Like-Blog
Presenting you the most interesting translation solutions
Why Like-Blog? Now, first of all, this blog is a blog that you should like (and read regularly) – at least, if you are interested in translation. Then, the topic discussed here is one in which the meaningful likeness between a text and its translation in the language pair English-German plays a key role. On this page, I will take a close look at some interesting translation solutions that I have come across in the course of my work as a translator and translation scholar.
A translation solution is only as good as the arguments that support it. This means that any translation criticism, whether positive or negative, needs to be justified. The quality of a translation solution shows only when we compare it to other possible translation solutions in a given translation situation. Therefore, a translation critic should not only say why a translation solution is bad, but also demonstrate what a better solution might look like. I will try to stick to these principles of translation criticism. So if you have any questions regarding my line of argument or if you disagree, please, let me know your opinion by phone at +49 4171 6086525 or by e-mail to bittner@businessenglish-hamburg.de. So much for the introduction. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this blog!
Moon-walking astronauts (March 2026)
In “Bringing NASA down to Earth” by Tom Huntington (Invention and Technology, Fall 2008, Volume 23), we read:
“The resulting light but tough material served as the outer layer of the space suits donned by Moon-walking astronauts.”
In German translation: “Das daraus resultierende, leichte und doch strapazierfähige Material diente als Außenschicht der Raumanzüge von auf dem Mond spazierenden Astronauten.”
If a reader is supposed to read a translation as if it were an original, then they should not recognise the target text as a translation. This means for the translator that they should not repeat any errors or inadequacies of the original in the translation. In the above example, a small semantic inaccuracy in the source text also occurs in the target text. This semantic inaccuracy, it is true, is not very likely to affect proper understanding of the text; still, a target text without this inaccuracy is preferable.
We are talking about the expressions “by Moon-walking astronauts” and “von auf dem Mond spazierenden Astronauten”. Here, the omission of a definite article for the astronauts suggests that a large number of this species have already been frequenting the moon. However, only twelve of them have actually been there.
One possible solution would be: Das daraus resultierende, leichte und doch strapazierfähige Material diente als Außenschicht der Raumanzüge, die die Mondastronauten trugen. Or, closer to the original: Das daraus resultierende, leichte und doch strapazierfähige Material diente als Außenschicht der Raumanzüge jener Astronauten, die auf dem Mond umherspaziert sind.