David Peachey
Location Australia
Activity
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David Peachey made a comment
Thank you so much for putting the course together. It was certainly challenging and thought-provoking at times (which is partly why I was a bit slow in finishing), and it's given me a deeper insight into translating and interpreting.
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David Peachey replied to David Peachey
In the GoT article, we see the line "...it would have all gone a bit Pete Tong." As an English speaker, I see right away that the name is rhyming slang for "wrong" (also: Britney Spears = beers, Harold Holt = bolt, ie. run away), but I wonder how that would be translated? The rhyming slang adds a touch of humour and familiarity, but would this usually be...
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David Peachey made a comment
I know this is only mentioned in passing, but I wonder around what year the codes of ethics were set (say, in the UK) and whether any of the disastrous misinterpretations also mentioned then happened in spite of the code?
From the article, links and some comments here, it should also be made clear to the users of interpreters exactly how they should work with... -
@SherryHallmond Yes, I was thinking the same thing - court interpreters would need to be specialists in a court context.
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David Peachey made a comment
From a reader's perspective, if I hear "The Palm-Wine Drinkard" and understand that it's a story originally written in English, then I'd probably accept the non-standard language. If I hear the same title and I understand that it's a translation from another language, I might start doubting the quality of the translation and think the translator might have...
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David Peachey made a comment
So as I understand the question, the translation may become less familiar to an English mindset (for example), in order to enhance the nuances within the original culture and language?
I'd probably want to read a few examples first, and even then be made aware that they are "foreignised" translations. It may be enlightening! :) -
David Peachey made a comment
A writer usually sets a mood or a vibe in each work, and it makes sense for a translator to detect this and try to present a similar "mood" in the translated work.
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David Peachey replied to David Peachey
Another thought: what if Rollkugel simply becomes a "coogle"?
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David Peachey replied to Sarah Joy
I swapped to a trackball a couple of years ago and have never looked back! :)
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David Peachey made a comment
I'm tempted to use a calque for Rollkugel and call it a "roll-bullet" or just "bullet".
The construction of the knee-device reminds me of a Morse code key, so I might just call it a "morse". -
David Peachey made a comment
Juliet also mentioned looking at her own previous work, so she can call upon the translations she's done in the past to help with a current translation.
Acronyms are messy, even when not translating! It almost turns into a guessing game. -
David Peachey replied to Elisabetta Nucifora
Yes, in a past job exporting mechanical parts to French-speaking islands, we had to compile our own technical vocabulary, as standard French wasn't always used in places like New Caledonia, Mauritius and Réunion. I recall my boss having to call up a client to confirm exactly what they meant by "pompe"(pump) so we could source the exact item.
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David Peachey made a comment
Medical journals, research papers and technical corpora would be the first places I'd look.
Another alternative would be to rephrase the original expression, perhaps to "no evidence of HIV". -
David Peachey made a comment
Revision is a very underrated part of translation, and an extra pair of eyes on a project is a much better guarantee of quality. I know this has been mentioned before, but cultural nuances need to be considered when checking the quality of a translation (for example, how US, UK and Australian speakers have completely different definitions for "root" as a...
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David Peachey made a comment
It's interesting that Juliet mentions the "corpora", as this further means that MT is continually developing and the "awful" translations we saw some years ago have been revised, corrected and will continue to be so.
I'm not sure if any of the MT platforms have this function, but it may also help users to be able to trace where a translation came from (ie.... -
David Peachey made a comment
I'm always reminded of "Time to Say Goodbye", by Andea Bocelli and (sometimes with) Sarah Brightman. In the "English" version, it's only the title that's sung in English and the rest is in the original Italian.
I think that English speakers - who understand little Italian - assume it's a farewell/ending song. However, the original title "Con te partirò"... -
David Peachey made a comment
I've thought about this when following recipes in other languages. Using the waffle example, English uses commands (imperatives) for recipes: cook the waffle, eat the waffle. Other languages - I'm specifically thinking of my Slovak & Turkish cookbooks here - use a more descriptive or demonstrative style. The cooking instructions literally translate as "we cook...
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David Peachey made a comment
This reminds me of the instructional signs in Slovakia, where they used a range of grammar forms to express levels of directness.
