When translating and interpreting languages of very distant backgrounds and cultures such as Chinese and Italian, several complications can arise.
Chinese, with its incredible concision, can often express in a couple of characters what seems to need a long full sentence in Italian.
What do we mean by over-interpretation
By overtranslation or overinterpretation we mean a broad concept, which can take on many shades of meaning in translation theory. In this article, however, we are going to touch on a very specific aspect, namely that of interpreting things that do not necessarily need to be translated explicitly.
This is something we see with some frequency when we perform quality revisions. Avoiding over-translation can help the Italian text read more naturally and make it more useful for the client. To better understand the concept of over-translation, here is a practical example.
An example of over translation
A widely used word in Chinese is deng 等, which means "etc." or "so on." A common mistake made by translators is to use "etc." in the Italian translation when this may inadvertently change the meaning of the sentence.
Original text:亞投行在網站公布13個新成員名單，包括香港、加拿大、阿富汗等
OVERVIEW: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has posted a list of 13 new members on its website, including Hong Kong, Canada, Afghanistan, etc.
More natural translation: the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has posted a list of 13 new members on its website, including Hong Kong, Canada and Afghanistan.
In more formal contexts such as this, or when dealing with long and complex sentences, it is much better to leave "etc." out of the translation. The meaning of the source text is not lost and the register of the source is preserved.
How to avoid overinterpretation from Chinese to Italian
Like many other things having to do with the world of translation and interpreting, there are no hard rules. The best way to avoid over-translating is to make sure you don't translate character by character: read the entire sentence before you start translating, determine the function each character or phrase plays within the sentence or period as a whole, and put the information in context, rather than slavishly translating by following the literal dictionary definition. In short, be prepared to adapt your translation strategies to the specific text you are working on.
An improvised but exceptional Chinese language interpreter: Ezra Pound
Few people have "over-translated" as much as Ezra Pound, the modernist poet who freely translated the works of Li Bai and other Chinese authors into English despite having little knowledge of the language. At times, he even translated each of the component parts of Chinese characters into English, as in the first line of the Analects :
Original text:學而時習之，不亦說乎？
OVERVIEW: Studying with the white wings of passing time, isn't that our pleasure?
A more natural translation: isn't it a pleasure, after learning something, to try it at due intervals?
Here he understood the character xi習 (practice) in the terms of its components yu羽 (wing) and bai白 (white) to get the translation "white wings." This is wonderfully poetic, but unfortunately it means that the emphasis on "repeated practice" is missing in the original. Compare the much more natural but less poetic translation of the same sentence by the famous scholar DC Lau.
Avoid misunderstandings and over-interpretations with International Congresses
Congressi Internazionali is the interpreter agency that offers you technological, logistical, linguistic and communication solutions designed for your specific needs.
Marketing Team Congressi Internazionali
Call us
+39 3755806530
+39 0282957099
+39 0687502007
Or write to us via the contact form
