The Meaning of Morfar

Published on January 24, 2012 in Languages, Latinos, Lunfardo, Spanish Language and Spanish Translation. 0 Comments

Argentine Spanish is strewn with words and colorful phrases from Lunfardo, a rich vocabulary born on the streets of Buenos Aires in the second half of the 19th century. Now considered a fixture of the Spanish language in Argentina (especially in and around Buenos Aires) and Uruguay, linguists cite the use of Lunfardo as a defining characteristic of the Rioplatense dialect. Add a dash of Argentine flavor to your Spanish vocabulary with the Transpanish blog’s ongoing feature highlighting some of the most frequently used terms in Lunfardo.

In Lunfardo, the word “morfar” means to eat, especially in a hearty, voracious or gluttonous manner. Other possible informal English translations of the word include to get some grub, to get some chow, to chow down, to devour, to wolf down, to gobble (down) and to scarf (down).

In soccer (football) slang, morfar can also be used to indicate that a player hogs the ball.

It’s said that the verb “morfar” stemmed from the French slang word “morfer” meaning—not surprisingly—to eat, although it’s highly likely that both the French and Lunfardo terms arose from the Italian dialect word “morfa,” meaning mouth.

Related words in Lunfardo:
noun morfi: food, grub, chow
noun morfón: glutton, pig, hog

Usage example: Ese chabón es un morfón, se queda con la pelota. // That guy’s a ball hog. He keeps the ball for himself. (He never passes the ball.)

Éstos van en limusina y no tienen para morfar. // These guys ride around in a limo, but they’ve got nothing to eat.

The song Yira yira by the popular 90s Argentine rock band Los Piojos features the word “morfar” in the lyrics.

Cuando rajés los tamangos
buscando ese mango
que te haga morfar
la indiferencia del mundo
que es sordo y es mudo
recién sentirás.

Verás que todo es mentira
verás que nada es amor
que al mundo nada le importa
yira, yira…

Aunque te quiebre la vida
aunque te muerda un dolor
no esperes nunca una mano
ni una ayuda ni un favor.

The High Cost of a Bad Translation

Published on January 17, 2012 in Spanish Translation and Translation Buyers. 0 Comments

Pay now or pay later. In the world of translation, this saying certainly rings true. Some translation buyers—more concerned with the bottom line than with quality—look for the cheapest translation possible without considering the potential fallout from a translation done for a rock-bottom price. A poorly translated text could tarnish a company’s hard-won corporate image or negatively affect sales, but, in the worst-case scenario, a bad translation could lead to injury or even death.

Translation buyers wooed by low-budget translations don’t always realize that they’re likely sacrificing quality for price. Cheap translations are often performed by inexperienced or unqualified translators or those who hope to garner more clients by translating into languages other than their mother tongue. Some translation buyers bypass human translators altogether, opting to plug their text directly into online machine translation tools such as Google Translate. The results of translations by rookie translators, non-native translators and machine translation tools can be disastrous in certain situations.

The following types of translations require the utmost care and should never be left in the hands of a second-rate translator or a machine translation tool, as doing so could invite catastrophe:

  • Sales and marketing texts requiring both linguistic and cultural understanding
  • Patent translations or other technical literature where accuracy carries great importance
  • Medical and pharmaceutical texts, particularly when such information may mean a matter of life or death
  • Legal texts such as contracts, court orders, and wills, where any error in the text may have profound legal implications
  • Any text that represents the public face of your business or organization, including websites, brochures, manuals, etc.

Companies work tirelessly to cultivate a particular image, but the results of that hard work can evaporate quickly with just one major gaffe. Websites marketing products and services can’t afford to take a lax approach to linguistic blunders. According to an article published by BBC News, UK-based online entrepreneur Charles Duncombe found that “an analysis of website figures shows a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half.” It makes one stop to think about the potential impact of error-free yet awkwardly-expressed language, or text that flows and works well in one country and culture, such as Spain but not in others, such as Mexico or Argentina.