For example, a no-smoking sign might use "nefajčite" which is a direct address to a group, or " nefajčiť " which is less direct (it literally means "not to smoke"). There's also " zákaz fajčiť " (more or less: "a prohibition to... -
This reminds me of a visit to the "San Lazzaro degli Armeni" monastery in Venice. We had a choice of tours in Armenian or English, and most of the group (including my friend) were Armenian speakers or had Armenian heritage so I went with the larger group.
I don't speak Armenian, and my friend spoke very little English, so we used the language we share -... -
David Peachey made a comment
- Keep in mind the audience of the translation, so the text that they understand is also the text they can find easily. This may mean placing a certain text higher, in a specific area, or making the characters larger.
- Make it clear that translation has actually taken place. This may be obvious on a multilingual sign, but in an instructional brochure for... -
David Peachey made a comment
I realise I've come rather late to the discussion, and many of the comments below have already suggested my first impressions or - even better - come up with more creative options for using translation in the space.
I agree most with the comments that remind us to focus on the art, and use translation only as a supplement. -
David Peachey made a comment
Selma Schauls is a songwriter based in Luxembourg, and comes from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Living in Luxembourg, she often uses French and Luxembourgish, which is also reflected in her music, where she may use four or five different languages, sometimes using one language to translate another (eg. Bosnian to French).
I came across her work on a compilation CD... -
But sometimes the writer and the client are different people, aren't they? So now we're getting into the territory of translation rights.
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David Peachey replied to David Peachey
I've just read Loredana's explanation, and that surprised me! :)
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David Peachey made a comment
I'm guessing that English was the orignal text, as certain phrases (such as the titles of things) are kept in English, on the Italian poster.
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David Peachey made a comment
I'm using the image from the Czech wikipedia entry for "Interpreting" (Tlumočení): https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlumo%C4%8Den%C3%AD#/media/Soubor:Barack_Obama_meets_with_Mahmoud_Abbas_in_the_Oval_Office_2009-05-28_1.jpg
The interpreter is tightly sandwiched between Obama and Abbas, and is making notes as the heads of state speak. He's not blocking one from... -
David Peachey made a comment
I recall reading an article about (non-UK) medical professionals who spent time working in northern England and quickly realised that they had to learn a whole new set of words, specifically the local words for various ailments and illnesses. Patients would come in and describe their problems using local expressions (eg. "bunged up" for...
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I think it's fair to let the students discuss the topic in their own language so they can understand the concepts of the lecture. In other words, even though the material is delivered in English, it's not an English-language lesson and the main aim is for the students to comprehend the material, in whichever way is best for them.
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In both cases, my first assumption was that the higher/left-side text was the original, but after thinking about it, it does make more sense that the translated text comes first. In other words, presenting the text for the audience: non-Italian speakers, with the original coming later for reference.
I'm guessing the Chinese-Italian sign was at the Chinese... -
Yes, some phrases (and even dialogues) in any given culture become functional, and the literal meaning of the words doesn't matter anymore. Semantics vs pragmatics, I guess.
In Australia we say "How's it going?" as a greeting, with the acceptable response being "Not too bad". We're not looking for any serious analysis; it's just general goodwill, as Sherry... -
David Peachey replied to Sandra Gomes
Many English speakers are generally aware of other variations around the world, particularly if they're not from the main US/UK English regions. I can think of a number of British and American words that I typically don't use as as Australian, and when communicating between countries, our English becomes standard enough so there's no confusion (eg. I simply...
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I do this too. Even though I learnt other languages only in my adult years, I still catch myself thinking in those languages - Italian, for example - and then I decide to continue thinking in that language because it's easier for that situation.
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David Peachey made a comment
The concepts that usually come to my mind are "moving across", "bridging" and "converting". The last concept is interesting because there's no sense of transition, but instead a sense of adaptation, change and replacing parts.
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David Peachey made a comment
Although I've worked hard to overcome this, my whole upbringing was basically monolingual (Australian English), so I think it's fascinating to grow up with several languages araround you.
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David Peachey replied to Nelson diogo
Yes, counting in a second language is something I try to get my English students to practice as well. For example, I get them to use words and not numerals when they write.
