Lost in Translation - Another Gov't Fumbles a Foreign Interpretation

The Feds messed up— big time. According to a story from Talking Points Memo, lawyer Haytham Faraj claimed that authorities fumbled a translated conversation between his client—alleged Syrian spy Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid—and his wife via a flawed translator and even used Google Translate.

Faraj claimed that government “has demonstrated a serious deficit in its ability to translate recorded conversations from Arabic into English.” Talk about déjà vu— considering that just a month ago an Iranian refugee almost ended up being deported because of a government interpreter that also took creative liberties with the translation.

In this case, Faraj asserted that the Feds even misrepresented Soueid’s Arabic name by simply typing the words of his English name into Google’s translate program. He continued that the government translator even went far as to take “extensive liberties” between Soueid and his wife and transformed it “into a sinister warning that has no basis in fact.”

The lawyer cited a government transcript of the conversation which has Soueid saying “God Damn you - you - I will deal with you later” and observed that only the word ‘you’ was said within that statement and the rest was a “fabrication.”

Faraj continued:

“Within the same paragraph, the translator takes even graver liberties with the truth. The translator writes “you are talking to me over the phone- and this phone belongs to Intelligence agency - I am not supposed to be talking on it.” The translator missed a clear announcement of the words “over there,” the non possessive “telephone” and then “the intelligence service/agency” rather than “this phone belongs to the Intelligence Agency. To a listener fluent in Arabic, the speaker clearly indicates that he was not free to speak on the telephone because the intelligence service monitors phone calls. And that statement fits contextually within the tone, volume, and playfulness of the back and forth dialogue between husband and wife who defiantly and jokily states “Me, the intelligence service knows me…I...I am not afraid of the intelligence service.” Anyone aware of Syrian language, culture and life in Syria understands that Syrians constantly assume their calls are being monitored. Syrian culture is rife with humor about the Mukhabarat listening in on conversations. Such cultural aspects of Syrian life are commonly known and should be understood by anyone undertaking to translate a Syrian dialect conversation into English. The errors and fabrications in the Government translation are troubling, twist the meaning and portray a conversation that is disconnected from reality.”

So, all in two sentences the government translator reportedly botched the English translation and made contextual and cultural errors. Several questions come to mind in this case and the one last month with the Iranian refugee in Canada: Are these cases of bad contracting? Or are these cases of contractors hiring uncertified Arabic translators? Or was this all due to a shortage of Arabic translators since 9/11, according to Talking Point Memo.com?

*Source: Talking Points Memo

Exotic Cursing & The Best Cover for a Foreign Spy

Exotic Swearing

Bulletstorm was to be an over-the-top shooter game with large weapons and its arsenal of ridiculous swear words— well, less on the cursing in retrospect, creative director of the Polish development team People Can Fly Adrian Chmielarz admitted:

“Do you know any swear word in a foreign language? German, French, Polish? When you say it out loud, no biggie, right? Not a problem to use it during a family dinner, I assume?

“That is how all the f-bombs sounded to us. Being Polish, all the strong language in Bulletstorm was just exotic and fun to us. We did not feel its power. In other words, Epic thought this is what we wanted and respected our creative vision, while we had no idea this vision was a bit more than we really wanted.

“It was only at the end of the development, when I read the Polish translation of the game, that I realized how dirty we were. I swear a lot. A LOT. And yet still I ...kind of blushed.”

Playing with a foreign language’s curses may be fun and exotic, but it does not translate over well as Chmielarz learned.

*Source: Gamasutra

Best Cover for a Foreign Spy

Modern spies are seen through the Hollywood lens of James Bond or Mission Impossible— suave agents with an assortment of identities suited for any situation. Real spies are more practical in their choice of cover however— like a foreign interpreter for instance, but even that cover is not infallible. This month, Russian revealed that it arrested a Chinese man posing as an official interpreter for spying.

The Russian Federal Security Service said Tun Sheniyun was arrested in Moscow last year for allegedly trying to obtain secret documents about Russia’s missile systems.

The FSB released a succinct, short statement on the issue:

“The investigation established that the Chinese national (was) working on assignment from the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China.”

Being an interpreter provides the perfect excuse for being in a foreign country without much scrutiny. It is certainly not enough to be caught pursuing classified documents on missile systems, however.

*Source: Global Post

Lost in Translation - Interpreter Almost Causes Deportation

In a classic case of being “lost in translation” an Iranian refugee fell prey to the latest language snafu at the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) during a refugee hearing that almost got him deported due to multiple translation errors by an interpreter.

Ali Zaree is an anti-government activist that fled Iran and claimed refugee protection in Canada after authorities came to his home. In his two hour hearing, more than 40 translation errors were made in questions, answers, key words and dates.

“Even the applicant, who speaks no French and understands very little English, noticed that her English was not very good,” wrote Justice Luc Martineau.

For example, when Mr. Zaree said: “I wanted to be completely sure about what party I am active for and then I really accepted from the bottom of my heart that they are,” the interpreter instead said: “I wasn’t prepared to… to work with this party and I wanted to know better about this party… And when I get my heart that this party is the kind of party that I thought.”

“This is an important issue,” said Annie Bélanger, Mr. Zaree’s lawyer. “I have complained about translation problems many, many times. I have written to the IRB about many problems they have with their language interpreting. It puts everyone in a very difficult situation.”

Robert Gervais, a spokesman for the board defended the IRB’s record by pointing out that the IRB has the largest foreign-language interpreter program in Canada with 1,200 interpretation contractors accredited in 267 languages and dialects and that all interpreters are tested before accreditation.

“The board takes seriously the importance of high-quality interpretation in the holding of fair proceedings. The board takes every reasonable measure to ensure that interpretation is held to the highest quality standards,” said Gervais.

Justice Martineau ultimately overturned the IRB’s decision and Mr. Zaree is going to be provided a new hearing.

This was not the first time the IRB had a translation error case. Just this summer a woman that was also on the verge of deportation to her native Kenya for providing incoherent and evasive testimony was later revealed that the Swahili translator had “butchered” the translation.

In another case a refugee claim was delayed for years because a qualified Kusai translator could not be found— apparently long enough for the claimant to learn English well enough to proceed without a translator.

These cases only highlight the importance and need of accurate translations and competent interpreters, especially in situations involving foreign refugees.

*Source: National Post

Talk is Cheap

Talk is cheap, but solid communications are priceless in this global economy. World Services can provide you or your company with dependable interpreters and translators nationwide at costs lower than other companies. Visit our website for more information!

Being bilingual is not enough

Being bilingual is not enough. For interpreters, bilingualism is a start and a requisite skill, but by itself, bilingualism is not enough for interpreters to be good interpreters. For translators, bilingualism is helpful. For one thing, it enables translators to communicate better with direct clients who may be reluctant to entrust a job to a translator who cannot speak their language. However, it is not a requisite skill and its importance is far overshadowed by the importance of having a combination of subject area expertise, high-level reading skills in the source language, and excellent writing skills in the target language.

Notes: ATA Cronicle ( July 2008)

Why Choose World Services

• Fast turnaround delivery

• Professional quality guaranteed

• Best translation and interpretation agency rates

• Estimates within 24 hours

• Interpreters available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week

In this world of internet globalization it is essential for your business to expand to this multicultural society. World Services can help you achieve that goal by helping you translate all of your business advertising and products into any language you may need. This is the best investment you can make to expand your business! Call us today, and a World Services agent will be happy to assist you.