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Thursday 26 March 2015

Lost in Translation: a rant

Isn't it nice when people write offering to help? I've received this from someone called Nareen.

Dear Respected Team  Thank you for giving me the excellent opportunity to serve your revered organization.

Revered organization...well, it's just me, really, but hey, being revered is fine. Great, in fact.

We have set ourselves a goal to continuously challenge ourselves and contribute towards good language help - a linguistically better tomorrow.

Yes, the lady clearly means well. Pity about the split infinitive and the prepositions. Still, you can tell what she means, can't you.

With extensive research, creativity and experience, we present a whole new range of linguistic support in various foreign languages. Our services can meet all your interpreting needs including but not limited to the following situations:  " Conferences  " Depositions  " Hearings  " Client Meetings  " Arbitrations  " Medical Appointments  " Employee Interviews  " Recorded Statements  " Trainings  "

And, after all, what does punctuation matter? As she says, her organization is creative, right?

Um...what is a training, exactly?

Hey, but they're offering Creative Workshops in Dramatics Dance, as well as translation. How very kind. I think I might enjoy a bit of Dramatics Dance.

...We are ready to be test freely...

Ah, good.

Probably.

...Regards, Ms. Nareen Alnahal Project manager.

There. Isn't that kind? Thanks, Nareen.

I certainly won't forget you.


Word To Use Today: translate. This word comes from the Latin translātus, which means transferred or carried over, from transferre to transfer. The ferre bit means to carry.


2 comments:

  1. Nareel Alnaha is just a scammer active in the CV hijacking and impersonation of translators. More info here: http://www.translator-scammers.com/#n6

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, TSD. I'd never heard of that sort of scam, so it's very useful to be warned. I shall take note!

      Delete

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