Counting is probably one of the parts of our first laguage that we hold onto the most! -
David Peachey made a comment
I'll just respond briefly to the third question in respect to the re-naming of places in Australia, ie. changing the colonial British name back to its original Indigenous name.
Changing the names back has met with some resistance from people who were used to the British names, and in only a few rare cases has the original name completely taken over, such as... -
Yes, it's in reference to Queen Victoria of Britain, who was the ruling monarch when the city was founded (surrounding streets are named after other members of the royal family at the time). I guess in Chinese, it's easier/shorter to translate than transliterate? Maybe some other cultural issues came into play when the other languages chose to transliterate...
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David Peachey made a comment
My city (Brisbane, Australia) often makes an effort to be linguistically inclusive, although this is a fairly recent idea.
In the image via the link below, we can see a street sign in the city centre, showing landmarks in English, Chinese, Arabic, Korean and Japanese. The interesting thing I see is that sometimes the place names are phonetically written. For... -
Ahh, I'm so slow! I've just linked the same song in another discussion :D
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David Peachey made a comment
I really enjoyed the content, tasks, and comments by other learners from this week. Thanks everyone!
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David Peachey made a comment
I found this task a bit difficult because (as Rebecca mentioned below) a number of other factors came into play, including whether or not I preferred the style of each song. Although I preferred the song in Welsh, I can't be certain that the language factors into my choice.
As an alternative, might I suggest comparing "A Rose in the Wind"/"La Rose des... -
David Peachey replied to David Peachey
Also worth looking at: The Noongar Shakespeare Project (Noongar is a language from the south-west corner of Australia)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiosJ2LH6cg -
David Peachey made a comment
I'm reminded of a funny advert by Soesman Language Training in the Netherlands, in which a family hears a song with extremely vulgar lyrics in English, but enjoys the song anyway because they didn't understand English. (It's fairly easy to find online.)
There's also a well-known article by anthropologist Laura Bohannan called "Shakespeare in the Bush", in... -
David Peachey made a comment
From the video, I understand that Saara is very conscious of which language is appropriate in a given context. She mentions using Afrikaans with workmates as well as Damara, but greets visitors to the office in English. She might also try to "bridge the gap" in some languages, such as attempting a greeting in Otjiherero based on her knowledge of Oshiwambo.
So... -
David Peachey made a comment
While searching for a specific video by TG Lurgan (Ireland), I discovered that they had also done a collaboration with Urdd Gobaith Cymru (Wales) just over a year ago, and produced this Welsh/Irish cover of The Weekend's "Blinding Lights": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBLeKfpI5zk
So what are the implications of translating a song? Not only so the words are... -
David Peachey made a comment
In spite of any personal feelings towards religion, we have to admit that in some cases, it has been a driving force in translation and even the preservation of languages. However, I think most translation comes from an immediate necessity, as opposed to a pre-decided goal such as evangelisation.
The translation described in this video focuses mainly on... -
David Peachey made a comment
I really enjoy listening to speakers code-switch because it not only requires a great deal of attention from the speaker, but it also tells me what phrasing and which language that the speaker thinks is appropriate at any given moment.
In some cases, it's true that a certain phrase or word in one language would be much neater and clearer than a longer... -
David Peachey made a comment
AUSIT (The Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators Inc) has a link to their code of ethics on the homepage, which is available in eight languages. The AUSIT Code of Ethics covers nine principles, and the matters of a faithful translation and an impartial manner are covered in these (for example, principle 5 is called "Impartiality").
The... -
David Peachey replied to David Peachey
I've just remembered another "misheard" video, which I encountered while living in Slovakia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MNxKO4-uaY (the subtitles start at 30 seconds in)
Roachford sings: "Survive, people, survive the people / Got to find a good way to stand up for brother"
Here's my translation of the Slovak subtitles: "Som fajn, vypil som fajné pivo"... -
David Peachey replied to Cindy Krause
If I remember right, Tolkien also initiated the research to create a linguistic/dialect map of Great Britain?
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David Peachey made a comment
I'd like to talk about a translator from the Indigenous Australian community, as their work has been massively under-recognized.
