Consequences Of Mistranslation

By Author: iTransling
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What is translation?
Translation is the transformation of a written or spoken message from a language into another through translators, interpreters, and linguists who focus on conveying the core meaning, not only exchanging a term with another. The translation process passes through five steps: translation, editing, reviewing, proofreading, and quality assurance.
Types of Translated Documents
The documents to be translated are very sensitive, in terms of the content and confidentiality. Here are various types of documents which are usually translated and lead to troubles if they are mistranslated:
- Corporate Documents: (i.e. contracts, agreements, articles of association, memoranda of association, resolutions, minutes of meetings, etc)
Any business relation is governed by such types of documents which provide for terms and provisions. Mistranslation of a single word in corporate documents may lead to misunderstanding, wrong implementation, and disputes or even losses.

- Judicial Documents: (i.e. memos of defense, rejoinders, statements of claim, appeals, petitions, experts’ reports, ...
... judgments, awards, minutes of hearings, etc)
Correct translation is crucial for judicial documents which contain sensitive information based on which a person might be convicted or acquitted. His/her rights may be wasted and justice might be undermined if a single word is mistranslated.

- Patents

In the modern world driven by innovations, it is essential to protect the intellectual property rights under patents. So, correct translation is very important for such kind of documents. Any mistranslation may lead to compromised legal protection, financial damage, and infringed rights.

Catastrophic Consequences of Mistranslation
It isn’t easy to translate a document. Correct understanding of words isn’t the only requirement, but you also need to understand the tone of a context. If the tone isn’t correctly conveyed by a translator, this will lead to mistranslation and catastrophic consequences as well. Mistranslation has a significant impact on political relations, business, deals, and even reputation and causes health and financial losses. For example, if a victim’s statement is mistranslated, he/she might be unfairly convicted.
Now, let us narrate 3 stories showing how mistranslation has catastrophic repercussions in political, business, and medical sectors.
Story 1: Kuwaiti Construction Contract
The Ministry of Public Works signed a construction contract in 1987, which set for specifications of quantity of poured concrete. Such specifications were wrongly translated. Accordingly, a big quantity of concrete was poured as per the wrongly-translated specifications. The Ministry spent millions of dollars on unneeded concrete. They continued to apply such specifications for long decades until a global consulting firm discovered that the specifications were mistranslated and that the original international specifications are different. Consequently, they started applying the original copy of the specifications which led to saving millions of dollars as a result of reducing the quantity of poured concrete.
Story 2: Willie Ramirez
In 1980, Willie Ramirez who was a healthy young guy suddenly fell down while he was enjoying time with his friends. He was taken to the hospital after losing consciousness. He waked up to find himself quadriplegic. Unfortunately, this happened, not because of diseases, but due to mistranslation. When Willie was admitted to the hospital, his mother uttered a Spanish word “Intoxicado” which means “eating a poisonous food”. However, the doctors thought it means “Intoxicated” which means “taking overdose of alcohol or drugs”. Thus, such misinterpretation of this word caused Willie to be misdiagnosed. If the diagnosis was correct based on correct translation, he wouldn’t suffer from such severe and catastrophic health loss.
Story 3: Japanese Statement (Mokusatsu)
During the Second World War, the Allied Countries released a statement that Japan had to surrender and any negative answer would lead to complete destruction. A press conference was held with the Japanese Prime Minister a week after this statement. When the journalists asked him about the Japanese comment on the statement, he replied with a single word “Mokusatsu” which has several meanings, including “silence”. However, the media mistranslated this word into different meanings, such as “no comment”, “ignore”, or “not worthy of comment”. Hence, the Allied Countries considered his reply as arrogant comment and dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima leading to killing over 70,000 persons.
4 tips to avoid mistranslation
1- Picking a professional translator
Translators are the main element in the translation process. So, you have to be picky upon hiring a professional experienced translator. In addition, specialization is also important. It means that a legal translator is preferred when you need to translate a legal document because he /she will be aware of the legal terminology and structures.
2- Providing clear documents:
It is essential to provide your translator with clear and concise documents so that you can get correct translation. Glossaries and references are also recommended.
3- Giving sufficient time:
Stressing translators for getting the translation as soon as possible isn’t a good way. The longer you give to them the more accurate you get from them. They need ample time to research, review, edit, and proofread your document and give you the accurate translation.

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