What are difficult languages to translate and why are they difficult?

 


The writer and translator Jorge Luis Borges once said, "It is a mistake to ignore that each language is a way to feel and perceive the universe." Like all daily translators, Borges was aware that his job involved more than just swapping out words from one language for those in the target language. A rigorous and creative process that calls for knowledge and a variety of skills is translation. All translations are complex, but some languages are harder to translate than others.

Why is this happening, exactly? Ranking of Difficult Languages

Globally, there are more than 7100 languages that have been recorded, making the raw materials available to translators plentiful and diverse. However, only a few languages receive the majority of the translation work. The longest word in Hungarian is "Megszentségtelenthetetlenségeskedéseitekért," which has 44 letters.

Even though language professionals cannot possibly be fully conversant with the specifics of thousands of languages, there are some languages that are among the most frequently translated that carry their own particular challenges.

Difficult languages to translate

Chinese Mandarin

 Because of the tones in this language, how a word is said can impact how it is understood. Due to the use of homophones, regionalisms, and aphorisms, Mandarin is one of the most difficult languages for interpreters to understand. The fact that Mandarin is an oral language makes this challenge even more challenging. Furthermore, Mandarin has more than 80,000 characters, making it extremely difficult to learn.

Korean

Its isolation makes it peculiar because it has no linguistic ancestry with any of the other languages currently in use. Outside of Korea (where there are about 20 million native speakers in North Korea and about 42 million in South Korea), only a few communities in China, Japan, Russia, the United States, Singapore, and Paraguay speak Korean. The syntax of Korean is entirely distinct from that of other languages, including English. Learning and translation are also hampered by pronunciation and grammatical conventions.

Arabic

This language has a large vocabulary, and similar to Mandarin Chinese, the way a word is pronounced can change its meaning. Additionally, it has a variety of dialects, which has an impact on the accuracy of any translation. For instance, it's unlikely that using Egyptian Arabic in a different area will produce a successful localization. Additionally, the way letters are spelled in written Arabic varies depending on where they are in a word, and vowels are never written.

As a result, when businesses need linguistic services in these languages, they should look for experts who have solid credentials and in-depth knowledge of languages, or even better: native speakers. And when the project calls for translations into multiple languages, this becomes even more important. Only translators who possess these abilities can ensure that the finished product stays true to the tone and context of the original text. It is essential to have faith in linguists to clarify meaning and, as Borges said, to respect the subtle shades in each concept. 

Need a translation? I’M Translation and ISIS Korea provides professional translation and interpretation services.

How might I’M Translation and ISiS Korea aid translation?

At I’M Translation and ISiS Korea, we can connect you with a professional translators and interpreters. We have over 30+ languages available on our platform and we are flexible and available regardless of the language pair, topic, and time zone. Please visit us at www.imtranslation.com and www.isiskorea.com/eng to request a free translation and interpretation quote. Thank you

 

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