One of the most famous translations in the history of translation services occurred around 1259 B.C. and was called the Treaty of Kadesh.  It was signed by the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittite King Hattusili III.  Unfortunately, the treaty didn’t lead to peace between the two nations right away but it is still significant to us today because it’s the oldest surviving peace treaty in the world. A version of it is displayed at the U.N. headquarters in New York City.

Not only is this treaty significant because of its political ramifications, it’s also important because it’s one of the most famous translations in the world. Two versions of the treaty have been found, one in Egypt and one in present-day Turkey, where the capital of the Hittite empire was located.  In Egypt, the treaty was preserved through engravings on the wall of Pharoah Ramesses II’s mortuary temple in Thebes. In the Hittite empire, it was engraved on baked clay tablets.

The treaty stated that both parties would henceforth be at peace and that this peace would continue among the coming generations, including the children and grandchildren of both sides. It also stated that prisoners taken by the opposite side would be repatriated and that each side would come to the help of the other if they were attacked by outsiders.

The interesting thing about the treaty from the point of view of translations is that the Egyptian version and the Hittite version are slightly different. The Hittite version doesn’t directly say that the two sides have been at war for a while.  Instead, it uses evasive language, saying, “as for the relationship between the land of Egypt and the Hatti land, since eternity the god does not permit the making of hostility between them because of a treaty valid forever…” In contrast, the Egyptian version is blunt and direct, asserting the necessity of the treaty because the two sides have been at war.

This goes to show how, since ancient times, the same problems have existed in translation.  Sometimes, it’s impossible to state the same thing in two different languages. The words to do so actually do not exist!  So a translation can be made but it will sound slightly different. As long as the translation conveys the meaning of the original, it doesn’t have to be word-for-word.  It’s also a good idea for translations to take cultural backgrounds into account. This was, no doubt, the reason why the versions adopted by the Egyptians and the Hittites were different.

Contact us for translations that account for these challenges.

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Have you ever tried to translate something for someone?  If so, you might have found that the translation comes out awkward -sounding at the first try.  Initially, our brain always goes for a word-for-word translation but since languages have different grammars and idioms, this usually results in something broken-sounding.  Some phrases might come out accurate but others are trickier.  What can a translator do to smooth over these sticky spots?

1. Inversions.  These are often necessary in the process of providing translation services.  Different languages express things differently.  For example, in English, it’s correct to say, “She slowly ate her breakfast.”  However, in French, you would say, “Elle a mangé son petit déjeuner lentement.”  Here, the French equivalent for the word “slowly” is “lentement.”  However, it is not correct for this word to come right after the subject “elle.”  It has to come at the end of the sentence.  In other words, an inversion has to take place to allow for a correct translation.
2. Translating for meaning.  There are always going to be certain phrases in one language which have no exact translations in another language.  You might be able to find something that approximates the meaning of the phrase but doesn’t catch the exact nuance.  There are many such phrases such as the French “je ne sais quoi,” the Russian “toska” and the Brazilian Portuguese “cafuné.”  A translator might choose to go with “a certain something” or “a certain flair” for “je ne sais quoi.”  “Spiritual anguish,” “restlessness” or “boredom” can all be used for “toska,” depending on the context.  For “cafuné,” you have to use a long phrase i.e., “tenderly running your hands through someone’s hair.”  The best thing a translator can do is try to figure out exactly w hat the original was trying to say and in what sense it was using that word before translating it.
3. Keeping the original.  In certain cases, if the original phrase is not completely unheard of in English, a translator might choose to retain it instead of translating it.  There are many words that have made their way over into English in this way e.g. chic, ennui, paramour etc.  It does sometimes happen that these words come to mean something different in English than they do in the original language.  So this technique should be used with caution.  For example, the word “pajamas” comes from the Hindi word “pyjama” which refers to a set of loose drawstring pants.  In English, however, the word refers to both, the top and bottom part of an outfit worn to sleep in.  So the original word can be used in some cases but not in all.

Contact us for translation services that take into account all these subtle nuances of language.

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