TRANSLATORS AND REFERENCE TOOLS

Translators and interpreters are assigned to work from a foreign language into their mother tongue. The idea behind this is that their knowledge of their mother tongue is better and it will be easier for them to find equivalents from the foreign language. This conceit may not be true because a native Spanish speaker translating from English may have inadequate knowledge of his own language, due to age, education, and culture. To assume that it is easier to interpret or render into one's native language may be a mistake. The horizon of an interpreter's language is not the horizon of language. A good array of reference tools may be necessary to compensate for the inadequacy or shortcomings of the translator's mastery of his mother tongue. I am confronted by this daily, in books, newspapers, and television, where I detect poorly translated idioms, proverbs, and sayings, mainly because of ignorance. But who is qualified to vet these translations? Are they ever vetted? The damage inflicted upon languages by translators with poor knowledge of their own tongue is immense. Alas, what can be done?