Benno "Ben" Murray (1893-1994) lived in South Australia for most of his life, and came from Arabana-Thirari and Afghan heritage. The lands of the Arabana and the Thirari peoples sit on both sides of a massive inland salt lake, Kati... -
David Peachey made a comment
"Notify the client if there are errors, omissions or imprecise language in the source text. (Art. 4.1.4)"
This reminds me when I was studying Greek theatre and compared different translations of "The Clouds" by Aristophanes. In the middle of the comedy, there's a fairly crass discussion about shoving radishes in certain places. A couple of the older... -
@PatriciaWelch Well, that goes back to the original question of how much the translator should influence the final product... and in most cases, the reader won't compare the original and translated texts.
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Example 2: I had proofread a text on South Moravian folk traditions, which also meant I had to double-check a lot of the vocabulary and look for old illustrations to make sure I understood the writer properly. The English text was then sent to an editor for revision, and they sent it back with multiple corrections and comments. Almost all of the issues came...
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Example 1: A novelist wanted his book translated into English, and when I proofread the translation, I saw most of the sentences were pretty badly-written. I talked to the translator, who was a teaching colleague of mine, and she explained that the sentences in the orginal language are also badly-written (the novelist never had an editor look at his writing,...
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David Peachey made a comment
Another issue has come to my mind: when the original text is in fact badly-written and full of errors. So should translators be expected to correct the text as they translate it, or should they produce a "faithful" translation which shows the poor writing of the orginal?
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David Peachey made a comment
(I've moved the original comment here, to the discussion on the next page - it seems more relevant there. Cheers!)
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David Peachey replied to Karin S
I've had that experience too, but in the context of doing my own study on Czech folk traditions so I could understand what the writer was talking about.
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Yes, this is why I give my upper-level language students "The Palgish Flester" text as a task. They have to answer 5 questions based on a nonsense text, but they don't need definitions to find the answers (eg. "What kind of flester was he?"). I tell them I will help them after they answer the 5 questions, but I also allow them to use their translators. After...
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My mind always goes back to this notorious example when I think of "automatic" translation and not actually checking it: https://www.translatemedia.com/translation-blog/welsh-road-sign-displays-out-of-office-message-in-translation-blunder/
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David Peachey made a comment
The issue of enough time hit home for me as well. It's not only the issue of automatic translation, which gives the illusion of "correct" translation as well as a fast one, but also those freelancers who offer faster and faster turnarounds at lower rates, and effectively undercut the community. Blame the hustle culture?
This was also an issue when I was... -
David Peachey made a comment
It's helpful to see these classes of interpreting - I could think of some real-examples of most of them.
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So if I understand the last part correctly, would a translator describe their work as C-A, for example? So they translate texts from a "passive foreign language" to their native language? Also, if the translator works between two "active foreign languages", is that work described as B-B?
I'm also interested in knowing whether translators describe their... -
David Peachey replied to Bah Yannick Kouadio
If this helps... although there's a heavy focus on US/UK English in the English-learning sphere, a number of other English-speaking countries receive media content from both places anyway, as well as more localised forms of English. For example, as someone living in Australia, I grew up with plenty of exposure to UK and US English without needing to travel to...
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David Peachey made a comment
There's a saying that doesn't translate well into English, but it basically means "You live a new life for every new language you speak". A few years ago in Shanghai, I watched Kevin Chen, founder of a language learning site, give a speech that suggested this idea needed some adjustment. His argument was that you live a new life for every new culture you...
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David Peachey replied to Syria Ferraro
I remember when I lived in Slovakia, pizzas often included canned sweet corn as a topping. I never thought much of it until I left and then realised it's not typical anywhere else.
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Although a "lunch" is typically light to English thinking, a heavy meal in the middle of the day is sometimes called "dinner"! Then the evening meal might be light and called "tea" or "supper". This is more a regional habit in the UK/Ireland.
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David Peachey made a comment
I did this recently with the word "fluent", as part of research for a podcast, and back-translated the word for "fluent" in other languages.
Most central-west Eurpean languages have a similar word, suggesting the flow of water. Chinese also uses water imagery, and the Hebrew word suggests washing/overflowing. However, the West Slavic languages (Polish, Czech,... -
David Peachey made a comment
I tried "coffee" with Turkish, Indonesian and Russian translations, and I noticed that things that are usually served with coffee, or certain brands of coffee changed the most. In the case of the Indonesian images, as well as the coffee being flat and black (no espresso crema or milk), the accompaniments were crustless sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs - not in...
