अनुवाद की प्रक्रिया / The Process of Translation
Words, idioms, sentences and tools
Teach the small things that trip translators.
Articles matter: 'He is going to jail' (sentenced) differs from 'He is going to the jail' (perhaps visiting); 'North' can be a name. Kinship terms like chacha and mama have no single English equivalent ('uncle').
Context matters: the reply 'Aayi' tells you a woman answered; English 'coming' cannot. Prefixes and suffixes change meaning (rebuild, unclean, hopeless). Synonyms differ in weight and register (comfy, cosy, snug).
Loan words are borrowed (cycle, scooter, tsunami); acronyms and abbreviations need care (UN, Mr., MLA); puns are the hardest of all ('Then it hit me').
Phrasal verbs ('run down' has four meanings), idioms ('nau do gyarah hona', 'a penny for your thoughts') and proverbs ('A stitch in time saves nine') cannot be translated word for word.
English is SVO, Hindi SOV; use reference markers (whereas, moreover); Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) remembers past choices or applies rules. Tools: monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, thesauruses, grammars, encyclopaedias and usage guides.
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