User blog comment:Damesukekun/Song Translating and Mistranslating/@comment-76.121.93.88-20130103172017/@comment-53539-20130103175305

If say, a language produces a sentance that reads two ways;


 * Praise the Lord, our fellows are not naive.
 * Give thanks to God, they are not stupid.

Both sound like would imply the same thing, but they not conveying the same meaning. And a serious mistranslation can even offend or hurt someone. This is why there is a lot of responsibilities on translators that many don't even realize. The first suggest "Lord" can mean anything, and "naive" means they just lack experience or common sense, whereas "God" suggests divine being, and "stupid" questions their mental capabilities.

If a college student is translating a song, then their surely doing a mistake in doing so. Vocaloid songs are not good examples of translating subjects, as songs often are mostly poetic and use things that might not be normal for every day speech. It is easily for someone to mess up. This is like trying to master a degree in astrophysics when your only science lesson is dissecting frogs. Your best finishing your course first and then translating afterwards when you've got experience to back it up, rather then using it as a means to practice.

Childrens shows, are often rated better means of practicing languages then things like songs, because they lay things out in simple ways you can easily grasp, and no this doesn't mean anime is a good start as its not all meant for children.