Language differences, and truly "getting them"

For the sake of earnesty, I chose to start this blog by saying that I am surely definitely not the first person to call myself an authority on the differences between particular languages, and how to "get" them. It's just that I view that there is virtually nothing more you can do to convince people that you are proper professional translator material or anything like that. (And I have surely commented on this topic before in previous online blogs I have written; if not on Google Blogger then on my BT Tradespace http://georgetrailtranslationservices.bttradespace.com/AllPosts.aspx; )

When I was doing my A-levels, I did a week-long work experience excursion as a receptionist's assistant in a French hotel (unpaid). We once had a German client and I was only one on the staff who spoke German - although it was a simple request I was quite literally asked to translate between French and German even though my mother tongue is neither! I did that with a reasonable level of confidence; which I think helps to reinforce the idea that I really am one to be discussing "language differences" here.

If you speak French, then you will probably not be surprised to be told that the verb "déféquer" means "to defecate" - but my dictionary also explains that it can mean "to purify". I suppose purification is what defecation is all about. But whereas English "defecate" seems to have scatological implications by default, am I correct in suggesting that the same is not necessarily true with French "déféquer"? At least, "purification" passes for a technical terminology term (as opposed to the rather more generic "clean"); but I'm pretty sure that I recently saw "déféquer" used a transitive verb in reference to getting rid of waste products from a mechanical system rather than the biological system of a person or animal.

This can only reinforce the statement: "Woe betide the person who dares to neglect speculation when translating!" How's this for a coup to cripple naïveté: just because you are very talented at something does not mean that you are to safe to assume that it would never be a source of frustration to you. It's the same in language and translating. Not too long ago I made a comment on my Facebook account that while French "malheur" means "bad luck", "bonheur" is not necessarily its direct opposite! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1579819360#!/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1716409546 I remember this from my French A-level days: in French, "passer un examen" does not mean "to pass an exam"! (Talk about faux amis!) And French "hippisme" means "equestrianism", not the old trend of "hippyism" (even though my dictionary also states "hippie" as a French word meaning a translation of English "hippie").

In my career as a professional freelance translator, I still use the same dictionaries I used when I was at school; I must have had them for more than ten years now. I can still confide in them - if only to a certain extent. I have come to accept that there are some occasions where I should always put my faith in online sources rather than these dictionaries (and not just because the online sources are more likely to be properly updated). For example: German "Richtwert". My hard copy German dictionary offers for the German word "richten" the rough translations "direct" / "orient" / "set" (but you really should see it with your own eyes). It also offers "value" as the translation of "Wert". But I am confident that you will agree that these two words together in the term "Richtwert" are far more likely to have special terminological significance than not; meaning that it is less wise to depend on bog-standard general bilingual dictionaries for a "proper" equivalent expression in English. And indeed, I was not too surprised to discover that http://www.dict.cc insists on offering multiple definitions for "Richtwert": benchmark; criterion; guide value; guide number; standard value; reference point; point of reference. The best expression to use basically depends on the context.

Having said that, I would now like to ask you: how coherent and helpful is your dictionary really?