Inexperienced translators and machine translation tools also lack the ability to fine tune the text based on cultural nuances. The success or failure of a print ad or online marketing campaign rides on the text’s ability to connect with the target audience, and culturally inappropriate aspects of a translation will stick out like a sore thumb to native speakers. Regardless of the technological advances made, machine translation will never learn to pick up on the cultural undertones and subtleties at play in language. Jokes, idioms and wordplay are largely lost on tools such as Google Translate, which fail to capture the “flavor” of the text.

It’s worth mentioning that bad translations can have an impact on more than just the company’s bottom line. Inaccurately translated testimony in a court case could lead to an undeserved conviction; a translation error on a prescription drug label could have life-threatening consequences for a patient; and badly translated instructions in a machine manual could spell injury or death for a factory worker.

Businesses and organizations that prioritize their investment in a high quality translation of their documents, website, etc. project an image of professionalism and integrity, and they ensure the health and safety of those who rely on the company’s products or services.

STATS: English, Spanish and Portuguese on the Internet

Published on January 9, 2012 in English Language, Languages, Portuguese Language, Spanish Language, Tips for Translators and Translation Buyers. 1 Comment

English, Spanish and Portuguese comprise three of the top five languages on the Web. Let’s take a look at some statistics reflecting these languages’ influence on the Internet.

English

  • Number of native English-speaking users on the Web: 565.0 million (as of May 31, 2011)
    % of English-speaking Internet users with respect to total population of English speakers: 43.4%
  • User growth from 2000 to 2011: 301.4%
  • Percentage of total Internet users: 26.8% (Overall ranking among top 10 languages: #1)
  • % of websites available in English (as of December 31, 2011): 56.6%

Spanish

  • Number of native Spanish-speaking users on the Web: 165.0 million (as of May 31, 2011)
  • % of Spanish-speaking Internet users with respect to total population of Spanish speakers: 39.0%
  • User growth from 2000 to 2011: 807.4%
  • Percentage of total Internet users: 7.8% (Overall ranking among top 10 languages: #3)
  • % of websites available in Spanish (as of December 31, 2011): 4.6%

Portuguese

  • Number of native Portuguese-speaking users on the Web: 82.6 million (as of May 31, 2011)
  • % of Portuguese-speaking Internet users with respect to total population of Portuguese speakers: 32.5%
  • User growth from 2000 to 2011: 990.1%
  • Percentage of total Internet users: 3.9% (Overall ranking among top 10 languages: #5)
  • % of websites available in Portuguese (as of December 31, 2011): 2.0%

A quick analysis of the numbers points to the following facts that translation buyers should be aware of:

» Figures show that there’s still a great deal of room for growth among all three languages, in terms of the number of users and the amount of content available. Although English leads the charge as the “language of the Web,” not even half of all English speakers are on the ‘net, and Spanish and Portuguese lag even farther behind. As the economic outlook continues to improve in Latin America and Brazil, user growth among speakers of Spanish and Portuguese should be particularly strong.

» Despite an explosion in the number of Internet users among the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking populations over the last decade, access to content in those languages remains severely limited. Those businesses looking for a competitive edge will invest in translations of their web content into Spanish and/or Portuguese.

Statistical data courtesy of Internet World Stats and Wikipedia

More information on the English Language
More information on the Spanish Language
More information on the Portuguese Language

 

How to Handle Client Feedback about a Translation

Published on January 3, 2012 in Spanish Translation and Tips for Translators. 0 Comments

As the great Latin proverb reminds us, To err is human. Inevitably, there will come a time when – in your capacity as a professional translator – you will make a mistake. On the flip side, clients may demand changes to your translation or, worse, ask for a literal translation of the text, in which case maintaining the integrity of the translation while keeping your client happy may pose a significant challenge. Learning how to deal with clients in a diplomatic fashion in either of these scenarios is an important skill for translators.

When a mix-up, error or disagreement occurs, consider applying the following three rules:

1) Own up to the error;

2) Tell the client you’re sorry;

3) Try to make things right.

