The aim of this project is to meet the challenge of the forthcoming enlargement, which will extend the problems associated with terminological data to some twenty languages. The result will reflect Europe's linguistic diversity and richness.
We will be examining the question of access to the new base keeping in mind the need for sound management of public funds.
Hubert Paesmans
Head of EC-SdT Terminology Unit
Volunteers in this international environmental organization contribute to both office work and external activites, such as campaigns for the protection of the environment.
One of the tasks available for volunteers willing to perform office work, rather than outdoor activities, is the translation of documents and leaflets. The work they are assigned depends on their foreign language skills, as well as their computer literacy, since they often need to use the internet and download foreign pages.
In case you are interested in contributing to the protection of the environment, please contact WWF headquarters at 26 Filellinon St.
Tel. 210 324-7559
Chevrolet Nova, for instance, failed to sell in Spanish-speaking countries, since "nova" means "doesn't go" in Spanish.
On the other hand, translators are often asked to translate already existing ads or slogans and their literal translations sometimes result in unpredictable results. The same applies to cases where an original and untranslated slogan reaches a foreign culture, where words have different connotations in comparison to the source culture.
A marketing slogan, for example, which read "turn it loose" translated as "suffer from diarrhea" in Spanish.
Pepsi's slogan "come alive with the Pepsi generation" translated into Chinese as "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave"!
Almost 3% of the books published in the US are actually translated works and none of them ever manage to become bestsellers. The same applies to the British market as well.
Successfull publishing houses are often reluctant to promote unfamiliar authors, since the financial return seems to be very low as compared to domestic fiction. Smaller publishing businesses lack the financial resources to promote such projects.
Furthermore, translations aiming at a wider readership conceal the cultural contexts lying behind original works. Often, their initial impact is lost, unless the target readership is aware of the cultural and social background of the source text country.
In Germany, on the other hand, translations account for 40% of the published fiction.
