No Offense! (Unless You Mean to Offend…!)

There is an article today about one of the most popular online translators, Google Translate. Apparently, when someone typed in the word “gay,” it suggested offensive alternate translations. When contacted, Google took out the offending words.

This underscores the importance of a human translator. A knowledgable translator (or interpreter) would never use an offensive word in place of a non-offensive word. But if a translation or interpretation called for an offensive term to be used, he or she would know which corresponding offensive term to use and the appropriate level of offensiveness. The same goes for knowledge of slangs or regionalisms. This is especially important in court cases or translations of disciplinary proceedings. While Google Translate and other systems online are indeed great products that represent huge leaps in the field of global communication, they cannot replace the nuances of language known by educated, experienced professionals.