Translation

[Leo Schulte]

Hello Everyone!

As someone who has translated things into various languages from and into English, I can assure you it is a real trick, and that "rewriting" is sometimes the only way to handle the problem.

An example:

In Germany I once watched an episode of "The Simpsons" where Marge becomes famous through a pie recipe.  In German the pie was "Pfefferminzfleischtorte" which struck me extremely odd - even for The Simpsons" - because it translates as "peppermint meat pie" which sounds fairly disgusting. 

 It immediately struck me this was a severely incompetent translation of the English "mince-meat" pie, where "mince" (chop or cut) was mistaken for "mints" as in peppermint, and the translator was unaware that there is NO meat in mince-meat: it is all chopped, sugared, and spiced fruits (raisins, dates, etc.), but  because it looks rather dark and "meaty", you get the name "mince-meat."

Still, to the German ear "Pfefferminzfleischtorte" must sound rather oddly comical!