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David Peachey made a comment
"There once was a slobby old rascal
Who grew up quite foolish, no flair
He learnt how to thieve, to nick and to jimmy
But this duffer then half-inched a mare.
At slipping the long arm he was such a buffoon
He was caught and sent down to the gaol
In the cell we will feast on rough bread and old knack
And water sloshed out of a pail."I was in two...
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David Peachey replied to David Peachey
One I remember was about Switzerland* who, mid-argument, yelled "Shut up or I'll beat you with my (Nobel) Peace prize". This wasn't in the literal subtitles at all.
*note, if anyone here doesn't know "Hetalia", basically all the characters are personifications of countries. -
David Peachey made a comment
Would "intersemiotic translation" also refer to musical works? For example expressing joy or sadness through melody, rhythm and musical arrangement?
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Well, it is a word with Latin roots that has been brought into English, and the spelling and pronunciation also reflects that (compare Spanish "estapedectomía").... so yes I think "stapedectomy" counts as an English word that has cognates across multiple languages. Also, "minor procedure" are Latin-origin words as well, and the effect in English is a sense of...
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David Peachey made a comment
Another issue I noticed with manga translations is the use of sound effects in the artwork (there were a couple in the video, eg. from 3.25 to 3.36). So translating those as well would mean redoing the artwork! One workaround I saw was an additional glossary ar the end of the manga which explained the sounds, and also what they would sound like using a Roman...
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David Peachey made a comment
I'm reminded of how Funimation (a US company) approached the dubbing of the Japanese anime "Hetalia". The English dialogue is hilarious and the accents are often on point, but when I looked back at the subtitles, which gave a more literal translation, I realised how much creativity the voice actors were allowed - even to the point of adding completely new...
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And I've noticed that I still used the concept of "carrying across" when trying to define translation! :D
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David Peachey made a comment
As I understand it, translation is how we convey meaning, intent and nuance between different languages, as well as between different formas of communication.
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David Peachey made a comment
I hadn't thought about this issue before, as most of my experience with translators and interpreters has been "low stakes" - business matters, instructional brochures, research texts and fiction writing.
Since an interpreter is usually physically present in a situation, I understand it may be more difficult to remain neutral, and how other people view the... -
David Peachey replied to Danielle Moreira
To be honest, I also wanted to use more non-English words in my version, eg. "pasar" (="market" in Indonesian)
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Perhaps you could do a Lithuanian version, and explain some of the parts in English?
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David Peachey made a comment
Thanks for a fantastic and enlightening course! Some health issues made my progress very slow & I had to skip some student-input parts, but I'm glad to have got to the end. Cheers!
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David Peachey made a comment
It was very interesting to see how technology and creative thinking has developed in the sphere of musical creation.
I also think it's important to remember that regardless of the technology and methods used, the matter of "mapping" will also affect the end musical result. For example, this week we saw in one video a woman producing sound through movement,... -
David Peachey replied to Julia Ayache
I realise that your idea uses motion tracking as opposed to contact sensors, but I couldn't help thinking about John Otway performing "Body Talk" on the Young Ones sitcom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zozseflZ55E
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David Peachey made a comment
If I'm looking for a range of pitch and expression, I might use at least the entire arm's movement (if not the whole body, as mentioned below) as a starting point for controlling music production.
I could decide if I wanted an actual device to touch, or if it could be mapped onto a hand/arm using various sensors for touch and movement. Perhaps the "hand"... -
David Peachey made a comment
Fascinating examples!
I remember seeing Carles López's "Reactable" some years ago... a longer demo is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8WuWagPTwk When AfroCelt Soud System released their album "Release" in 1999, the CD included a music program which looked a bit like the Reactable, but only on-screen. So you could move icons around a space to create... -
David Peachey made a comment
The newer system of an interface which does not create its own sounds might need some time for the wider community to understand it. For example, I'm selling a piano-keyboard interface but in the advert I have to state that the keyboard does not have its own set of sounds, and needs to be connected to other devices.
