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The dangers of machine translation or translation by a non-specialist

If we have learned anything from our experience as providers of translation services, it is that “anything goes” is not a good look. How many times have we seen institutions, companies and organisations become a laughing stock when a bad translation went viral!

One example is Santander’s new tourism website, presented at the Fitur trade fair in 2018. The website had been translated into several languages using machine translation and so was full of errors. Social media were soon awash with put-downs and mockery of the translated site. Satirical memes spread like wildfire and by the time the authorities were ready to address the problem, it
was too late.

One of the most flagrant instances was the Centro Botín art centre, named after Marcelino Botín, founder of the Botín Foundation: in the English version it became the “Loot Centre”. Would tourists go to the Botín Centre to find out about piracy in Santander? Another howler was the nonsense translation “historic helmet” for the term “casco antiguo” (historic centre).

The new website caused such a stir that the Spanish Association of Translators, Proofreaders and Interpreters (ASETRAD) issued a statement: “it is full of literal translations that are either grammatically or syntactically incongruous, or plain nonsensical”. They added that “a native English speaker would never guess that the term ‘historic helmet’ referred to the old town, as a helmet is something you wear to protect your head. Another example of literal translation is the expression ‘a place of the most versatile’ (‘un lugar de lo más versátil’).”

Here is a link to the ASETRAD statement.

The Santander regional government said it had used Google Translate, rather than professional translators, for reasons of budget. We wonder whether the saving was worth all the trouble it caused.

A public embarrassment such as we have described can leave a lasting stain on a company’s reputation. Building and maintaining an image or brand that will inspire current and potential customers is like getting fit and staying fit: it takes a lot of hard work to reach a certain level, and then just maintaining that level requires constant effort. If you let your training schedule slip or suffer an injury, your level of fitness drops with alarming speed.

Translation errors in legal or economic texts

The only possible solution: translators who are subject matter experts

The irreparable damage done by a non-translation (because in our view a bad translation doesn’t count as a translation) is bad enough, but what if the error is in a legal or economic text and the consequences are far more serious? The English term “loss” is a good example of the problems facing the legal translator. It has many possible translations in Spanish; the choice will depend on the type of document and the context (insurance, accounts, contracts, etc.). Appreciating the relevant distinctions and choosing the correct term is beyond the capability of a person who has no knowledge of the law: no dictionary or glossary of legal terms can take the place of the expertise, in this case, of a lawyer.

To avoid this kind of error, at Translator L&F we have a team of translators who have extensive experience in the fields in which they translate. So a purchase and sale agreement will be translated and reviewed by a lawyer; a set of annual accounts, by a former bank employee; and so on. This makes complete sense, yet it is not a widespread practice in the market.

We explain in more detail here. For more information, or to order a translation without fear of surprises, contact our team.