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Loading...The expression ‘lost in translation’ refers to puns or cultural references that lose their significance during translation from one language to another. The expression has been used as a title in articles, literature, television, music and movies.
Our Director of Translation, Mei-Ling Chen’s article “Lost in Translation” in the ATA Chronicle illustrates how the design element of marketing ads, catalogs, and brochures are often overlooked in foreign language translation.
In motion pictures, the Oscar winning movie ‘Lost in Translation‘ (with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, directed by Sofia Coppola) vividly exemplifies the most embarrassing scenes happened in the translation/interpretation profession. The Japanese director utters several long sentences with passion, followed by brief, inadequate translations into English from the interpreter. The two central characters in the movie — Bob and Charlotte, both Americans — find themselves ‘lost’ in a culture that is foreign to them.
At Monterey Language Services, one of our missions is to promote communication beyond borders. We encourage you to share your most interesting experience which arose due to cultural differences by posting your comments here.
One of my fondest memories is as a young Taiwanese woman living in New York back in 1990. My neighbor, a Pakistani diplomat, invited me over for dinner one evening. After a few minutes spent in idle conversation with the guests, the host asked us to sit down. I immediately started looking for a chair while everyone else had assumed places on the floor, which is how Pakistanis dine. Every time when I told the story, everybody laughed. So much so, that even after two decades, I still think about this faux pas.