2009/03/16

Translation Alone Is Not Enough

From the KORAIL (Korea Railroad) website:
KORAIL wants to be a beautiful bridge that connects people's heart[s], and not just some iron-made transportation.


Translation is often not so much converting MEANING from one language to another as it is figuring out the PURPOSE of a given text and determining the best way to achieve that purpose in the target language. The translator here seems unaware that corny language doesn't do too well in English promotional materials.