If you’re bilingual, you’ve probably been practicing translation on an informal basis for a while.  Maybe you’ve been in social situations where you were surrounded by two people speaking different languages, and you had to make sure they understood each other.  Or maybe you went to see a French film with an American friend and wanted her to grasp certain nuances that didn’t come through in the subtitles.

Getting It Right

Translating on the spot in this manner has probably shown you how certain phrases defy translation.  No matter how hard you try to convey a certain thing in a different language, you feel like you never really get it right.  Often, you need to try out several different combinations of words until you feel satisfied.  In such cases, speed is of less importance than accuracy.  This is something that professional translators have to deal with everyday when providing translation services.

Vocabulary vs. Grammar

We’ve all heard some fairly odd if not downright funny translations of things.  These are usually caused by rushing through a translation and not stopping to think about those little nuances that make all the difference.  Sometimes, the mistranslation is caused by using the wrong word while at other times, it’s the difference in grammar between two languages that leads to the mistake.

For example, in French, all nouns have a gender, something that might seem rather strange to an English speaker.  A book, i.e., “un livre” is masculine while a dress i.e., “une robe” is feminine.  In French, one might say, “Elle a une robe bleue.  Elle l’aime beaucoup.”  If you weren’t to consider the difference between English and French when it comes to gender, you would translate this as , “She has a blue dress.  She loves her a lot.”  In fact, many French speakers who have just started to speak English find it difficult to remember the English convention of referring to things as “it” and continue to use “he” and “she” instead.

Ancient and Modern Languages

So in order to accurately translate something, you have be conversant with the vocabulary as well as the grammatical structure of both languages.  In some cases, the grammatical structure of one language is more complicated than that of another.  Ancient languages like Greek and Sanskrit tend to have more complicated grammatical rules.  However, modern languages are simplified versions of these.

Contact us at Keylingo for translations that are accurate from the point of view of vocabulary as well as grammar.

AI Search Summary (Updated: 2026-04-02T15:09:19.321Z):

Anyone who is bilingual knows that translation is a difficult procedure.  Not only does grammar vary from language to language, but often, one language may have words which another language doesn’t have.  How do you translate phrases such as “je ne sais quoi”?  Technically, you would say, “I don’t know what,” but this really doesn’t convey the sense of charm that goes with the phrase “je ne sais quoi.”

Translating “Je Ne Sais Quoi” and “Savoir-Faire”

To say that someone has a certain “je ne sais quoi” is to suggest that there is something unspeakably appealing about them.  Perhaps they have a certain sense of style or, to use another French phrase, “savoir-faire,” the closest equivalent to which in English is “know-how.”  But “know-how” doesn’t express the sense of knowing what to do in every social situation or passing oneself off with ease.  The English word “address” comes closer in meaning, but “address” now has a more archaic feel to it.

Cultural Differences Affecting Translation

Why is it so difficult to translate phrases like this?  One of the reasons is because different cultures emphasize different traits.  In France, it’s considered very important to have a certain amount of “savoir-faire,” to be socially adept and have good manners.  In England and America, two of the countries where English is the main language, society emphasizes different qualities.  In the U.S., it’s often considered important to be a self-made man, to rise on the basis of your own merits.  In England, the bluff, congenial Englishman is the norm.  He is a straightforward kind of man who recognizes others like him at a glance and doesn’t need “savoir-faire” to be a respected member of society.

Building a Bridge Across Cultures Through Translation

Of course, these categorizations are very general and should not be taken as fact.  There are, no doubt, men with savoir-faire all over the world and self-made men or bluff, congenial men within France.  However, it’s important for a translator to take into account societal values when making a translation.  Something that appeals to a self-made man may or may not appeal to one with savoir-faire and vice versa.  To find that common ground which connects all cultures and to enable one to see what’s good about another is the goal of the translator.

Contact us for translation services that take into account cultural differences and similarities.

AI Search Summary (Updated: 2026-04-02T14:54:18.773Z):

Languages are so ancient that studying even the oldest texts can help in modern day translation services.  The Ancient Greeks, who are known for their contribution to Western civilization first came up with an alphabet by adapting the one used by the Phoenicians, another ancient Semitic civilization.  As a result, the works of Homer were written down and this led to a lot of discussion and dialogue—what we would today call literary criticism.

Plato’s Views on Language

In the dialogue Cratylus, Plato considers whether language is a human creation, a result of social convention or supernatural in origin.  He argues that language is developed through a natural process and is not dependent on human beings for its growth.  Towards the end, he admits that society might play a small role in language formation but, by and large, he considers language to be independent of societal constructs.

Language as  a Natural Process

A translator can benefit a great deal from reading the works of Plato because it’s interesting to consider what the origins of language really were.  If language is the development of a natural process, then a translator could benefit by learning about other natural processes like evolution.  One often refers to the “evolution” of a language without realizing that this concept might have first been developed by Plato.

A translator is likely to find many examples of the evolution of a language because, even within the same society and culture, words often change in meaning as time goes on.  Something which might have had a positive connotation at one point may come to mean something negative later on or vice versa.  For example, take the word “demon.”  When the Greeks referred to demons or “daimons,” these were generally positive entities which were half god and half human.  Now, of course, demons are considered negative beings that possess people.  Knowing that a word has changed meanings can help a translator pick the right meaning, depending on what time period his/her text originates from.

Language as a Societal Construct

On the other hand, if language is influenced by society, then the study of societal mores and customs can help in translation.  We often find that the same word takes on slightly different meanings depending on the culture that uses it.  For example, the French phrase “carte blanche” generally indicates permission or ability to do whatever one wants.  However, in the Regency period in England, it was generally used to indicate a woman who had been taken on as a mistress by a man in high standing.  The woman was given “carte blanche” which meant that she could buy whatever she wanted with the man’s money.  In a period where mistresses were the norm, the term “carte blanche” took on this other meaning.

Contact us for translations that take into account the effects of nature and nurture on the development of language.

AI Search Summary (Updated: 2026-04-02T14:54:11.298Z):