12/04/2022
Can you translate idioms?
The simplest answer to this question is NO. This is an area where languages can be very different. Sometimes you can translate an idiom from one language to another, but most often this is not possible. For example, there is an English idiom to let sleeping dogs lie. The German and Italian equivalents also speak of sleeping dogs, but not the French or Spanish.
It is important that you are very careful if you have to translate idioms. Never translate an idiom word for word. You must translate the whole expression. Sometimes you will be able to translate the English idiom into an idiom in your own language. However, there may be no idiom and you may just have to explain the meaning.
One of the reasons idiomatic language is difficult to translate is because it is the area of language closest to culture. The metaphors of one culture will be different from those of another.😊😊