Additional points for dealing with client feedback:

» Never respond to a client in anger or frustration. It’s easy to fire off a nasty email or phone call when you’re in the heat of the moment. Take a few hours to collect yourself (or wait until the following day) before addressing the problem.

» Ask the client to point out the specific problem areas in the translation. It’s difficult to improve upon your work if the client doesn’t offer examples of quality issues.

Keep in mind that clients (even non-native speakers) who are well-read on the translation’s topic will likely have intimate knowledge of the vocabulary used within a particular field; in this case, the client’s feedback about terminology may well prove to be valuable. However, when the client insists on changes that badly mangle the translation, politely and gracefully point out that you’re a professional linguist, trained to craft natural-sounding, readable text for native speakers of your language. In situations where the client’s changes are stylistic and do not affect the quality/correctness of the translation, it may be best to bow to his or her preferences.

» Don’t take business issues personally. Stay calm and professional, and try to place yourself in the client’s shoes.

» In some cases, when you simply can’t see eye to eye with your client, the best course of action may be to part ways. Not all clients are a good fit.

Found in translation: 2011 a year of word acceptance for slang, social media

Published on December 27, 2011 in English Language and Languages. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Even in the realm of words, 2011 has been a revolutionary year.

Indeed, some words that originated in the spontaneous and unorthodox social media have been finally accepted by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which is by far the most formal dictionary of the English language.

So, slangy words like LOL and OMG are now enjoying the same privileges as businesslike initials that were accepted a long time ago, like FYI and ASAP. That is what I call a linguistic democracy.

The list of words recently accepted by OED, as of December, contains compound nouns that certainly reflect our current times. Take for instance “abatement notice,” “adaptive expectations,” “adult child,” “cyber-bully,” “worried well,” and “zero emission.”

Under the form cyber, the dictionary even listed “cyberfriend,” “cyberlover” and “cybersnob.” All these sorts of sidereal words explain the acceptance of another word also quite alien like “abhuman,” which means partially human. Then, next to “adultlike,” there is this other intriguing word “adulticide,” which I wrongly assumed as related to the killing of adults, by that I mean humans, but the dictionary defines it as “an agent used to kill the adult forms of a pest or parasite.”

This year’s linguistic openness has apparently brought 400 new words into the OED. As its chief editor John Simpson proudly announces, there are over 102,000 new and revised entries “and counting” since March 2000.

More spicy words like “sexting” and “mankini” have also been recently added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. However, I could not find them when I searched the online version of the OED.

What I did find is the addition of more Spanish words.

So, along with words already widely accepted in the English language, such as bonanza, corral, mucho, patio, sombrero, and torero (which my computer does not underline as I write them), new words have been added, like “abundante cautela” (extreme caution), “abuela” (grandmother) and “abuelo” (grandfather).

Curiously, two more words have been included only in their female form, such as “abuelita” (dear grandmother) and “gordita” (little fat woman).

Believe it or not, “gordita” is an affectionate nickname quite common in Latin American countries. Why? Well, food is not a stigma when hunger remains a social issue.

Among the 400 new entries of 2011, we also can find old words with new meanings. That is the case of “bruising,” “charger,” “speculate” and “warrant.”

I wonder when “occupy” will join this list of new senses. Without a doubt, this verb has lost all naivety after Occupy Wall Street and its different variations appeared this year in the urban American landscape.

By the way, there is a rural version of this movement in my own country. As I am writing this column, thousands of farmers in northern Peru are occupying a series of lakes in the Andes, at more than 12,000 feet above sea level, to defend their rights to water against a mining project.

Yes, 2011 has been a turbulent year with plenty of raised fists and even pepper sprays. But while claims and chants might come and go, some new words and meanings are here to stay.

Alessia Leathers is a Peruvian journalist and a published writer. She moved to Cape Coral in 2003.

 

Source: http://www.news-press.com/article/20111225/NEWS0101/312250030/Found-translation-2011-year-word-acceptance-slang-social-media?odyssey=mod%7cnewswell%7ctext%7c%7cs

Ten Keys to Success as a Freelance Translator

Published on December 15, 2011 in Spanish Translation and Tips for Translators. 0 Comments

The ultimate key to profitability for any freelance translator is to assemble a core group of steady clients who will keep you busy with quality projects. Follow these tips to find success.

