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]
Skye, I know I can always count on you as being a voice of actual REASON on these boards. Thanks! 🙂
As for Gerd, Jo Man, Arabi, etc – First off, you guys are in serious need of Prozac. You need to chill out. Secondly, do you or have you ever lived in the U.S.? If so, then why? If we’re so terrible then GO HOME! If not, stop acting as if you know anything about being an American citizen. Either way, you have absolutely no clue about anything you’re talking about. Even if you spent a day in the U.S. your money went towards Arab blood, so you say. If the U.S. is so bad, why do we have so many Arab immigrants? Think about it. Are your beloved Arabs also funding the blood of other Arabs?
If I’m personally responsible for the death of so many Arabs, then you are obviously responsible for supporting al Qaeda. So maybe (according to you) I have Arab blood on my hands, well, you have American, Canadian, Arab, British, Spanish, Indian, etc etc etc…ah hell, the United Nation’s blood on your hands. But all those innocent people deserved it, right? Because OBVIOUSLY the 3 year old little girl aboard AA flight 11 on her way to Disneyland is personally responsible for Arab blood. Also, the U.S. doesn’t condone a brother killing a sister in the name of honor because she wants to marry a certain man, unlike many of your Arab countries. How SICK! The difference between you and I is that I can admit that America is wrong for going to Iraq, you just make excuses for your beloved brotherhood known as al Qaeda to the rest of the world. You kill your own as well as millions of others.
Sound rediculous that I am calling you a member of al Qaeda? Yup, just as obnoxious as you saying I’m responsible for the wars in the Middle East. I got news for you, fighting in the ME has existed for thousands and thousands of years. Arabs have been killing each other since long before the U.S. was even an established nation. So enough of your self-righteous attitude. Yes, the war in Iraq is wrong, but at least I can admit my nation’s mistakes.
Oh, and Skye: “our taxes go towards lots of things, none of which I have any say. And by not paying them we can end up in jail which I’m not willing to do..”
Why even bother trying to explain this? You know they’ll come back with “BUT HOW MANY ARABS ARE INNOCENTLY JAILED BY YOU HORRIBLE AMERICANS?!?!?!” It’s no use. No matter what you say they won’t listen or even try to. They see black and white. I’ve said everything I need to say about this. It’s a total waste of my time and resources. I should’ve known better than to reason with a bunch of maniacal, twisted, ignorant, narrow minded fools! How dare I actually suggest PEACE and FUN for children? Leave it to the American to do so.
dm, you might as well give up, they just don’t get it. It’s obvious that those of us who never supported the war in Iraq or voted for Bush are being lumped into the same category as those who did. The people who are putting us into the same category as Amercians who are Bush supporters aren’t aware of how it works in The US. Other than not voting for certain candidates and writing our congressmen there’s not a whole lot more we can do.
Oh and BTW Gerd, our taxes go towards lots of things, none of which I have any say. And by not paying them we can end up in jail which I’m not willing to do..
dm, but you fund the war with your taxes, your lifestyle is supported with the murder of over a million arabs between the invasion and the sanctions. I believe it was a democratic Bill Clinton who tighetend the noose on the sanctions. not to forget it was Madelene Albright who once said about the Iraq sanctions that the murder of half a million arab babies was an acceptable price. So as you can see my Democrat friend, you are up to your ears in Arab blood.
Look, I did not vote for Bush, I know MANY people that didn’t vote for him, I was against the invasion of Iraq since day 1. Yes, I’m a citizen of the U.S. but I have NO CONTROL over the U.S.’s policies. If you want to fight and compare governments, fine then do that. I’m not going to sit here and argue. My original post basically said that I wish children didn’t have to see violence. What’s wrong with that? Does it happen? Yes. Can I control that? NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! So I suggest that you just relax before flipping out on me because my country elected Bush. I HAD NO PART IN IT!!! I am a proud Democrat and NEVER voted for Bush!
Hareega, then we should not blame Israelis for their government’s actions. We should not blame Nazis for Hitler’s actions. We should not blame fascists for Mussolini’s actions. Heck if you are rich and powerful and white, we can’t blame you for anything. This does not compute. Democracy is the most damning proof of culpability. Even inaction is a choice, when the out come of this inaction is the mass slaughter by your elected government of tens of thousands of innocents. White makes right?
Wait a minute now, so when something good comes out of “American democracy” Americans want to take the credit for it but when a screw up happens, they are not to be held responsibl?
Where is the sense in that.
And also, these days democracy in America is a BIG joke, it only applies if you are of a certain group/race.
Happy democracy
I agree with dm that the American people should not be held accountable of everything that’s going on in Iraq but they are still to blame for keeping Bush.
When other people in the world see how evil and stupid and selfish Bush is and how much damage he has caused to his country and other countries and the lives he’s responsible for wasting (except for those of the unborn embryos lol) and he can still get away with it let alone be re-elected people in the world will not appreciate the democracy in America as much as they did before. I am one of them, I feel democracy now in America is a big joke, still appreiate the freedoms there that the republicans are trying to destroy.
I find it utterly revolting when Americans preach protection of women and children yet they have slaughtered far more women and children in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Palestine by direct killing and bombing and before that through starvation in Iraq. There is something deeply disturbing about a super power that sees itself as a savior yet can deliver so much pain and injustice at the same time. How many innocents did Hitler kill? how many innocents did the americans kill while spreading freedom and democracy to the natives, south Americans, Asians, Arabs, Africans? the key difference, and the most damning of all, is that the Nazis did not represent the Germans. They were tyrants who aborted democracy and took control of Germany. The Americans, Brits, Zionists have a license to kill from the majority of voters, and they do it again and again and again. Then we are expected to welcome them as our friends.
dm “As far as Iraq goes, I and most other Americans don’t agree with the war ”
Do you think this is a joke? do you think the lives of Iraqis and Palestinians and Lebanese are subject to your polls. One day you give Bush the green light to kill Arabs, next day you express disapprovals. Is this a fucking game for you? The Americans and the Brits killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Arabs with the voters’ mandate. Remember, Bush and Blair and Howard were reelected even when the lies were exposed. And the Israelis voter were always out for blood, from Sharon’s elections and the Intifada war crimes until the Lebanon war crimes. In a democracy, the citizen bear ultimate responsibility. If innocent Iraqis can pay for their regime’s supposed mistakes, why do you think you should be let off the hook just because you decided later in the game when things are not going your way that suddenly this war is not good.
DM :”Last time I checked there weren’t any children shows that preach death to Arabs in the U.S.”
you are right. You don’t talk about it, you just kill. What was the last body count of murdered Afghanis, Palestinians, and Lebanese?
You are a deeply troubled people, with a deeply troubled culture and values. You kill and you maim and then you obsess over the crude reactions and words of those you have brutalized, using it as retroactive justification for your cruelty and inhumanity. Very twisted people you are.