Language is a cost

Lost in translation: Mary Rose's demise blamed on multilingual crew

By Andy McSmith

Friday, 1 August 2008

©independent.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/lost-in-translation-mary-roses-demise-blamed-on-multilingual-crew-882615.html

Background

Researchers from the University College London claim their research suggests that the Mary Rose (19 July 1545) sunk not because of French cannon fire, but because the crew did not understand the instructions of the English officer. The researchers believe that they have evidence that suggests that a large number of the crew were non-English speakers, maybe Spanish speakers, but certainly Southern European.

Comments

Language is indeed a material factor in business and other walks of life. I wonder whether there is a paradox here. It seems that when we communicate using the same language things might just work normally. If, however, we did not have a language in common, the consequences of a mistakes or misunderstanding might be more serious than the benefits of understanding each other. It seems that language is a cost factor for maintaining a state of equilibrium, but failure to pay this cost might result in disproportionate negative consequences.

Bottom Line

Language is a necessary cost, but not sufficient for stability in business.

Tags: translation, language, crew, navy, misunderstanding

References

The Mary Rose [Trust]: http://www.maryrose.org/

Mary Rose. (2008, August 6). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:16, August 13, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Rose&oldid=230120035

Do we also need a common natural language for science?

Evidence-based medicine in Russia: the challenge and the hope

From: Scientific American Community » Blogs » Sciam Observations

by Merrill Goozner [SciAmEditors ]

Edited by Merrill Goozner at 06/16/2008 12:19 PM

http://science-community.sciam.com/blog-entry/Sciam-Observations/Evidence-Based-Medicine-Russia-Challenge/580001156

© 1995-2007 Scientific American Inc.

The author interviewed Prof. Vasiliy Vlassov, "professor of research methodology at the Moscow Medical Academy and head of the Society of Specialists in Evidence-Based Medicine," about the state of medicine in Russia today.

Prof. Vlassov introduced two language related issues in his interview:

1. Access to western medical literature is only available in English.
   
2. An attempt to make the Journal of the American Medical Association available in Russian failed because of poor quality translations.
   

My Comments:

This article makes it clear that by having access to western medical literature Russian health care services would improve.

The language factor in this story confirms once again that language can save lives. Moreover, this article clearly shows a need for scientists to have a common natural language to communicate with and not just a common mathematical language.

In the distant past this common natural language was once, Greek, Latin, and in the Soviet Union, it was Russian. Today that natural language is English.

Ought professional ethical duties take precedence over political or national considerations? Should Russian doctors, and their equivalent world wide, learn English or wait of a translation?

Tags: English, Langauge, Russian, Medicine, "evidence based medicine", communication, translation

Eating your words

Chinese dishes get official English names

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-31 11:12
> http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/31/content_6071689.htm <

This is a report from Xinhua on how the government in China are trying to standardise the names of Chinese food and dishes for the Olympics. The report says that 2,753 dishes and drinks have been translated; a list which will be eventually used throughout the country.


COMMENTS:

As the article recognises, the translation of food and dishes could be a sorry, if not hilarious experience. One always expects a good laugh when reading foreign menus in English. This initiative makes sense since it shows responsibility by the authorities towards visiting tourists. Maybe all the relevant tourist authorities throughout the world could agree on a standard menu glossary and vocabulary. Of course, maybe this is not practical for all the various dishes, but certainly for the main ingredients and popular dishes.


This also makes sense in the context of business. It is good corporate responsibility to communicate well with one's clients. Unfortunately, sometimes a menu translated into English (badly or not) can also mean inflated prices if not more. Personally, I try to keep away from establishments with menus in English.

How about other authorities doing the same with their various jargon and instructions: health, police, road signs?

BOTTOM LINE

It's good to know what your eating.