ESL Podcast 840 - Translating a Document
to translate - to express words written in one language in another language; to change the language in which a document is written without changing the ideas
This software can automatically translate documents into more than 20 languages, but the quality isn't very good.
dictionary - a book that lists words and phrases, explains their meaning, and presents examples of their usage, sometimes in another language
This text is so complicated that I have to look up every other word in the dictionary!
thesaurus - a book that lists groups of words that have similar and opposite meanings
Pass me the thesaurus. I'm trying to think of another word for "mysterious."
slow going - with very slow progress; not advancing very quickly; difficult to do and taking a lot of time
We're cleaning out the garage, but it's slow going.
bilingual - speaking two languages well
They're raising their children to be bilingual in English and Romanian.
idiomatically - expressing ideas through the use of common phrases and expressions
Ulysses is always getting into trouble because he wants to know everything. Idiomatically, we can express the same idea by saying, "Curiosity killed the cat."
literal - related to the exact meaning of words, without any room for creativity or interpretation
When Meghan said she was flooded with work, she didn't mean it literally.
to make sense - to be understandable; to be logical and rational
Trent had too much to drink and he was talking a lot, but he wasn't making any sense.
equivalent - equal to; the same as; with the same meaning or value
One U.S. Dollar is equivalent to 2.7 Peruvian soles.
to paraphrase - to express the same idea in different words, not using the same words as in the original version
Let me try to paraphrase what you just said and see if I've understood you correctly.
to convey - to express; to share some information or idea with another person
The artist conveyed a sense of respect for the beauty of nature.
loan words - words that are borrowed from one language and used in another; words that are taken from a different language and used as they are, without changing them at all or changing them only a little bit
"Bon voyage" and "bon appétit" are examples of loan words in English.
cognate - a word in one language that sounds very similar to a word with the same meaning in another language
Many people think the English "embarrassed" and the Spanish "embarazada" are cognates, but they aren't, because "embarazada" actually means "pregnant."
to interpret - to provide oral (in speech) translation; to express what one person is saying by speaking those same ideas in another language immediately after he or she speaks
The court system has a hard time finding people who can interpret for Vietnamese speakers who are involved in legal trials.
in the hot seat - in a difficult, problematic, and troublesome situation; having many problems
When reporters found out about what the mayor had done, he was in the hot seat.
to spare - to arrange for someone not to have to experience something unpleasant; to make an exception or change a rule so that someone does not have a negative experience
After their daughter died from a drug overdose, they became very active in nonprofit organizations fighting against drug use, hoping to spare other parents from having similar experiences.
gibberish - words that are impossible to understand and do not have any meaning
Victoria says her one-year-old son is speaking in full sentences, but to everyone else, his speech just sounds like jibberish.