Descriptive vs accurracy vs simplicity
My primary language is Bahasa Malaysia but most of the time, I think in English. Thus why I like to write in English. Once in a while, when I got very angry, I could rattle in English non-stop. hehe... and recently I got to know that I am not the only one who blurts out in English while angry ;)
It is not that I belittle Bahasa Malaysia but sometimes I could not find the right word or term to express myself. Sometimes I feel Bahasa Malaysia is too simple. Yes... I know, simple is easy. But with simplicity we might be losing the accuracy. In some situations the difference could be grave.
The simplest example that i can think of at the moment is BESAR (in Bahasa Malaysia which literally means big in English . However in English here are a lot of words to describe the degree of BIG, such as large, huge, gigantic.
I know i am not a linguistic expert, but i did observed my surroundings. The other day i noticed a calendar produced by a big o&g international company.
As per the picture, you can see that the old woman's statement is quite simple but when her statement got translated into English it have taken a more impressive approach.
We have to remember that translating is not changing word by word from one language to another. Translating needs to carry the implicit meaning and the emotion of the scenarios in order to perfectly convey the message. It is certainly not an easy job of translating. The producers of that calendar surely have done a very good job.
But for the rest of us, can we apply those principle of translating into our daily life? To convey what we really think and feel to others in different language? Yeah... Parent language is totally different from kids language. Could we overcome those differences?
It is not that I belittle Bahasa Malaysia but sometimes I could not find the right word or term to express myself. Sometimes I feel Bahasa Malaysia is too simple. Yes... I know, simple is easy. But with simplicity we might be losing the accuracy. In some situations the difference could be grave.
The simplest example that i can think of at the moment is BESAR (in Bahasa Malaysia which literally means big in English . However in English here are a lot of words to describe the degree of BIG, such as large, huge, gigantic.
I know i am not a linguistic expert, but i did observed my surroundings. The other day i noticed a calendar produced by a big o&g international company.
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| Bahasa Malaysia: Saya suka gunakan rotan dan buluh kerana senang membuat bentuk dan corak English: I love working with rattan and bamboo for their sheer malleability, giving me an edge at exploring innovative designs |
We have to remember that translating is not changing word by word from one language to another. Translating needs to carry the implicit meaning and the emotion of the scenarios in order to perfectly convey the message. It is certainly not an easy job of translating. The producers of that calendar surely have done a very good job.
But for the rest of us, can we apply those principle of translating into our daily life? To convey what we really think and feel to others in different language? Yeah... Parent language is totally different from kids language. Could we overcome those differences?
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