STAR TS Translation Services Blog

Here’s a fun poster for you on the word typewriter. Did you know that you can type the entire word using only a single line of your keyboard?

Context is very important in translation. Short ones can have multiple meanings so its important to know what is what. Tablet can have 3 meanings.

STAR specialize in professional translation and terminology management for our clients.

Fun English:

Did you know the longest one syllable words in the English language are nine-letters? “Strengths” and “Screeched”

Do you know any more? Let us know and we will share them.

STAR is a provider of language services including English translation services. We are passionate about language and love having fun, learning and sharing our language expertise.

Jigger has 28 different meanings in English

When we translate we often asked clients for reference material or examples so we can understand the context of the translation, but what exactly does this mean?

OK, lets consider the following sentence:

“If the jigger seems to be broken, replace it immediately. We recommend type 2 jiggers marked in blue in our catalog.“

What does that mean? Jigger is a really amazing world in English.

Jigger can be:

1. A Handcar, a hand-operated railway car
2. A jigger flea or chigoe flea, a parasitic arthropod found in tropical climates that may cause an inflammatory skin disease
3. A Liverpool term for an ‘alleyway’
4. A pallet jack
5. A Surveyors Total Station (electronic theodolite)
6. A tool for setting fish gill nets under ice, made of wood and metal and operated via rope from the surface
7. In golf, an old metal golf club with a narrow face
8. A rest for a billiard cue
9. A miner who sorts or cleans ore by the process of jigging. One who jigs
10. The actual sieve used in jigging ore
11. An Irish dancer – Dancer of jigs and reels
12. In textiles, it’s a device used in the dyeing of cloth
13. In pottery, the horizontal lathe used in producing flatware
14. A pendulum rolling machine for slicking or graining leather
15. A light all-purpose tackle
16. A small sail set in the stern of a yawl or similar boat
17. A boat having such a sail
18. A jigger mast
19. A small fishing vessel, rigged like a yawl
20. Any of a number of mechanical devices having a vibratory or jerking motion
21. A type of hydraulic lift in which a hydraulic ram operates the lift through a block and tackle which increases the length of the stroke
22. A device or thing the name of which is unknown or temporarily forgotten
23. A small tackle consisting of a double and single block with a rope
24. A small glass, esp for whisky, with a capacity of about one and a half ounces
25. A cigarette
26. A gadget

Verb:

1. To alter or adjust, particularly in ways not originally intended.
2. Rearrange or tamper with: conventional price indexes often jigger the market basket’s content

That’s 28 different meanings before we discuss slang. There are some slang terms for the word.

So the learning is that from a simple word you can have many different meanings. It’s impossible to translate the original sentence we quoted without knowing the context of what you are talking about. Next time you’re working with a translation agency or an advertising company for your products make sure you give them pictures, diagrams and background information to your project so they get the correct translation or interpretation for you first time and every time.

At STAR we specialize in technical translation and we have our own dictionary management systems for every client and industry they work in. Terminology management is the cornerstone for quality, professional translation.

12/12/12 is a special day and a unique moment in our lifetime.

12 is a significant number in life.

Religion: In Christianity there are 12 apostles of Jesus, and in the holy book of Judaism and Christianity, there is reference to the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of Jacob.

There are Twelve Olympians in the pantheon of ancient Greek religion.

12 is the number of the Labours of Heracles.
Mathematics: 12 is the smallest number with 6 factors (1,2,3,4,6,12).

Time: There are 12 months in a year and 24 hours in a day with 12 hours for each half day. Each hour is split into 60 minutes which is a multiple of 12.

Legends: In the legend of King Arthur there are 12 Knights of the Round Table.

Law: Twelve is the number of people on a traditional jury.

Zodiac: Both the Chinese zodiac and the western zodiac have 12 signs:

Chinese Zodiac: Tiger, Monkey, Goat, Rooster, Dog, Dragon, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Horse, Ox, Snake.

Western Zodiac: Sagittarius, Cancer, Capricorn, Pisces, Aquarius, Virgo, Scorpio, Aries, Gemini, Libra, Taurus, Leo.

The next time we can write 12/12/12 will be in a century on 12/12/2112

Download the Full PDF version to print here:

These are the basic comma rules.

• Put a comma before and, but, for, or, nor, so, and yet when they connect two independent clauses (sentences that can stand alone).

Example: “She hit the shot, and he cheered for her.”

• Separate three or more items in a series with a comma.

Example: “We want to protect cats, dogs, and horses.”

• Put a comma after an introductory word group.

