Deep knowledge of the language and common sense to understand the context are fundamental for the translation to make sense.. It is not enough to speak a language reasonably well to consider yourself a translator, much less an interpreter.
Who has never seen, in that typical movie love scene the guy, eager to meet the girl again says: "I'll give you a ring" the caption in Portuguese says "Vou te dar um anel". How do you mean? They’ve only just met for the first time, your brain tells you, and he's already promising her an engagement ring?
Those who have already suffered the trauma of hiring non-professional translators and interpreters could speak much better than me. A bad interpreter can waste the client's total investment in a big event or even start a war.
In 1956, a statement by Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev to Western ambassadors in Moscow was translated as "We will bury you". The phrase was printed in newspapers and magazines around the globe, severely disrupting the already strained relations between the Soviet Union and the Western countries.
When put into context, Khrushchev's words rather meant: “Whether you like it or not, History is on our side. We will swallow you ”. What he meant was that Communism would survive Capitalism, which would self-destruct, in reference to an excerpt from Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto.
Fonte: www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2015/03/150324_vert_cul_piores_traducoes_ml
Always hire a professional, after all, the universe of words can be a minefield for those who enter without a GPS or map.
Paul sings I WILL GIVE YOU A RING:
