Besides writing and editing, I spend a big chunk of my day as a linguist, translating Arabic to English and vice versa. Although the process itself is tedious and hectic at times, I enjoy it for the most part, particularly when I’m trying to find the exact word match. I look at a challenging text as a riddle that can only be solved by hunting for the most accurate missing pieces. It is an elusive game but I enjoy it and better, I even get paid for it. Any translator dreads the time when they end up choosing words that do not match. It is the ultimate horror when the translator “mistranslates” especially when it comes to the business of news. Misquoting someone’s words and then broadcasting them to the public is the news translator’s ultimate bad dream. Luckily, I have yet to face my interpretation nightmare.
All that said, it should come as no surprise that I was extremely intrigued by Brian Whittaker’s piece in The Guardian that highlighted the mistranslation of the now infamous Al-Aqsa TV clip, which was eaten up by US media outlets. While I found the show and its content extremely off-putting, as children are being cajoled into parroting political ideologies, Whittaker makes a very valid point: The MEMRI translators either mistranslated or intentionally decided to embellish what was said on the tape. What was most intriguing about his piece was the argument that occurred between MEMRI’s founder and one of CNN’S Arabic speakers, Octavia Nasr.
Among those misled by Memri’s “translation” was Glenn Beck of CNN, who had planned to run it on his radio programme, until his producer told him to stop. Beck informed listeners this was because CNN’s Arabic department had found “massive problems” with it. Instead of broadcasting the tape, Beck then invited [MEMRI’s] Carmon on to the programme and gave him a platform to denounce CNN’s Arabic department, and in particular to accuse one of its staff, Octavia Nasr, of being ignorant about the language.
Carmon related a phone conversation he had had with Ms Nasr: She said the sentence where it says [in Memri’s translation] “We are going to … we will annihilate the Jews”, she said: “Well, our translators hear something else. They hear ‘The Jews are shooting at us’.” I said to her: “You know, Octavia, the order of the words as you put it is upside down. You can’t even get the order of the words right. Even someone who doesn’t know Arabic would listen to the tape and would hear the word ‘Jews’ is at the end, and also it means it is something to be done to the Jews, not by the Jews.”
And she insisted, no the word is in the beginning. I said: “Octavia, you just don’t get it. It is at the end” … She didn’t know one from two, I mean.
As a native speaker myself, I heard nothing about annihilating the Jews. What I heard was: بطخونا اليهود which translates into: “The Jews are shooting at us.” So the question becomes: Did MEMRI embellish their translation on purpose or was it simply an innocent translation mistake? I cannot say for certain. What I do know is media organizations should take MEMRI’s translation with a grain of salt, especially after this incident. Here is what Whittaker thinks:
The curious thing about all this is that Memri’s translations are usually accurate (though it is highly selective in what it chooses to translate and often removes things from their original context). When errors do occur, it’s difficult to attribute them to incompetence or accidental lapses. As in the case of the children’s TV programme, there appears to be a political motive. The effect of this is to devalue everything Memri translates — good and bad alike. Responsible news organisations can’t rely on anything it says without going back and checking its translations against the original Arabic.
Hat tip: [Jordan Journals]
DM
Also while the Israelis are killing our people, stealing their land, and doing everything they can to erase the Palestinians off the face of the earth, what are they supposed to do, teach their kids to love them?
Well DM obviously not enough Americans were against the war. Bush was elected and was relected and the sad thing is that if he can run again he would win again. Not enough are against the war even today.
Andy since you are being a big advocate of kids being protected, why don’t you look at your own first and the cartoons you show such as Ehab the Arab (thats not teaching kids hate)? And all the other cartoons that show Arabs as terrorists, thats not teaching hate?
when your house is built from glass don’t throw stones.
You know what I’m sick of all this, so I suggest you all clean house before you crtisize the world.
DM, I definitely understand your point about “why create more.” However, I think that there are two things that people need to keep in mind here. This is an issue of quality of the shows, and I don’t think high quality can be found in any Arab media outlet today, let alone one that is produced in a poor place like Gaza. Also, and having first pointed out the fact that our expectations of TV productions in an occupied and poor place like Gaza shouldn’t be high, we have to understand that it is natural for child programming to attempt to be relevant to the reality the children live in.
None of this makes it right, it’s just two points that I think need to be made in order to let people outside understand how such things come into existence.
You’re right Arabi, it was all MY fault. I created the games (which I think are sick and twisted) and I wanted to invade Iraq for the oil. There were MANY Americans against this war from day 1. Check your facts. So, what does the Iraq War have to do with anything I’m saying? I think children should be protected…OBVIOUSLY that makes me a bad person. Makes perfect sense…well, maybe in your twisted mind it does.
Hamzeh: “Palestinian kids do not need TV to introduce them to violence, they have the Israeli army’s rifles and F16’s to do that job and they do a much better job at it than this farfour character.”
I absolutely agree with you and I think that’s just really sad. My point is, however, why create more? They live it and see it all the time, so why not give them something maybe enjoyable out of this show? They do see enough of it, so why not give them something (as minor as it may be) to make them feel like a child. The outside world is a VERY scary place, especially for a child. If they had an outlet, something to look to for a little bit of fun, it would be good for them. They’re constantly surrounded by violence and no child should live that way. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can personally do about this, but if I had an opportunity to bring happiness into a child’s life I would. And just to clarify again for Arabi and jo man, I am not respoinsible for the actions of my government or the Israeli’s government!
DM
Maybe you ought to check your country that creates GAMES of shooting Iraqis and Arabs. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo sick of your screwed up environment that is screweing up the world as well.
Look at what you did in Iraq, and now the people of your country are FINALLY realizing what a screwed up mistake it was. Did they really not know that from the beging? I think not, I think they thought they go in and kill a few hundred Arabs and get all the oil they want. How selfish. Too bad your plan is not working out.
Arabi
Hey jo man, I suggest you check your facts before speaking. Last time I checked there weren’t any children shows that preach death to Arabs in the U.S. as much as you may want to believe that there are. Secondly, ME and the Americans? uh, you are sorely mistaken if you think that I am teaching children to kill others. As far as Iraq goes, I and most other Americans don’t agree with the war and think it’s wrong, but we aren’t responsible for what our government does. We have as much control over it as you do and don’t give me the whole “the majority elected Bush” crap either because most Americans DIDN’T vote for Bush. Go back to Florida. Blaming me for what Bush is doing makes as much sense as me blaming you for al Qaeda brutally killing thousands and thousands of innocent people. Frankly, I’m sick of being accused for what our president did when I never voted for him to begin with!
Lastly, you think we’re teaching children hatred. Fine, you can believe that if you want, but why does that make it okay to teach Palestinian children hatred? So, my whole point — why are you angry with me for saying that children should be protected from violence, hatred and killing? You think that children should be raised to hate and kill? Now THAT is just sick.
I have been following this story since it broke out with the wrong translation. Ali Alarabi is a member of the CNN Arab staff and he has his own blog on which he’s posted three pieces on the matter. http://alialarabicolumn.blogspot.com/
As’ad Abu Khalil, also wrote about this on his Angry Arab news service and has a full text that shows how MEMRI misrepresented every single phrase uttered by the little girl on the phone, Sanabel. The first thing the girl said on the phone was that she wanted to draw a picture, MEMRI completely ignored that and instead attributed the phrase “I will shoot,” which was said by the mickey-like character, to her.
dm, pointing out MEMRI practices doesn’t say anything about the show itself, it says stuff about MEMRI. The MEMRI that lied to you and told you that Palestinian children have dreams of annihilating Jews. Regarding exposing children to horror and violence, Palestinian kids do not need TV to introduce them to violence, they have the Israeli army’s rifles and F16’s to do that job and they do a much better job at it than this farfour character. I’m sure you’ve heard of Huda Darwish, the little girl who was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper while she sat in classroom in Gaza.
Palestinian kids are obviously aware of the violent environment that surrounds them. We should be asking ourselves, “why does a little child have to say that she will probably be shot”? What child has to live with this thought in their head? Who installed that thought in the child’s head? Was it the show? Or was it the Israeli army?
I think, it is the Israeli army.
db: “they are preaching torror to children.”
Last time I checked you and the americans have done far more killing of civilians than all the so called terroists combined. You must be teaching your kids something wrong, so before you give lectures, go deal with your problems.
Whatever you are teaching your kids it’s breeding settlers, supremacist, and war criminals with no remorse. with your lebanon and iraq invasions being the last proof of your moral depravity.
Okay so the translation was misintrerpreted, not good at all, but it still doesn’t take away the fact that they are preaching horror to children. The Jews are shooting at us? They’re using a Mickey Mouse-like character to talk about violence with children? To make things clear (because I know that I’ll be attacked for this comment) I am in no way on Israel’s side, I’m not sticking up for the Jews. All I’m saying is how can we ever expect to have some semblance of peace if little children are being exposed to this? It’s bad enough that they have to see it and live it every day, but why not give kids something to enjoy rather than use a child’s icon to teach about how the Jews are shooting at them. Again, to make things clear I would feel this exact same way if Israel did this and denounced Palestine to children. I just think that with all the horror and blood-shed going on over there, why not give children an outlet — if not for anything else, for their own sanity.
My god! this is hideous. i am not supposed to be shocked by how low they can go…until they dig lower. is there any limit to their depravity.