1. Stick to deadlines

Clients need to know that they can rely on you to deliver a project on time. If you can’t meet the deadline for a project, don’t accept it.

2. Follow instructions

While you likely have your preferred way of doing things, if a client gives you specific instructions for a project, follow them. Clients will take notice and send more work your way.

3. Value your clients’ time

It’s important to clarify doubts about a project with the client; however, you should make an effort to keep emails or phone calls brief and on point. Respect your clients’ time as much as you respect your own.

4. Be easy to contact

If clients can’t contact you right away, they’ll simply get in touch with another translator. Place your full contact information in your email signature, and put an auto-responder on your email if you’ll be away from your desk.

5. Be friendly and accommodating

Go the extra mile for regular clients. Show your customers that you value their business.

6. Seek out constructive criticism

Request feedback about your translations from your regular clients to determine where changes to your work flow can be made.

7. Don’t take clients for granted

Freelance translators’ success lies firmly in the relationship with their regular customers. Consider a small gift for clients at the end of the year as a token of your appreciation.

8. Don’t quarrel

If a potential client offers you an extremely low rate for a translation, courteously decline the project. There’s no need for negative or insulting comments.

9. Refer colleagues

Don’t be afraid to recommend trustworthy colleagues who work in your language combination when you’re too busy to take on a project. You’ll get your client out of a jam, and colleagues will likely reciprocate when they find themselves in the same position.

10. Charge clients what you’re worth

Give clients a high level of service, and they’ll be willing to pay what you’re worth.

Tips for Organizing Translation Files

Published on December 5, 2011 in Spanish Translation and Tips for Translators. 0 Comments

Busy translators quickly accumulate a wealth of files that must be kept organized. Storing your translation files in a haphazard manner not only leads to frustration but can also have a negative impact on productivity. Kick off the New Year right by applying these tips to get your computer’s hard drive in order (and keep it that way!).

1. Create a specific folder for your translation files.

2. Apply a consistent method when naming files and folders, categorizing projects by agency name, dates, and/or word count.

3. Restrict the length of file names.

4. Maintain separate files for ongoing and completed projects.

5. Group similar projects together.

6. Create shortcuts instead of copies for documents that pertain to different folders.

7. Explore the possibility of storing files in the cloud.

8. Clean up files and folders on a regular basis.

Languages Create Opportunities for Understanding

Published on November 29, 2011 in English Language, Languages, Latinos and Spanish Language. 0 Comments

While learning two or even three languages at a young age is a given for many children in other parts of the world, most American children are never exposed to a second language, let alone a third. While the United States historically has opened its arms to immigrants and their unique cultures, in recent decades, attitudes have shifted to reflect a more nationalistic stance and close-minded view toward other cultures and their languages. Simultaneously, the English language has grown in prominence, and many Americans fail to see the importance of learning another language.

In fact, as recently as 2003, a Nebraska judge ordered a Hispanic father to speak English, rather than Spanish,  to his 5-year-old daughter or face a loss of visitation rights. This case clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of bilingualism and ignorance regarding the fact that speaking two or more languages clearly enriches a child’s life. As writer Sally Thomason notes, “The child’s welfare will be unaffected, except of course that she will miss a valuable opportunity to exercise her mind and enhance her humanity by learning a second language.”[1]

With regular, casual practice, a second language is not so hard to acquire—especially at a young age. Knowledge of a language other than our mother tongue exposes us to new information and provides a deeper understanding and awareness of different cultures. We also sharpen our cognitive abilities, as learning and speaking a foreign language engages our brain’s higher-level functions.

We’re doing our children a disservice by ignoring the importance of learning a second language and appreciating other cultures. Knowing another language opens our minds and creates opportunities for understanding. Thankfully, it’s never too late for the United States to start valuing and promoting the study of foreign languages.

