Translation Both Ways: Gaeilge and English

Carrying meaning across languages

Translation is the skill of taking what a text means in one language and expressing it in another. It sounds like swapping each word for another word, but that is exactly the trap. Languages do not line up one word to one word: they order their words differently, and they carry idioms, which are phrases whose meaning is not the sum of their words. Irish, for example, often places the verb first, where English would not. So a good translation is faithful to the meaning and natural in the new language at the same time. In this exam you translate both ways, from Irish into English and from English into Irish, and each direction has its own focus. This module teaches the principles of translating well: meaning over words, handling idiom and word order, and staying accurate.

Translation words

Learn these terms before the strategies are compared. They name what translation moves between and the traps along the way.

Match each translation term to its meaning

Word-for-word against meaning

There are two ways to approach a translation, and only one of them reliably works.

Which translation is better?

The Irish phrase go raibh maith agat is made of several words but means thank you. What is the best way to translate it into English?

• As thank you, which is its real meaning
• Word by word, whatever that produces
• Leave it in Irish and move on
• Swap in a different unrelated phrase

Translate the meaning, not the words

The most common translation mistake is going word by word. Languages do not line up one word to one word: they order their words differently, and they carry idioms that mean nothing if translated literally. So work in three moves. First, read the whole source sentence and be sure you understand what it means. Second, say that meaning naturally in the target language, changing the word order as needed so it does not sound foreign. Third, check that nothing has been added or lost, that the tense and number still match, and that any idiom has become its real meaning rather than its literal words. A good translation is faithful to the meaning and natural in the target language at once, and getting both is the whole skill.

Pick the good translation habits

Select every habit that helps you translate well.

• Understand the whole sentence first
• Keep the meaning even if the words change
• Turn idioms into their real meaning
• Translate strictly word by word
• Add extra details to sound better

Order how to translate a passage

Put the steps of translating a passage in a sensible order.

• Read the whole source passage for its meaning
• Work out any idioms and tricky phrases
• Express the meaning in the target language
• Adjust the word order so it reads naturally
• Check nothing is added, dropped or changed

Complete the translation facts

The language you translate from is the _____ language. The language you translate into is the _____ language. A phrase that does not translate word-for-word is an _____. The level of formality is the _____.

Tap the two signs of a weak translation

Tap the TWO features that are signs of a weak translation.

• it was translated word by word
• an idiom was translated literally and makes no sense
• it reads naturally in the target language
• it keeps the same meaning as the source

A courier carrying a fragile parcel

Think of a courier trusted with a fragile parcel. The job is not to carry the exact box it came in; it is to deliver what is inside, undamaged, however the outer packaging has to change on the way. Translation is the same. You are not asked to carry the exact words across; you are asked to deliver the meaning intact, and the words, their order, even how many there are, may all change so that the meaning arrives whole in the new language. Judge a translation the way you would judge a delivery: did the thing that mattered arrive safely, and does it look right at the other end? If yes, the translation has done its job.

The translation run

Answer each one correctly to keep your lives. Choose the best answer.

Fix each translation

Read each situation and choose the best answer.

• A student translates an Irish idiom word by word, and the English makes no sense. What went wrong?
• Translating into English, the word order sounds foreign. What should the student do?
• Translating into Irish, the meaning is right but the grammar is careless. What matters most here?

Build a translation rule

Choose the word for each gap to complete one rule of good translation.

Explain how to translate well

A friend thinks translation just means swapping each word for another. Using what you have learned, explain how to translate well between Gaeilge and English.

• Explain why word-for-word translation often fails
• Explain what to do with an idiom
• Explain how word order can differ between the languages
• Explain how to keep the meaning without adding or dropping anything
• Explain what matters most when translating into Gaeilge