Very often translators here and everywhere else are faced with presumably incorrect or erroneous translations, but this is not always the case. There are many factors to be taken into account. In translation, there are multiple errors that on second thought, do not appear as such. Here are some examples from translating into Bulgarian.<\/p>\n
Socialist Drag-Ons<\/strong><\/p>\n \u0413\u0414\u0420, \u041a\u041d\u0414\u0420, \u0412\u0430\u0440\u0448\u0430\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u044f \u0434\u043e\u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440 (G.D.R. \u2013 German Democratic Republic, D.P.R.K – Korean People\u2019s Democratic Republic, Warsaw Transcribing names<\/strong><\/p>\n Another supposed error was how we expressed the English sound \u2018\u00e6\u2019 as in \u2018have\u2019. There is no such sound in Bulgarian; it tends to be more like \u2018a\u2019 than the \u2018\u025b\u2019 of \u2018dress\u2019. We accepted writing proper and place names like \u041c\u0430\u0439\u043a\u044a\u043b \u0414\u0436\u0435\u043a\u0441\u044a\u043d and \u041a\u0435\u043c\u043f \u0414\u0435\u0439\u0432\u0438\u0434 (Michael Jackson, Camp David) with \u2018\u0435\u2019 as a norm simply because they have been established as such in our language long ago. Newer and unestablished names tend to be transcribed with \u2018a\u2019.<\/p>\n The Subtitling Heresy<\/strong><\/p>\n Translating subtitles sometimes goes beyond the linguistic norm, and linguistic \u2018errors\u2019 are acceptable.<\/p>\n The polite form of the personal pronoun \u0412\u0438\u0435 (you) and its derivatives (\u043d\u0430 \u0412\u0430\u0441 \u2013 \u2018to you\u2019, \u0412\u0430\u0448\/\u0412\u0430\u0448\u0430\/\u0412\u0430\u0448\u0435 \u2013 \u2018your\u2019, masculine, feminine and neutral, etc.) must always be capitalized, according to the Bulgarian Academy of Science, Bulgaria\u2019s linguistic watchdog. But the Netflix Bulgarian Timed Text Style Guide reads: \u201cDo not write formal pronouns with a capital letter, as subtitles are considered an artistic work.\u201d Good deal!<\/p>\n Another example is the feminine possessive pronoun \u045d (her). It must always be written with an acute graphic accent. This was a problem years ago because one had to look for special character key combinations on the keyboard. And subtitlers opted for \u0439 instead \u2013 a separate letter in the Bulgarian alphabet used only in diphthongs such as, among others, \u0430\u0439, \u0435\u0439, \u0438\u0439 (ay, ey, iy). The reason was that \u045d could not be read correctly by subtitling software. Well, nowadays, with the advancement of computer software, this long-suffered ugly duckling has its deserved place on the keyboard \u2013 Shift + x, and voil\u00e0!<\/p>\n The same Bulgarian Academy of Science watchdog orders that all punctuation marks (!, ?, \u2026) be succeeded by a space. But when addressed with the question of the front ellipsis, indicating a pause in speech, the answer was: \u201cWell, this may go without a space, if used in subtitling (\u2026\u0438 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0434\u044a\u043b\u0436\u0438. \u2013 \u2018\u2026and she went on.\u2019).<\/p>\n Love you, watchdog!<\/p>\n Traduttore, traditore<\/strong><\/p>\n This is my gravest error and professional sin ever, but I have never regretted it.<\/p>\n A long time ago a Bulgarian businessman wanted to buy several used slot machines from a Spanish company and asked me to interpret at Oh, how sweet the champagne was afterwards!<\/p>\n Published in Deep Focus<\/em>, Issue 4, September 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Radoslav Genchev Very often translators here and everywhere else are faced with presumably incorrect or erroneous translations, but this is not always the case. There are many factors to be taken into account. In translation, there are multiple errors that on second thought, do not appear as such. 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\nTreaty). This is how these countries and organizations (and others) were translated during the socialist times. The institutions and the media were not allowed to talk about East Germany, North Korea or the Warsaw Pact, for ideological reasons. Similarly, there was no
\nmention of East Berlin. For us it was \u0411\u0435\u0440\u043b\u0438\u043d and \u0417\u0430\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435\u043d \u0411\u0435\u0440\u043b\u0438\u043d (Berlin, West Berlin). Nowadays, all these follow the Western parlance. Many follow developments in North Korea, and many are thankful for the abolition of the Warsaw Pact.<\/p>\n
\nthe negotiations. Obviously, the Spaniards wanted to get rid of their rusty iron and offered a very reasonable price. It was more than acceptable, but the Bulgarian businessman still wanted to ask for 5-10% off the price just for the sport of it. The problem was, his politeness got in the way as he stammered through, \u201cWell\u2026 it really is\u2026 and surely\u2026 but\u2026 could we just\u2026 given the\u2026 We can also\u2026 if you would agree\u2026\u201d In the end, I couldn\u2019t resist, and spat it out for him, \u201cMr. Mladenov is ready to pay half your price and this is final!\u201d The Spaniards agreed on the spot.<\/p>\n
\nRadoslav Genchev was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. Holds a Master in English and Spanish Linguistics from Sofia University. Practiced journalism at Spanish Foreign Radio, Madrid, Spain. Worked as a news presenter, editor and translator for the English Service of Radio Bulgaria. Currently freelances for several localization companies. Get in touch: radoslav_genchev@abv.bg<\/h5>\n
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