From machine translation to “word for word” translations based on nothing more than dictionary definitions, faulty translations can reduce sales – or worse.

“Translation blunders have long been a source of amusement to consumer targets overseas. While these mistakes often make consumers giggle or blush, they are anything but funny to companies that lose credibility, respect or business as a result of an incorrect translation or cultural misstep…

Machine translation, in which text is translated by a software program, has opened the floodgates on potential translation errors. In China, a restaurateur eager to attract an international clientele decided to display the restaurant’s English name on the storefront next to its Chinese name. Unfortunately, the machine translation application he chose to perform the task was not working at the moment, and his restaurant now bears the English name ‘Translate server error.’

While these examples are not likely to produce much more than a snicker from the tourists at whom they are directed, other translation errors can result in consequences that are far from humorous…In healthcare, two out of every three mistranslations have clinical consequences, according to a 2003 study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.”

This excerpt from “Sales May Be Lost In Translation” by Jiri Stejskal, demonstrates the above pitfalls of poor translation, as well as giving other examples – some humorous, but not necessarily suitable for a family blog!