxiliary verbs. Now, keep in mind that these auxiliary verbs are irregular in
the extreme. The following table shows a comparison of the Present Indicative.
Pronoun Ser Estar
Yo soy estoy
Tu eres estás
El es está
Nosotros somos estamos
Ustedes
sois estáis
Ellos
son están
The
male gender has been used in the table, but keep in mind that the same applies
number of variations apply to the female gender. The only difference is in the
pronouns used that use number and gender.
To
further confuse the issue there is another peculiarity of English that will
make one stumble, and that is the fact that you can construct an adjective out
of a verb and vice versa. Spanish has
it’s own set of verbs, adjectives, etc. that are unchangeable. For example: how
does one translate uncharitable to Spanish? There is no such word.
Another
issue is the gerunds in English. “He was running” is a an incomplete thought.
We need additional information about the context of the words. Does it mean
that “he was running in the marathon race” or “he was running like a boy in the
meadow”? If we don’t have the rest of the information we are not able to
translate a proper meaning into Spanish. And even when we do have the
information we still are not sure. In the first case, was he running in the
marathon when something happened or was he running in the marathon race in
spite of advice to the contrary?. In this case we need to go to the complete
paragraph(s) and see in what context the words are used.
The
use of “like” is also of concern. I’m always reminded of that phrase “time
flies like an arrow” and the implications this phrase presents. Is it a type of
flies that like arrows, or do we need to check the speed of flight of flies in
the same manner we do with arrows, or is it that our perception of time is as fast
as that of the speed an arrow?
Peculiarities of the
English Language
The
hardest thing to translate from English is its idioms. This is a puzzlement to
most, except to those with a thorough understanding of the language. How does
one translate “it’s cool”, “we are here”, “get outta here”, “love”,
“short”, and many others? Here, in the
US, there is also the matter of region. The South, North, West, Midwest
inhabitants each speaks differently than each of the other ones. Each has its
own set of nouns and idioms that are only used their region. It’s the language
ethnicity of each region. How does one translate “wanna”, “gimmie”, etc.?
Australians, English and all the English colonies have their own set of words
that it’s ethnic to them. Even in the UK there are sections of the country that
speak quite differently and with it’s own set of terms. The Irish, the Scots,
the Cockneys and others even have their own individual phonetics. We
translators are lucky because we don’t deal with the nuances of the spoken
English. We only need to worry about the written English. Still, each of the
regions mentioned has its own set of idioms and terms.
English
has another peculiarity which is an obstacle to creating a proper translation
to Spanish. That is, the fact that you can construct adjectives, verbs and
other structures from each other. For example: green is a color and by that
token an adjective, but in “the
greening of America” it is a gerund, that is, a verb.
Gerunds
are very common in English. “He’s shaving, she’s bathing, they’re dining,
everyone is having fun” are some uses of gerunds. Using gerunds make the
sentences passive, and although the object is not used, the meaning is clear.
Using the object in the sentence will change the meaning, for example: “he’s
shaving his legs, she’s bathing the dog, they’re dining in the hall, everyone
is having fun in the office”. That way we get additional information that help
us grasp the intention of the sentence.
Check out the Book of Literary Faults by Ambrose Bierce (link in the main page).