Dealing with Set Phrases: Undertranslating, Overtranslating and Getting It Just Right

Imagine this scenario: You're translating a document for a new client. Though the writer is fairly good in terms of grammar, he tends to squeeze clichés and idioms into nearly every sentence (think a bird in the hand that beats around the bush in a cart before a gift horse in the mouth). You have to make a tough choice. Do you just translate these set phrases literally? Do you spend precious time searching Google for a similar phrase in the target language? Do you just explain the thought or rewrite the sentence? Here are the pros and cons of these three approaches with some examples:

● Literal Translation (word-for-word):

Pros: Quick and easy. No bothersome research.

Cons: This is likely to leave the translation full of gobbledygook that the reader doesn’t understand at all or that they would only make sense of if they were able to read the original in the first place. For example, several years ago, I back-translated a horrible translation of some instructions for a physical therapy patient. One of the instructions was “lie back” (phrasal verbs like this are the simplest and most common type of set phrases). The translator had rendered the phrase into Spanish as “mentira en la parte de atrás”, which means “lie” – as in untruth – “in the back” – as in the back of the room. At the very least, the reader might have some comic relief that the original author didn’t intend. 

Example 1, Literal Translation:

Portuguese: “Cada macaco no seu galho”

English: “Each monkey on his branch”

● Searching for the Perfect Equivalent:

Pros: A perfect equivalent, when one exists, is the ideal option. It carries the meaning of the original and the cultural impact of a time-honored turn of phrase, including the occasional rhyme. The commonest of idioms usually have equivalents in other languages, “to put the cart before the horse”, “to kick the bucket”, etc.

Cons: Sometimes no equivalent exists, or if one does, it’s much more obscure in the target language than in the original. You can waste precious time on a wild goose chase… or wind up with nothing but plums as the French say.

Example 2, an Idiom with a Direct Equivalent:

Portuguese: “Cão que ladra não morde”
(literally: A dog that barks won’t bite)

English: “His bark is worse than his bite”               

● Explanation or Rewriting the Sentence:

Pros: It’s often easier and quicker to put on your copywriter’s hat rather than searching for a pie-in-the-sky equivalent. This tactic successfully conveys the basic meaning of the original, and saves the potential embarrassment of word-for-word translation. If an equivalent doesn’t come to you after a minute or two of thinking and Google searching, you’re probably better off doing a little retooling of the sentence. This alternative is preferable to using a set phrase you found in some dusty old tome after hours of searching… that no one’s ever heard of. 

Cons: If a perfect equivalent does exist, you’d be wasting an opportunity to hit the nail squarely on the head, so don’t jump too quickly to this alternative.

Example 3, an Expression with No Perfect Equivalent:

Portuguese: “É melhor não cutucar onça com vara curta”
(literally: It’s better not to poke a jaguar with a short staff)

Option 1, Translate using an outdated, unknown equivalent: “To sup with the Devil, use a long spoon”

Option 2, Incorporate a well-known English Idiom: “If you’re going to play with fire, you ought to at least wear a good pair of gloves.”

Option 3, Explain according to context: “She knew he was a fierce negotiator, and she knew she had better go to the table with the goods or bow out all together.”

Just for fun, see how you’d translate a couple of the set phrases purposely embedded in this article into another language you know.