January
31
English To Hebrew Translations – 3 Reasons They Usually Fail
Hebrew is among the oldest major languages of the world. Being the language of the Bible it is a much revered language as well. From the cultural perspective Hebrew is a Jewish language. In fact the word Hebrew has been derived from “ivri” which is one of the many names by which Jewish people are referred. At present the language is spoken by over 7 million people most of whom live in Israel. The country also recognizes Hebrew as one of its official languages. It is also studied as a foreign language by students who have taken up courses on Israel and Judaism, Christian seminaries, theologians, and linguists and archaeologists whose field of work involves the Middle East and its different civilizations. Consequently there is a high demand for Hebrew translation services. And the lion’s share of these translations is taken by Hebrew to English and English to Hebrew translations.
However it has been observed that translations, especially those that have been done through free services or unqualified human translators are often riddled with errors and fail to convey the meaning of the original text in a satisfactory manner. Some of the major reasons behind this problem are –
Hebrew and English have significant differences on every level, be it grammar, vocabulary, alphabet or the culture from where they have come. Thus there are certain words in both languages which do not have exact alternatives in the other. Moreover distinct grammatical features and cultural influences are difficult to translate.
A lot of English to Hebrew translations are done by people who have learned Hebrew by studying it in other it is not their native language. By and large such translators are unable to convey the delicate nuances of the language, they may not even be able to capture the spirit of the language as it is spoken locally thus leading to unsatisfactory translation.
Hebrew has been spoken in a number of dialects down the centuries, these range from the Biblical Hebrew to Mishnaic Hebrew to Modern Hebrew as spoken in Israel today. All translation professionals are not equally well versed in all the dialects, so suppose a translator who can do excellent English to Modern Hebrew translations might not be able to do the same when the target language is Biblical Hebrew. But many translation companies take follow the one-size-fits-all policy which results inferior translation.
People who require English to Hebrew translation should preferably ensure that their translation is done by a native Hebrew translation professional who specializes in the required. The Israeli Translators Association is doing good work in this area by providing a variety of services for the benefit of translation providers and translation customers.
http://www.tomedes.com provides the best professional Hebrew translation service. With more than 250 Hebrew translators in Israel and worldwide, their translations are accurate, fast and low cost. Visit the website for an instant free quote.
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