News from JMS
Welcome to our blog, where we plan to feature news, views and translation clues. Things like: did you know that English cats say ‘meow’, German moggies ‘miau’, French felines ‘miaou’, and Spanish Siamese ‘miau’. Pause for thought…
The Word on JMS Street
Translating is part service industry, part manufacturing. Translators produce words. Words that sell – either themselves or a product, such as a book. But they need to be the right words and that is where the skill comes in. The hard bit (and we are now pretty good at that) is finding the right word or combination of words, the right slogan or sentence, the right paraphrase or paragraph. It’s an art and a craft, and there are lots of traps and pitfalls along the way. The French have the best words for this part. Faux amis (false friends), double entendres (potentially embarrassing friends) and le mot juste (your best friend) and le mot du jour (like a daily special at a restaurant but you won’t have to eat your words).
Pause for thought indeed.
À bientôt…