NA Foundation Group
Because of limitations, when you translate to a language, then translate back to your language, you get funny differences. While Google provides a translation of each sentence with a reference to the original, it may help to know that refreshing the screen restores the original. Holding the mouse pointer over a sentence produces the original after a momentary time lag.
To do our recovering best to make this system work for the worldwide Fellowship, we are constructing a directory to list all fifty-two languages with known problems of translation and possible solutions. Feel free to help with this because everything depends on you. If you dont tell us, chances are no one else will! If you see a sentence that makes no sense in terms of NA recovery, please post us for clarification. We can also put a note on the Translation sub-page which can be viewed in your own language. It will take a little effort on your part but we want to have this book carry the NA message to a recovery-hungry world!
I tried to use a Universal Translator about ten years ago translated the word "spirit" to the word "alcohol." See the problem? Solution was to find other ways to state the original in English or to create a sort of special translation list to help you make corrections. Some ideas may not transmit easily, many will. Addicts are addicts where so ever we may be.
For this to work, you will have to report any words that seem inaccurate or non-sensical to nawol@nawol.org and we will enter your note under your language. Along with errors from the machine translators, there may be other phrases or word choices and you can make suggestions that will be taken seriously. - Webservant
Start with these...
defect, higher power, learning, sharing, shame, guilt, self-destructive, hope, light, peace, awakening, belief, principle, amends, inventory, common welfare, disease concept
- HYPERLINKS TO NOTES FROM MEMBERS -
gebrek, 'n hoėr krag, leer, deel, skaamte, skuld, self-vernietigende, hoop, lig, vrede, ontwaking, geloof, beginsel, wysig, voorraad, gemeenskaplike welsyn, siekte konsep
defekt, fuqi mė tė lartė, tė mėsuarit,, ndarjen e turpit, fajit, vetė-shkatėrrues, shpresė, dritė, paqe, zgjimi, besimi, parim, ndryshon, inventari, mirėn e pėrbashkėt, sėmundje koncepti
عيب ، وأعلى سلطة ، والتعلم ، وتبادل والخجل ، والشعور بالذنب ، ومفهوم المرض التدمير الذاتي ، والأمل ، والضوء ، والسلام ، ونهضة ، والمعتقد ، من حيث المبدأ ، يعدل ، والجرد ، والرعاية المشتركة ،
No google translations are far the bedst and you can refer to them on nawol, but there is a quistion with the word addict wicth is addiktiv(forrin language, but tillęgger in ordanary language or perhaps googles narkoman, or en afhęngig becourse the desise is often referd to as afhengighed in litterature, So perhaps a voting on the danish intro page narkoman afhęngig tillęgger(mathematical term)?? I Kęrlig Service Kim B
Notes:
I sent a note to encourage some recovery material being translated into Thai and my friend responded with this post. This is exactly what we need to get help with. Certain key words will be more of a problem We knew this would happen but feel it is worth the effort to reach beyond language barriers. It is our sincere hope that in this case members will exercise their sense of humor and make the needed corrections in good spirit.
My friend wrote:
My Thai girlfriend read the Thai translation and she said this is "a bad translation because of a very bad word." I asked her to show me. She told My me (again) Thai writing does not have spaces between the words of a sentence usually. The last sentence of your excerpt, just before the exclamation point has the Thai word ??????! which translates literally as damn it. That is very bad, even if that is the translation intended, it's the same as say fuck you to a Thai. Also, when she read it in Thai she translated to English this way; she said " It is about love and living in a clean place. The word clean is not used by Thai addicts.For example a Thai addict who is not using would say ???? (pronounced something like leark). Which Google translates from Thai to English gives the definition as; verb: quit, give up, stop, break, surcease, withdraw, cease, desist, disengage, disband, drop, forsake, shut, bury, close, adjourn, abnegate My gf has not been exposed to using addicts per say and the NA addict friends all speak to her in English. I can ask them what their non-English speaking friends would say for the word clean.
In any event several Thais have told me Google Translate is very bad for trying to translate text. It's somewhat useful for an occasional word or words like turn left. So if it's Google Translate your using she said it would make translations harder than have a Thai linguist do the translations directly from English. [end of post]
So, there may be alternatives we will find to help us. I asked my friend if he could attempt a study group and take a chapter to review, paragraph by paragraph. Once begun, I have a sincere belief that the spirit will give the members involved clues and breakthroughs to help motivate and encourage them. In Loving Service, Bo S.
Reprinted from the
N.A. FELLOWSHIP USE ONLY
Copyright © December 1998
Victor Hugo Sewell, Jr.
NA Foundation Group
6685 Bobby John Road Atlanta, GA 30349 USA
404.312.5166
nawol@nawol.org
All rights reserved. This draft may be copied by members of Narcotics Anonymous for the purpose of writing input for future drafts, enhancing the recovery of NA members and for the general welfare of the Narcotics Anonymous Fellowship as a whole. The use of an individual name is simply a registration requirement of the Library of Congress and not a departure from the spirit or letter of the Pledge, Preface or Introduction of this book. Any reproduction by individuals or organizations outside the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous is prohibited. Any reproduction of this document for personal or corporate monetary gain is prohibited.