Translation Fluency

by Ted Stroll

Language translators often are required to tip-toe through minefields of meaning. A single misstep can have serious consequences, especially in a legal dispute that turns on written nuances.

Errors are easy to make in translation. Getting it right takes time and skilled effort, which costs money. A few years ago, an advertisement for a multinational telecommunications company included a glowing endorsement of its safety standards: "The German word for 'safe' is 'sicher.' The Portuguese word for 'firewall' is 'muro de fogo.' The Chinese word for 'password' is 'mee-mah.' We're in 17 countries now, and I can say 'secure' in every one of them."

As a lawyer and translator of documents from Portuguese (among other languages) into English, I can confirm that a muro de fogo is the last thing you'd want in your computer room - it's a wall of fire, not a wall that blocks the figurative fire of a hacker's probing. In Portuguese, a computer firewall is a firewall- - the same word.

Expensive Errors
Unless you're an attorney marketing yourself or litigating in multiple languages, however, you don't care about advertising mistakes; they're merely embarrassing - like the State Department's error last year in translating the label on a symbolic gift, a red plastic "reset" button that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave to her Russian counterpart to signal a redirection in U.S.-Russian relations. Instead, the label read "peregruzka," which means overloaded.

But when the difference between two versions of a contract - one in French, the other in English - can cost your client millions of dollars, you do care.

In a recent case in Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission held that a contract's English text meant a party could cancel at any time during the agreement's five-year term, provided the other party received one year's advance notice.

The losing party then unearthed the French version of the contract (which under Canadian law is accorded equal dignity) and noticed a subtle difference. A petition for rehearing followed, and the commission withdrew its prior ruling, concluding that the English version was ambiguous but that the French version plainly permitted cancellation only one year before the term ended. The failure to notice the difference was worth between $1 million and $2.13 million in Canadian dollars.

And that, in a nutshell, is why it is important to hire a good translator.

Money Well Spent
These services can be expensive, whether you retain the translator directly or through an organization. Given the cost, it is not surprising that a law firm might be tempted to rely on an in-house employee who grew up speaking Spanish or who majored in Japanese in college. And then there are free translation utilities online, such as Google Translate (www.translate.google.com). But relying on low-cost resources is a dangerous game. Even Bing, Microsoft's free online translation utility (www.microsofttranslator.com), warns: "Automatic translation can help you understand the gist of the translated text but is no substitute for a professional human translator." How true.

Similarly, your colleague who learned Portuguese during missionary service in Brazil may not know that celebrar could mean to enter into or solemnize a contract instead of to celebrate, that a concordata may be a form of insolvency rather than an agreement, or that the Procuradoria-Geral da República is the Public Prosecution Service, not the National Procurement Office. Another colleague who majored in French literature may not know that traitement can mean "salary" as well as "treatment." She may not recognize partenaires sociaux as euphemistic Eurospeak for labor unions with which your client is at odds, rather than a chummy reference to Facebook friends.

A good translator not only knows these things, but also has a librarian's research skills. The translator will, for example, understand the intricacies of Spanish surnames and be able to competently search the Internet to translate mysterious acronyms.

Never rely on a translator for legal advice. Bear in mind that a lack of specialized legal knowledge limits even the best translators. In Brazilian law, the aforementioned concordata has been replaced by a newer procedure called recuperação, which is akin to a Chapter 11 reorganization. (A related procedure called falência is similar to a Chapter 7 proceeding.) For international matters it is usually best to consult with local counsel and a good translator.

Helpful Sources
Whenever you search for a translator, remember that there are good ones and bad ones. But help is just a few clicks away. So take advantage of the Internet. For example, at ProZ.com you can find people who will translate between varieties of language pairs, some quite obscure. Another service is Verbumsoft's Translator Base (www.translatorbase.com), which includes a translator locator and also offers helpful tips. One of the articles on that website ("Finding the Best Translation Service") offers a list of questions to ask before you commit to hiring someone: Is the fee fixed, or by the word? Does the translator have technical expertise? (This may be important depending on the type of document involved.) Does the price include proofreading by a second translator to help ensure accuracy?

Professional associations are also a potentially helpful resource. The American Translators Association has databases of both translation services and ATA-certified translators (www.atanet.org/onlinedirectories).

For referrals, however, nothing beats word of mouth - in English. Before you hit the keyboard, ask colleagues whom they have used. After all, translation is a people business, and the best recommendations will come from experienced practitioners.

Ted Stroll is a San Jose lawyer who also works as a translator.

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