For further discussion of this topic, visit Post Crescent.

Facebook’s Newest Machine Translation Tool Falls Flat

Published on November 15, 2011 in English Language, News, Spanish Translation and Translation Buyers. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Just in case you need more proof that most machine translation tools don’t quite cut the mustard, the latest attempt by social media giant Facebook to incorporate machine translation (MT) into its platform fails miserably with most languages.

In an effort to help pages connect better with their fan base—often found scattered across the globe—Facebook recently introduced machine translation, powered by Bing. With just one click, users can get an automatic translation of status updates and comments. Facebook plans to roll out this feature to all profiles (not just pages) in the near future.

There’s just one problem: most of the translations are unintelligible. Posts on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are rife with slang, and Bing’s machine translation tool simply isn’t up to task. An analysis of Bing’s performance by the site Lexiophiles shows that Bing only gets it right about 50% of the time, leaving users confused and, at worst, possibly misled by faulty translations. Interestingly, out of the ten languages tested, posts translated from Spanish to English fared worst of all, with less than 10% of the rendered text considered intelligible.

For greater accuracy, Facebook will also be implementing a feature that allows bilingual users to offer an alternative translation. If other users endorse the accuracy of the crowdsourced translation, it will take the place of Bing’s original translation the next time the “Translate” option is clicked. Page administrators will be able to manage crowdsourced translations through a “manage translations” link below the posts on pages they control.

One of the great arguments in favor of MT has always been that it can at least offer users a gist of the conversation when no other means of translation is available. It seems that, at least for now, Bing’s tool doesn’t even offer that to Facebook’s users.

Spanish in the United States: Second Language or Foreign Language?

Published on November 7, 2011 in Languages, Spanish Language and Translation Buyers. 2 Comments

Given the pervasive use of the Spanish language in the United States, some would argue that Spanish should no longer be considered a foreign language. With roughly 40 million people in the United States speaking Spanish, the language has permeated American society and deserves greater respect. As a highly visible and daily aspect of many Americans’ lives, Spanish has evolved into the United States’ second language rather than a foreign language.

Although English predominates within the nation’s corporate boardrooms, the halls of government and the court system, both corporate America and the government increasingly recognize the role of Spanish in the U.S. Companies now woo potential customers with Spanish language advertising and social media campaigns, the court system offers Spanish language interpreters for proceedings, and an office of the U.S. government’s General Services Administration (GSA) works to ensure the proper use of Spanish by federal agencies.

Spanish speakers in North America even have their own organization known as the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española — ANLE (North American Academy of the Spanish Language) to define Spanish language standards. Recognized as the authority regarding Spanish language use in the United States, ANLE works in conjunction with Gobierno USA, the U.S. government’s Spanish language portal, to ensure the correct usage of Spanish in all official communications by government entities. According to a member of ANLE, the federal government translates more documents into Spanish than any other minority language, highlighting its importance.

Just as Spanish speakers in other countries have their own particular idioms, the mix of cultures and “flavors” of Spanish combined with a strong influence by English has produced idioms unique to U.S. Spanish. ANLE is currently working to compile a list of these idioms for inclusion in a dictionary that captures the words and phrases unique to the Spanish spoken within the United States.

ANLE looks to standardize the usage of U.S. Spanish, which will pay off later with translations that are more faithful to the nuances found in American Spanish. It’s also important to highlight that Spanglish, an informal mix of Spanish and English, does not represent or define proper use of the Spanish language in the United States, although U.S. Spanish speakers have had a difficult time shedding this image.

A professor at the University of California at Berkeley sums up the debate about Spanish as a  foreign language versus a second language, like so: “Despite the quotidian presence of Spanish in the state of California, the voice of Spanish speaking Californians is strikingly absent from the Spanish I curriculum at UC Berkeley. …perhaps the reconceptualization of Spanish as a second language must start with students such as mine who expressed that their goals for Spanish were neither touristic nor global-economical, but immediately practical– they want to be able to communicate with individuals with whom they share a home state but not a means of communication.”[1]

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