RE: Overuse of gerunds in headings? (Take II)

["VERKERKEN Wouter" <Wouter -dot- VERKERKEN -at- swift -dot- com>]

(Second attempt; first reply didn't make it to the list. Thanks, Lisa!)

Hi Geoff,

Thanks for your reply. Though I see your point(s) -and you obviously
have expertise in this area-, you didn't answer my question.
What if a company decided to use machine translation (not the one I'm
working for, obviously)?

IMHO these are the options:
- Edit the source: don't use gerund+noun combinations.
- Edit the translation: repair gerund+noun translations, in multiple
languages.
- Store as many gerund+noun combinations in the translation memory as
possible.

Which one do you prefer?

Cheers,
Wouter

Geoff Hart 

>>Wouter VERKERKEN wondered: <<Slightly different question 
>about the use 
>>of gerunds in headings. I have heard that gerunds produce bad results 
>>after automatic translation.>>
>>
>>This is possibly a problem if you're using Google to translate from a 
>>language you don't actually understand, and can't be bothered 
>>to hire a 
>>professional, but in machine-assisted translation, a human 
>mind should 
>>always be reviewing the translation or picking the correct 
>translation 
>>from a list of "memorized" options, and such problems should never 
>>arise. If they do, fire your translator--they're 
>incompetent--and hire 
>>a pro.
>>
>><<As a Dutch native speaker I can understand that it would not be a 
>>good idea to translate, for example, "Installing x" literally into my 
>>mother tongue. Does anyone have input on this issue?>>
>>
>>I work professionally as a French to English translator, and I 
>>can tell 
>>you that nobody who knows what they're doing will do literal 
>>translations unless their primary goal is to amuse their friends and 
>>lose their clients. Translation involves preserving the 
>_meaning_, not 
>>the words*, and anyone who tells you otherwise shouldn't be doing 
>>translation for a living.
>>
>>* There are, of course, exceptions. For example, you don't translate 
>>company names and other proper nouns unless you've confirmed with the 
>>author that this is necessary (e.g., there's an official translation 
>>for the target country) or helpful.
>>
>>Moreover, in some cases you don't even translate the meaning, but 
>>instead choose a wording that accomplishes the same goal in 
>the target 
>>language that the author was trying to accomplish in the original 
>>language. That's very true in advertising, for example, and 
>often true 
>>in literary translation as well (e.g., some metaphors or jokes don't 
>>translate between cultures).
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