Recently, on Twitter, me and some friends had an interesting argument over translating tech terminology in greek, whenever possible. The discussion was based on my ranting, since I think that the greek word for blog, ιστολόγιο (istologhio), feels all kinds of ridiculous and fake to me. Reminds me of people (bloggers) that get themselves as too important creatures, bloggers that think highly of themselves.
And there are few things in this world that piss me off more than arrogant bloggers.
Anyway, back to topic. Back then, I did not have a real proof of why I despise this kind of holistic translation. These days, I re-found one:
For those Greeks out there, Blogger.com translates Dashboard as Πανόπτης (Panoptis). RSS as Ροή δικτυακού τόπου (Roi diktiakou topou). Posts as αναρτήσεις (anartisis).
This is ridiculous. I don’t consider myself a british citizen, but I surely understand the english terms more than their greek translation. It’s so farfetched! It should be done with simpler words, in the first place.
Not to mention that most greek translations in web or offline apps are littered with grammatical and syntax errors.
And this is not rare; more than once, users have contacted us for support and we couldn’t get a clue of what they were saying, because they had (mis)learned the terms in greek.
I don’t say that we should all become Americans or British, but this is getting old. I understand why people who don’t speak english cling to this notion, but I cannot possibly see how RSS is more difficult than Ροή δικτυακού τόπου for a tech guy or gal.
12 comments on this post
stelios #1
18.Apr.08
switch to the english interface!
ροη δικτυακου τοπου;;;;;;
The worse:
in windows.. Advanced = για προχωρημενους (huh?)
Gerasimos Tsiamalos #2
18.Apr.08
Yeah right, try reading a greek PHP book and tell me about the term Session (Συνεδρία),Cookies (Συνοδοί),υπο-συμβολοσειρές (substrings). yeah!
Svelon #3
18.Apr.08
It just reminds me of all those old Japanese amplifiers’ manuals, that were obviously translated word for word, by non Greek speaking people. The famous “Όγκος ελέγχου” (volume control) was a term from that era.
And don’t worry, it’s not only with Greek translations. Take the good old “All your base are belong to us” for example
nikan #4
18.Apr.08
Στον πρόβλημα της κακής μετάφρασης η απάντηση είναι η καλή μετάφραση όχι η μη μετάφραση. Δες επίσης και την αστεία πλευρά του ποστ σου: μιλάς για το πως να μεταφράζεται κάτι σωστά στα ελληνικά σε άπταιστον αγγλικήν.
John Tsevdos #5
18.Apr.08
hehe now I’ve heard it all. Πανόπτης (Panoptis) and Ροή δικτυακού τόπου!!! Brilliant!
Sugar #6
18.Apr.08
@nikan I dare you to find a good-sounding greek word for RSS. Or MP3. Or template.
Plus, one of the reasons I chose English for this blog is to reach out to a bigger crowd. Commenters are urged to comment in english to, for the sake of foreign people following the discussion, but I’ll leave your comment as is, as you obviously value your linguistic choice a lot.
nikan #7
18.Apr.08
@sugarenia My original comment was in English but I translated in Greek just to prove that there can be good translations too.
The argument of ’sounds nice’ is completely irrelevant. Everything sounds right once you get used to it. For instance, if the word ‘κυβέρνηση’ sounds right to you, be informed that this is not a greek word per se. It is an invented word aimed to convey the meaning of ‘goverment’ in modern Greek . Do you know what they used before: “γκουβέρνο”! Which of the two sucks the most?
adamo #8
18.Apr.08
I have a better dare: Translate the words “bit” and “byte” in Greek. And please do not use something that has to do with number 8 for byte. That is why we have octets for.
RSS cannot be translated because it is comprised of initials. Just try translating PAL or SECAM.
nikan #9
18.Apr.08
One more thing I forgot before. The problem is not how something is translated (if there is a need to be translated, because something don’ have to), but whether there is a consensus on the acceptance of the translation. What Greek suffers from is, exactly, the lack of consensus.
Sugar #10
18.Apr.08
@nikan
My point is – we should not get busy trying to translate every single word – using an acronym or an english word here and there is not bad per se.
@adamo
Don’t get me started. Drag’n'drop?
kmitchell #11
18.Apr.08
Thank God they don’t use the greek word for “cookies”. It would get me hungry every time i am asked to clear them!:)
TeddyBoy #12
18.Apr.08
I’ve got another good one for you:
Suppose you have Greek windows installed and you need to solve an issue with your USB controllers.
I guess you’ll have to google “Ελεγκτές ενιαίου σειριάκου διαύλου” …and pray!