I have a cajon that I rarely play, but... -
David Peachey made a comment
I immediately thought of how this might be applied to people using prosthetic limbs, and it's certainly in development: https://developerblog.myo.com/meet-the-man-with-a-myo-controlled-robotic-arm/
Adding muscular movements - I guess this means at least tension and relaxation - to the physical actions we can measure opens up another pathway to controlling... -
David Peachey made a comment
I can't remember if I mentioned it earlier in the course, but I'm reminded of the 1995 anime "Macross Plus", which includes holographic concerts by an AI performer, Sharon Apple. In the first concert we see that the audience is monitored for their level of engagement, and the music increases in its intensity the more the audience engages.
I can't remember how... -
David Peachey made a comment
In another course about how the brain of bilingual people operates, we looked at quite a few EEG models which showed how certain parts of the brain activate when learning a first language vs the second. It was interesting to see how the process is actually spread across the brain, and also how we apply certain regions of our brains when learning new things in...
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David Peachey made a comment
Trying to go "double-time" with the music used much more energy, and seemed less appropriate. The rhythm "slinks" along, and it feels more natural to go at that slower pace. This reminds me of how some songwriters have told me that they use their walking time as composing time, and piece together the music and lyrics in their heads, in time with their walking...
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David Peachey made a comment
I think we can read emotion from motion, while acknowledging that much of our interpretation may come from cultural attitudes. Wider studies would tell us whether the examples of emotion-motion relationship is "universal" or endemic.
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David Peachey made a comment
I used this way of thinking when teaching English as a second language, and the students were trying to understand phrasal verbs. Most phrasal verbs in English are based on a physical action, and in cases where the meaning is non-literal (eg. "an alarm goes off", or "to put off a meeting until later"), we are still using a physical action to describe an...
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David Peachey made a comment
From learning about resonance in vocal production, we become familiar with placing bass pitches low around the chest, and treble pitches high in our heads. This is where those notes resonate best, respectively. So, this may be one reason to impose pitch on a vertical scale. We also have a foundation, ie. the ground beneath us.
Looking at Ian's comment, and... -
David Peachey made a comment
The use of ter- in Malay (tersalin) caught my attention, as this modifies the verb and should be included in the understanding along with the root word. It's one of those nebulous prefixes, and apparently one of the implications of using ter- is that the action is intentional (another implication is that the action happens by accident! Confusing.).
I'm also... -
David Peachey replied to Edith Floszmann
Even English speakers mishear English songs - plenty of funny examples on www.kissthisguy.com
(The website name is a wrong hearing of Jimi Hendrix singing Purple Haze: "Excuse me while I kiss the sky") -
David Peachey made a comment
It bear McGill go mesh, shoe in a timey Pasha / He suck a ramen and miso / "Ooh, me!" he and a shout, mushy tear / Sham hark, ooh ma, a ton o' luck in a beery igloo tin...
I'm reminded of a "misheard lyrics" video, where a metal band covered "Százszor ölelj még" ("A hundred times, hug me") by Hungarian band NOX, then a couple in the US subtitled the video... -
David Peachey made a comment
Last year, I developed and gave a presentation on using translation tools, as part of an assessment. In one part, I used wikipedia pages to show how the title of the film "Spirited Away" (Studio Ghibli) is often reinterpreted depending on the language - the English title also being a reinterpretation from the original Japanese, which itself has a wordplay on...
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I was surprised to discover several years ago that the poem "Jabberwocky" actually has been translated into multiple languages. There are examples on the wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky and we can see that in some cases, certain words were borrowed directly from the original English, and in other cases the translator worked as...
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David Peachey made a comment
Although modern Australia has multiple cultures, there's still an old expectation that "only English is enough", and this often works against finding opportunities to experience translation and use it in practice.
On the other hand, I could say that most of the encounters I have with translation are translations into English (but not the other way). :)
I... -
David Peachey made a comment
Hello, I'm David from Brisbane, Australia. I've worked as a teacher of English as a second language for over 10 years, and during my time in Slovakia, I also edited and proofread translations from Czech and Slovak to English. Often, I would also re-translate parts of the translation if the meaning wasn't entirely clear.
Hopefully, I will gain a deeper...
