Poll: Do translations expire? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Huh? I have no idea what this means.
| | | | | Some of them do | Mar 22, 2019 |
Certified and sworn translations, for instance...
| | | | Yoana Ivanova 
Estonia
Local time: 15:18
English to Bulgarian
+ ...
| Some of them do | Mar 22, 2019 |
... is the answer I picked, but the question is a bit ambiguous.
For example, some documents need to be translated regularly due to changes in the information.
From a literary standpoint, a work that has been translated for example 50 years ago may not read well anymore with too many archaisms or outdated constructions.
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| Yes eventually | Mar 22, 2019 |
After a few centuries, only scholars would be able to decipher them.
For instance, original French literature from the XVIth century is full of spelling mistakes. That wouldn't pass any quality control process nowadays.
Philippe
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Most translations I see are dead on arrival, but obviously I like to think mine are immortal and transcend both space and time.
One day, perhaps, readership of my efforts this week to further global understanding of fiscal sustainability will literally move into double figures.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 14:18
Spanish to English
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The poll query seems a bit obscure. Some translations obviously need updating from time to time, for example software manual instructions when new functionalities are introduced - or any kind of instruction manual really, when changes are made to the product or item in question.
| | | | | Probably some sooner than others | Mar 22, 2019 |
There are purely ephemeral remarks, and if they are translated, then the translations are ephemeral too. But like the immortal amoeba, they divide and spawn - you kill one, or even a thousand, but their descendants live on. The sort of conversations we carry on in daily situations, in the family, shopping, wherever. They are instantly forgotten, but tomorrow or next week we will be back, having very similar conversations. A lot of business translations - contracts, user manuals... may not be qui... See more There are purely ephemeral remarks, and if they are translated, then the translations are ephemeral too. But like the immortal amoeba, they divide and spawn - you kill one, or even a thousand, but their descendants live on. The sort of conversations we carry on in daily situations, in the family, shopping, wherever. They are instantly forgotten, but tomorrow or next week we will be back, having very similar conversations. A lot of business translations - contracts, user manuals... may not be quite so ephemeral, but they are varied and repeated thousands of times. That is the kind of thing machine translation lives on.
The individual translation may expire, but the type goes on indefinitely.
If the original text is immortal literature, translations last longer. One of the really famous examples is known as the King James Bible. Purely from the point of view of translation, it transferred unfamiliar concepts and images to the English people of the time, and it is still part of the language we speak, centuries later. If you actually want to read the basic message, then a modern translation will be easier to understand correctly, but I would argue that as long as anyone speaks English, there is a chance they will use idioms or expressions influenced by the language of Coverdale, Wycliffe and Tyndale, who worked on the King James Bible.
David Crystal wrote a whole book on the subject: Begat, 2010
There are thousands of other examples round the world. That is just the one I know best. ▲ Collapse
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| Literary Translation | Mar 22, 2019 |
Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
Huh? I have no idea what this means.
I think especially literary translations may need to be updated from time to time.
| | | | | What does that mean? | Mar 22, 2019 |
I can't make sense of the question.
| | | | Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 14:18
English to German
| Some of them | Mar 22, 2019 |
The important thing is for translations not to stink.
| | | | DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
Of course, all the info and data became obsolete--in any language.
Why, unlike some papers due in three-five-ten years, almost 80% of my everyday translation are useless right after reading or very soon, going to a shredder.
As for classics and literature, I prefer the original works, so I could understand it better, no somebody else's translation.
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| Only if the original document expires | Mar 22, 2019 |
I think that the validity of a translation follows the validity of the original document.
If the document expires and it needs some kind of update, of course the translation must be updated too.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 09:18
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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Of course some of us are not lucky enough to keep good health conditions that will allow us to work until we die. Many conditions may hinder our capability to work.
Also, many of us are able to save enough money to retire one day, at their own will. So that would be a voluntary "expiry", I guess.
I hope I won't fall into the former category, and I hope one day I can fall into the latter, but I don't think I will.
[Edited at 2019-03-23 00:19 GMT]
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 09:18
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Can't edit anymore... | Mar 24, 2019 |
Mario Freitas wrote:
Of course some of us are not lucky enough to keep good health conditions that will allow us to work until we die. Many conditions may hinder our capability to work.
Also, many of us are able to save enough money to retire one day, at their own will. So that would be a voluntary "expiry", I guess.
I hope I won't fall into the former category, and I hope one day I can fall into the latter, but I don't think I will.
[Edited at 2019-03-23 00:19 GMT]
I read the question incorrectlt. I read "translators" instead of "translations"
So I'm with Muriel. WTH does that mean?
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