An excellent example of how a minute translation error can make a mountain out of a molehill is the case of Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev’s speech in 1956 (when the “Cold War” was on) wherein he meant to say “We will outlast you” to the US, but it was mistranslated as “We will bury you” and led to great panic in the US suspecting a Russian nuclear attack. One of the most controversial cases of translation error came into light in 1980 in Florida when an 18 year old Spanish patient went into a coma and was admitted to a hospital. Incorrect translation by a bilingual staff member led to a misunderstanding that “intoxicado” means “intoxicated” whereas it actually means “poisoned”, leading to delayed treatment and subsequent quadriplegic condition of the patient. The hospital was sued for a whooping 71 million dollars. Another case of a major financial catastrophe caused by a minor error was in 2009, when HSBC Bank’s catchphrase “Assume Nothing” was mistranslated as “Do nothing” in several countries, leading to a 10 million dollar rebranding campaign to recover from the damages. On a lighter note, when US President Jimmy Carter visited Poland in 1977, a Russian interpreter who knew Polish (but had never executed Polish interpretation professionally) was hired to accompany him. Much to the amusement of the people in both countries, “When I left the United States” was interpreted as “When I abandoned the United States” and “your desires for the future” was interpreted as “your lusts for the future”! In the 1950s, a mistranslated account from a Japanese chocolates company led the Japanese to misinterpret that it was customary for women to gift chocolates to men on the 14th of February, a practice that is followed till date. (Source: “Found in Translation” by Nataly Kelly and Jost Zetzsche)
In the wake of globalization, the demand for efficient and accurate translation services has witnessed a massive increase. While a number of metrics such as Word Error Rate, Hunt’s Formula etc help in determining the accuracy of computer aided translation systems; for reliable translation by professional, certified translators, it is always necessary to do a thorough credibility check before you decide to opt for any such services. Beware of cheap translation services that guarantee turnovers in an hour at rock-bottom rates. There is no shortcut to quality and efficient translation entails linguistic expertise, sound knowledge of the particular domain of translation, knowledge of the latest terms and terminology of the domain, thorough understanding of the native culture and traditions of the particular geographical area, a fair idea about the psyche and background of the end-user, and finally good research and analytical skills. If you are availing the services of a language translation company, survey the market thoroughly and then take an enlightened decision. More often than not, translation errors only come into light when the irreversible damage is already done and in case of business translation errors, not all companies have the necessary resources (like HSBC did) to recover the losses incurred.
