While speaking and understanding the English language
is a fundamental element to success in the United States, we must
recognize that learning the common language is not always easy, nor
does it happen overnight.

Giving information in the language of
specific target groups can be an effective marketing tool. All too
often, translators try to translate every word and expression
literally. This method is highly ineffective. Some words and
expressions from one language simply do not exist in other languages.
Their meanings must be explained or adapted to culturally relevant
contexts. Other times, words that do have literal equivalents, lose
their intended meanings when translated literally. The ability to speak
more than one language does not make a person an effective translator.
In short, the job of a translator is to translate the meaning though
the use of appropriate words and expressions. The intent to translate
for a linguistic minority is no different than catering to the likes,
beliefs and jargon of any other subgroup of society: athletes, women,
teenagers, Christians, etc. It does, however, present some special
challenges.

The potential for mistranslation never goes away.
Take, for example, the English expression, \"We\'re going to pitch in\",
when talking about pooling economic resources. If these words are
literally translated into Spanish, the resulting expression makes no
sense. Conversely, an equivalent Spanish expression, \"Vamos a hacer una
vaca\" (\"We\'re going to make a cow\"), while entertaining, does not
convey the same meaning in English. Other language problems are caused
by carelessness or reliance on computer programs without taking into
account the special rules of a given language. I recently saw a
bilingual social service poster that read, \"Pregnant?\"-\"¿Embarazado?\"
Nouns and adjectives in Spanish and many other languages have masculine
and feminine endings and since pregnancy is normally limited to
females, the correct form of the word for pregnant is, \"embarazada\".
\"Embarazado\" refers to a pregnant man. Due to this error, Spanish
speakers are less likely to take the message seriously. Finally,
computer users must realize that your spell checker is unable to
differentiate contextual meanings and as a result, it will never know
that there is anything wrong with the sentence: \"Eye check Miss Steaks.\"

Advertisements,
infomercials, employee manuals, medical instructions, legal
requirements, technical procedures, public announcements, safety
warnings, newspaper articles, as well as many others, all contain
important and often sensitive and life protecting information.
Effective translations can make a world of difference for those who
need them. Inaccurate renditions of these important messages can lead
to disastrous economic and social results.