Translating – When All Is Said And Done, That’s Exactly What It Is

Last Updated On: July 11, 2017 by The Migration Translators

There’s an old joke about an Englishman, a Frenchman and a German discussing languages. The Frenchman argued that French was the best language in the world as it was the language of romance. The German argued that German was the best language in the world, because it the language of discovery of thought and science. The Englishman, however, just smiled and, picking up a knife said, “You’re both wrong. You Frenchies call this un couteau and you Jerries call it ein Messer, but we English call it a knife, which, when all is said and done is exactly what it is.”.

To speakers of all languages, their interpretation of any particular concept makes perfect sense and in history the fact that people from another country may see matters somewhat differently may only become apparent if they tried to learn another language for any reason. In modern times, however, people now often have to learn to adapt to other people’s view of the world, even if they themselves never leave their home country. International travel has made tourism a huge industry while international trade means that businesses need to communicate with partners across continents and cultures.

It’s the latter point that tends to pose a challenge. Where there are common cultural links, people can often communicate very ably over great distances. Australia and the U.K. for example are literally at opposite sides of the globe, but generally people from both countries can understand each other very well, even if they each use expressions the other finds amusing. When dealing with more significant cultural differences however, the importance of using a certified translation service, can not be overstated. Effective language translation services ensure that document translation takes into account cultural differences as well as linguistic ones.