what are some of the challenges that occur when translating one language to another?

Answer 1

Besides the obvious differences in grammar rules (which can be frustrating), colloquial language/slang is very common in all languages and can not be translated word for word (sometimes at all). Many times, even though it is bothersome, the way to get the best translation is to paraphrase or find expressions/idioms that don't say the same words but relay the same message.

Answer 2

The biggest challenge is to stay away from literal translations, because some words when translated literally dont mean the same when used in the context it is being used. Also the order of the words, in one language the grammatical order may be different that in another. Finally the lack of a meaning for a word used in one language versus another, some words have no translation. This makes for a difficult challenge because no matter the way you try to phrase it it has no translation and should not be attempted.

Answer 3

Differences in shades of meaning; attempting to translate the "sense" of the word or phrase instead of how it literally means (most prominent example of this is the troubles of translating poetry).

For example, get a good English-language thesaurus and look through it. If your native language is English, you can likely pick out different shades of meaning, different connotations, in the words - or some that just have a particular effect, even though all of the words for an entry are supposed to "mean" the same or similar enough. Compound this three powers (English-English; $language-$language; and then finally English -> the target language you're translating to) and you get an idea of some of the challenges.

Also, in some languages there are formality levels to worry about, as well as pronouns (some languages don't use pronouns; some have particles that convey the relationship of one word in the sentence to another). In nearly all languages you have conjugation of some sort, as well (Latin is an extreme example of this).

Answer 4

It is hard to translate local colloquialisms as others have mentioned. But there are times when you think you have properly translated the literal meaning but its easy to misunderstand. For example Heidegger writes in German about "menschsein".. which translated technically into "human being"... but it means more literally "the act of being human".. a small difference, perhaps. But when talking philosophy it becomes a HUGE difference in interpretation.
This is why I personally think the Bible may have had things lost in the literal translations over the thousand or so years. So just beware that not everything is able to be translated literally.

Answer 5

- tranlating slang,
- emphazising th subject of every sentence,
- using the proper words to make sense and communicate the message clearly,
- reproducing the text or contenct without altering the real meaning of the words,
- finding the proper words to translate the text of concern,
- the most difficult challange is to translate without losing the tone of the original text.
- using proper grammar rules.

Hope this help, why are you interested to know about the challenges?
Take care

Answer 6

You can't always translate literally. For example in english one would say " to pull your leg ", but in Spanish they say " tomar el pelo " which translated literally would mean " to take or to catch the hair ", but means the same as pull your leg in English.

Answer 7

Missing the actual message by not having the emphasis on the subject.

Answer 8

- false cognates
- slang and/or expressions
- words that cannot literally be translated
- letters and/or words that do not sound as they are written

Answer 9

some words do not have direct translations i.e hospital to german is krankenhaus, which would literally translate into sick house, or house for the sick