Example: “Because I was hungry, I bought a hamburger.”

• Set off interrupters with pairs of commas, pairs of parentheses, or pairs of dashes.

Examples:  ”The hamburger, hot and juicy, tasted great.”
“The hamburger — which was hot and juicy — tasted great.”
“The hamburger (made from ground beef and tofu) tasted great.”

• Put commas around the name of a person or group spoken to.

Example: “I hope, Julia, that you’re going with me.”

• Put commas around an expression that interrupts the sentence.

Example: “We took our fishing rods, therefore, and got into the boat.”

STAR provider English proofreading and language translation services. For a free quote – contact us today.

We talk a lot on our blog about English, context for translation and clear communication. On the funnier side of things badly constructed English can lead to some funny misinterpretations. If you listen carefully to people talking you will hear many silly comments. You’ll nearly always know what they mean, but its not what they say.

Yesterday I was listening to a lady on the radio discussing her morning working on the family farm and managing the kids. She came out with this very simple sentence…

“I feed chickens and the kids in the morning, before getting them all off to school”. We know what she means but the image of her bringing the “kids and chickens” to school is funny.

Groucho Marx used this type of English misinterpretation to his advantage in his joke writing to positive affect in his famous one liners such as

“I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. What he was doing in my pajamas I’ll never know!”

Do you have any funny misinterpretations? Share them with us, we’d love to read them.

Today I want to discuss my favorite topic – “Context” and why it’s important for translation. On my trip to work this morning I passed our local creche which was displaying the message above.

The question is, what does this actually mean? If you have kids and have ever put them into a creche you’ll know this can mean a couple of things.

1. They have spaces available now for kids (free spaces that are available).

2. However it might also mean that spaces for kids are now available and are free. Some creches you have to pay for a space on the entry list.

3. On does it mean that they have some spaces for kids now, that are free. Yes put your kid here for free. Probably this isn’t the case, but you could see how the text could be misinterpreted.

For me I think (please correct me if I’m wrong) that this sign would have been much better (accurate) if it simply said “Spaces Available”. The “Free” just confuses the sentence.

I love reviewing sentences like this as it shows the complexity in translation. When translating we often come across sentences like this which can be ambiguous. Professional translators are trained to look out for them and question the meaning with the client.

This reminds me if you’re following our blog recently about the comments I posted about “Row or Row?”. There is actually a third definition of “row”, which is a “row of books” for example.

Isn’t language fun?

Row or Row? Why single word translation is difficult.

We’re often asked why we can’t translate a single word or a collection of short phrases on the spot for someone. Professional translators will tell you that sometimes the smallest phrase can be the most difficult to translate. Sounds silly but look at the diagram above.

In this example a single word has two completely different meanings.

Does “Row” refer to rowing a boat or “having a row or argument”?

The only way to know the real answer is…

a) if you can hear the word spoken.

b) to know the context. Where the text comes from and where it will be used after translation.

For those interested, this is the number one reason why free translation or automatic translation on the internet delivers such bad results.

Another example of this type of mistranslation is the word “Armed”. Does this refer to “An alarm being set to armed” or “a person with weapons”?

If you are struggling to choose which female honorific is the most appropriate to address the modern woman, be sure that you are not the only one. It is not an easy question.

Below we have detailed an explanation of Mrs., Ms., and Miss that should help you to address ladies correctly.

The three nouns Mrs., Ms., and Miss appeared in the 17th century and come from the female English title Mistress which was used to refer to all women. The full stop of the abbreviations is generally used in the USA and Canada whereas in the UK the abbreviations are commonly written without any full stop.

Ms. is slightly old fashioned compared to the two other titles but has been revived in the 20th century.  This English honorific is mostly used in business and public life to address a lady. This is generally used when her marital status is unknown. It is neutral regarding marital status. The plural for Ms. can be  Mss. or either Mses.. You may also use the French plural “Mesdames” abbreviated Mmes.

Miss is used to refer to an unmarried woman, or girls under eighteen in some countries. Miss alone is frequently used by schoolchildren to address a female teacher no matter what her marital status is. The plural for Miss is Misses or you may use the traditional French “Mesdemoiselles”.

Finally, Mrs. is strictly used to refer to a married woman. For the plural you can use the French plural “Mesdames” abbreviated Mmes like for Ms.

Some women may have a preference for Ms., Miss, or Mrs. and if a woman has a professional title, it is more appropriate to use that title such as Doctor, Professor, or Captain instead of Ms., Miss, or Mrs.

So what is your favorite Mrs., Ms., and Miss?

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