翻译技术速递“Death recorded” – When terminology becomes a deal breaker!
“死亡记录”--当术语成为交易破坏者！
“Death recorded” – When terminology becomes a deal breaker!
My husband recently told me about author Naomi Wolf who discovered during a BBC interview that she had misinterpreted the term “death recorded” in her soon-to-be published book called “Outrages”.
As it turns out, she was referring throughout her book to this term thinking that it meant that a certain number of executions for sodomy actually happened or were “recorded” (not as in video, but filed). However, as the BBC journalist explained to her (on live radio!), the term “death recorded” (used during Victorian England) actually meant the contrary, it “allowed judges to abstain from handing down a death sentence”1.
As explained by historian Richard Ward in a recent article for The Guardian2 the term was a legal device first introduced in 1823. “It empowered the trial judge to abstain from formally pronouncing a sentence of death upon a capital convict in cases where the judge intended to recommend the offender for a pardon from the death sentence. In the vast majority (almost certainly all) of the cases marked ‘death recorded’, the offender would not have been executed.”
This misinterpretation led her to draw wrong conclusions and, although she has made changes to her book, the backlash that she has received is overwhelming.
Now, imagine if the book had been already commissioned for translation (maybe it was!) into several languages, and the repercussions that this misinterpretation would have had in the translation work.
Learning about this news confirms that terminology is at the core of communication and that we should always double check concepts and meaning.
1/ What Naomi Wolf and Cokie Roberts teach us about the need for historians. Washington Post. [Consulted on June 17, 2019]
2/ Naomi Wolf admits blunder over Victorians and sodomy executions. The Guardian. [Consulted on June 17, 2019]
“死亡记录”--当术语成为交易破坏者！
我丈夫最近告诉我，作家娜奥米·沃尔夫在接受BBC采访时发现，在她即将出版的《暴行》一书中，她曲解了“记录在案的死亡”一词。
事实证明，她在书中一直提到这个词，认为它意味着一定数量的鸡奸处决确实发生过或被“记录”（不是用录像，而是存档）。 然而，正如英国广播公司的记者（在现场广播中）向她解释的那样，“死亡记录”一词（在英国维多利亚时期使用）实际上是相反的意思，它“允许法官不作出死刑判决”1。
正如历史学家理查德·沃德在最近为《卫报》撰写的一篇文章中所解释的那样，这个词是1823年首次引入的一种法律手段。 “它授权初审法官在打算建议赦免死刑犯的案件中不对死刑犯正式宣布死刑。 在绝大多数（几乎肯定是所有）标有‘死亡记录’的案件中，罪犯不会被处决。“
这种误解导致她得出错误的结论，尽管她对她的书作了修改，但她所受到的强烈反对是压倒性的。
现在，想象一下，如果这本书已经被委托翻译（也许是！） 以及这种曲解在翻译工作中可能产生的影响。
了解这条新闻证实了术语是沟通的核心，我们应该经常双重检查概念和含义。
娜奥米·沃尔夫和科基·罗伯茨告诉我们历史学家的必要性。 华盛顿邮报。 “2019年6月17日咨询”
娜奥米·沃尔夫承认在维多利亚时代和鸡奸处决上犯了错误。 守护者。 “2019年6月17日咨询”
以上中文文本为机器翻译，存在不同程度偏差和错误，请理解并参考英文原文阅读。
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