I’m Where?
Imagine you purchased tickets, booked a flight, and flew to Russia to be a fan at one of the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches only to find that you are over 600 mi (about 975 km) away from the host city. Several fans experienced this recently when they booked hotels in the wrong city or misinterpreted a train schedule departing to one of the 2018 FIFA World Cup host cites. In fact, a number of fans found themselves more than 13 hours away from Volgograd, when they mistakenly booked train tickets for Vologda. Other fans inadvertently found themselves in Rostov Veliky, rather than Rostov-on-Don, which is hosting World Cup matches, or Veliky Novgorod, instead of Nizhny Novgorod. While locals cannot understand the mix-ups foreigners are experiencing from the similar sounding Russian city names, those who have ever traveled to native places may empathize. Have you ever tried booking a trip to the Country of “Columbia?” If you do not speak the native Spanish language, you may end up in Columbia, S.C. The Country is spelled “Colombia,” with an, “o,” not a, “u.”
Devastating Mistranslations
While finding yourself in the wrong city in a foreign country can be frightening—and frustrating—the mistakes, errors, and oversights that can occur during mistranslations can be devastating. Translation mistakes have occurred in healthcare, when non-native interpreters used incorrect words to describe symptoms—resulting in misdiagnoses, overdoses, and even large financial settlements. Translation errors have occurred in legal documents, such as tax documents, resulting in a significant financial loss. Additionally, translation oversights have occurred when just a few words are excluded from a translated statement: for example, in 1956, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was believed to have declared nuclear war on the U.S. when he was poorly interpreted to have said, “We will bury you.”
Professional Translation Service
TransForma Translation Services translators are experienced language professionals who understand that every client’s situation is unique. We place clients with translators who are knowledgeable about the native and local culture of the target language in order to arrive at the most accurate words, statements, and meanings. Email request@transformaonline.com or call (305) 722-3827 for your translation needs.
