🤐 Tongue-Tied with Translation
Diving into how translation can help you with your second language
“Hold on!” I called out without thinking to an overly eager student who started an activity before I had finished explaining the instructions. She looked at me, confused, trying to process what it meant—which is fair because I usually yell “Stop!” or “Freeze!” whenever I need to promptly halt anything in class.
Locking eyes with a student more proficient in English, he starts to make sense of what I had just said. “I’m not sure,” he said in Japanese, “but I know ‘hold’ means motsu (to hold). So, maybe sensei wants you to hold something?”
“You’re not wrong,” I responded and went off on a tangent, poorly explaining how several English phrases can all mean the same as matte (to wait). And as the class tried their best to follow along, I became more and more acutely aware of how difficult it was to explain something I hadn’t translated and rehearsed in my head before.
📝 Second Language Proficiency and Translation Skills
While it may not be obvious at first, proficiency in a second language and skill in translation (used to refer both to translating and interpreting) are related but distinct abilities. Even if we have reached a level of proficiency in a second language, accurately conveying meaning can still be a challenge. This is because being proficient primarily refers to having a high level of proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Having translation skills on top of that is being able to transfer meaning from one language to another, which requires not only proficiency in both languages but also the ability to interpret context, cultural nuances, and idiomatic expressions accurately.
Here are some examples that illustrate the difference between language proficiency and translation skills:
Language Proficiency:
Being able to take part in a naturally-paced conversation with native speakers without struggling to understand or be understood.
Reading and enjoying a novel in your second language because you understand the plot, themes, and character development without needing to look up words frequently.
Writing a frigid business email in your second language with correct grammar, vocabulary, and style appropriate for the situation.
Translation Skills:
Translating a joke from one language to another while maintaining its humor, ensuring it makes sense in the cultural context of the target language, and hopefully, getting a laugh.
Interpreting at a live conference where a speaker uses idiomatic expressions that have no direct equivalent in the target language, requiring on-the-spot creative solutions to convey the intended meaning without missing a beat.
Translating a legal document where precise terminology must be used and where there might be legal concepts that do not exist in the target culture, necessitating additional explanation or adaptation.
📚 How Translating Helps You Learn Your Second Language
As a supplementary language learning activity, translating can be a valuable tool to aid in learning a second language. I won’t start recommending the grammar-translation method anytime soon. However, I acknowledge that there are benefits to translating:
Building Vocabulary: When you translate texts, you come across unknown words and phrases within their context, which aids in expanding your vocabulary and deepening your grasp of word meanings and their use.
Understanding Grammar and Sentence Structure: The process of translation necessitates a detailed examination of the grammar and sentence structure in both the source and target languages, contributing to a better understanding of sentence formation and the application of grammatical rules.
Developing Critical Thinking: The act of translating challenges you to make thoughtful decisions regarding word choices, sentence construction, and the accurate conveyance of meaning. It fosters critical thinking as you analyze and determine the best options for a faithful translation.
Enhancing Cultural Knowledge: Through translation, you become exposed to the cultural nuances present in language, providing you with insights into the target language's customs, traditions, and idiomatic expressions, thus enhancing your cultural understanding.
Comparing Languages: The translation process between two languages offers a chance to compare and contrast linguistic structures, vocabularies, and cultural subtleties. This comparative analysis deepens your knowledge of both languages, allowing you to pinpoint their similarities and differences.
Identifying Errors: Engaging in translation can reveal errors or gaps in your knowledge of the language. Facing difficulties during translation emphasizes the areas that require improvement in your language proficiency.
Looking back, I don’t think I’ve actually incorporated translation into my study routine before. What has worked for you?
always has translation prompts in the Dear Language Learner section of her posts. Maybe I’ll start with those.
Having worked as a translator for 6-7 years, I can attest that translation is super useful in getting a language "under your skin". It's different from just talking a lot, because you get the time and space to really interrogate how phrases, expressions and weird grammar twists work in action and what they actually mean.
I love this! We always speak about learning languages, but it's so exciting to realise understanding, speaking, translating, etc are all different skills we can choose to practise.
Although I didn't think about it as "translating", I do use this type of prompt to expand my vocabulary: "how would I say this in Korean?".
It sparks a bunch of fun questions like "does my first intuition mean the exact same thing? Are there cultural differences? Nuances in the feeling of the sentence?" - I'll think about all the benefits you wrote about!