Australianism in Interpretation and Translation

Australian delegates sometimes use colloquialisms which are quite difficult to transpose into other languages. These words are often used deliberately to be amusing.

Some expressions such as ‘things are crook’ and ‘scumbags’ are often heard on TV and radio and we often think they are English. However, they are more likely to be Australianisms and may not be completely understood at an international forum.

Therefore, it’s very important for an interpreter at a beginner level to prepare for how to interpret these type of expressions into your native language. Here are some examples:

–          To cut off your nose to spite your face.

–          You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

–          To hook up with.

–          To get on the gravy train.

–          Rubbery figures.

 

Preparation of a glossary

For any translator or interpreter, it’s always important to build a glossary of important words in many fields such as banking, tax, finance, construction, government, architecture and medicine . When checking the meaning and putting these words into the glossary, you can prepare yourself and have a rough idea of what terms are likely to come up in the translation or interpreting assignment.

The words in the glossaries can be arranged in alphabetical order so you can sort them and find them easily when you need to. Alternatively, they can be arranged in topic order too.

Keep adding more words to your glossaries as you continue your research in many fields. Glossaries are often more useful than dictionaries as they are more specific and related to the field, while dictionaries often only focus on the more common and general words.

Don’t worry about these words being complex as after two or three times of being used they will become familiar to you.

Dr Na Pham – Sydney Language Solutions – 2012