Mistranslations aren’t a new thing. In fact, they have been around for centuries. The prime example of this is the Bible.
Officially the most popular book in history, the Bible has been translated into many languages through the years. In the beginning, when not every translator knew Hebrew, they relied on their knowledge of the more popular languages such as Ancient Greek or Latin for translation. This means that the words in those first Bibles weren’t taken directly from the original, but from the already-translated interpretation.
That’s the thing with translation one has to understand: it is not always a 100% similar copy that’s word-for-word the same as the original. Languages have different words with arrays of different meanings that can be emphasized or forgotten about through context. This is what happened with the Bible, especially with those old translations of translations.
For example, apparently, according to the scripture, Eve wasn’t made from Adam’s rib. The word for rib that’s used in the Bible is Aramaic “ala.” However, in the text about Eve’s creation, it is described that she was formed from “tsela” which in the rest of the Bible is translated as “a half of something.”
This apparent mistranslation upset some people. That is because the original meaning suggests more of an equality between Adam and Eve, Even being half of what Adam was. People argue that translating it as “rib” had a negative impact on the biblical perception of women, making them seem not as worthy as men.
Politicians have also had translation mishaps over the years, but very few can be “proud” of as many embarrassing moments as Jimmy Carter. During his visit to Poland in 1977, Carter brought along a translator with him that managed to get a lot of things wrong.
The translator interpreted Carter’s “When I left the United States this morning” into “Then I abandoned the United States this morning.” The sentence “Poland is the ancestral home of more than 6 million Americans” came out as “A state also which constitutes the fatherland of 10 million Americans.” Most hilariously, Carter’s phrase expressing his happiness to be there was translated into his happiness to grab Poland’s private parts.
The reason for such misinterpretations was attributed to the translator’s knowledge of Polish. According to Polish journalists, he was using antiquated words and grammar when interpreting, which didn’t make the delegates look good at all. So, inevitably, Carter’s team got him a new interpreter for the rest of the trip. However, the trouble didn’t end there.
Later that evening, at an event, Carter got up to toast everyone, and paused for his interpreter to do his job. Unfortunately, he was met with silence. His translator did not dare to say a word because he… did not understand Carter’s southern accent.
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All that to say that even misunderstanding and mistranslations happen everywhere. On a menu, on a T-shirt, in a politician’s speech, or in one of the most important written documents in the world—no one is exempt. And all of these should be shared online for everyone’s entertainment, thank you very much.
