Have you ever call it a day because you feel under the weather?

by Vianey Gutierrez

Have you ever wonder why would you need a human translator?

Yes, it is true that Google Translate does that for free but, in any language, there is a bunch of idioms that cannot be translated word by word and deliver the intended message or even be understood.

According to the Oxford dictionary, an idiom can be “a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words”, therefore a translation of an idiom can only be possible, by finding an idiom that express the same idea into the target language.

A translator must posses the ability not just to understand the intricacies behind idioms and metaphors because to add more difficulty to this matter, a same idiom could have a different “meaning” within professional field, geographical location, sociocultural background and so on. Therefore, a same idiom may be interpreted differently even by people who speak the same language depending on the context in which is used.

Thus, the translator job is to extract the figurative meaning and to find a parallel expression in the target language, piece of cake, easy as pie, not a big deal, easy as ABC, it’s not rocket science, it’s a snap, it’s a breeze, I could do it with my eyes shut, I can do it with my sleep, easier than drinking water through a straw, like catching leaves in a basket, easier than crackling an egg, faster than the crows fly!!!!!!!!!!!