Translation error in Italian catechism (Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages) Language Learning Forum

Translation error in Italian catechism
Tags: Error \| Translation \| Italian \| German
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Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages

Doitsujin
Diglot
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Germany
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Speaks: German*, English

Message 1 of 4

13 April 2011 at 11:22pm | IP Logged

An Italian edition of a new youth catechism has been recalled due to of a translation error that suggested Catholic couples could use contraception.

The German original read:

Quote:

Darf ein christliches Ehepaar Empfängnisregelung betreiben?
Ja, ein christliches Ehepaar darf und soll verantwortlich mit der Gabe, Leben schenken zu dürfen, umgehen.

The Italian translation read:

Quote:

Può una coppia cristiana fare ricorso ai metodi anticoncezionali?
Sì, un coppia cristiana può e deve essere responsabile nella sua facoltà di poter donare la vita.

Of course, the Vatican is not happy about this.
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Jinx
Triglot
Senior Member
Germany
reverbnation.co
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Speaks: English*, German, French
Studies: Catalan, Dutch, Esperanto, Croatian, Serbian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish, Yiddish

Message 2 of 4

16 April 2011 at 8:58pm | IP Logged

I'm not familiar with the word "Empfängnisregelung" – does it not mean "birth control"? Otherwise the two versions seem to be saying pretty much the same thing...
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Doitsujin
Diglot
Senior Member
Germany
Joined 5131 days ago
1256 posts - 2363 votes

Speaks: German*, English

Message 3 of 4

17 April 2011 at 2:07am | IP Logged

Jinx wrote:

I'm not familiar with the word "Empfängnisregelung" – does it not mean "birth control"? Otherwise the two versions seem to be saying pretty much the same thing...

To be honest, I wasn't familiar with it either. It's seems to be "Church German" for "natural" birth control methods such as the calendar-based methods. But since Germans usually use "Empfängnisverhütung" for contraception and moreover the Catholic position regarding birth control is well-known, the translator shouldn't have made this mistake. .
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Jinx
Triglot
Senior Member
Germany
reverbnation.co
Joined 5504 days ago
1085 posts - 1879 votes

Speaks: English*, German, French
Studies: Catalan, Dutch, Esperanto, Croatian, Serbian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish, Yiddish

Message 4 of 4

17 April 2011 at 3:10am | IP Logged

Ah ha, I see... I guess that would make a significant difference after all! It's hearing about things like this that make me glad I went into the translation field. I don't think real human translators are going to become obsolete any time soon, when there are issues this particular and context-dependent that arise from simple word choice.

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