The Unbearable Lightness Of Translation: A Humorous Take On Linguistic Challenges
By: Abdurasulov Nuriddinjon
Friends, today I’ll share a few funny stories from my translation experiences. Perhaps you’ve found yourself in similar situations!
- The Translation Fountain in My “Happy English” Club
One day in our “Happy English” club, we were doing translation exercises with the kids. I told them: “Translation isn’t just turning words around, it’s conveying the soul of the meaning.” At that moment, a student raised his hand:
Teacher, I translated “It’s raining cats and dogs” as “Dogs and cats are raining.” Is that correct?
I fell silent. Then I explained:
Well, that’s an idiom. The actual meaning is “It’s pouring rain.” But your translation makes it sound like animals are falling from the zoo!
- As a School Press Secretary
Our school newspaper publishes students’ poems. One day a student brought his poem:
“Spring has come, flowers have bloomed,
Birds are singing, trees have become bright.”
I translated it into English. Then the student came and said:
Teacher, in my poem, the line “trees have become bright” – “yashnamoq” means “to become bright/luminous.” But you wrote “The trees became bright.” Isn’t that wrong?
Oh my, you’re absolutely right! – I said. – I thought the trees were shining as if someone turned on their lights!
- As the Leader of Zakovat Club
Last week in our Zakovat club, a question was asked: “What’s the most difficult thing in translation?”
I answered: “Translating the Uzbek word ‘ko’ngil.’ This word simultaneously means heart, soul, feeling, desire, wish, and mood. In English, you’d need six separate words for this!”
A participant asked:
Teacher, then how do we translate “Ko’nglim suzdi”?
Ah… – I paused. – “My heart is floating”? “My soul is swimming”? Or should we just say “I’m feeling weird”?
- As a 6th Grade Homeroom Teacher
Last class, I gave students an assignment: “Talk about your parents in English.” One student said:
My father is a very strict man. He always says: “Don’t do this, don’t do that!”
I translated: “Your father said: ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that.'”
The student laughed:
Teacher, actually my father says the same thing in Uzbek: “Buni qilmang, shuni qilmang”!
- At the Liberal Democratic Party Meeting
At the last party meeting, an acquaintance expressed his opinion:
We need to encourage young people. We should make them feel that “we believe in you.”
I prepared to translate, but suddenly thought: “We believe in you” – is that “We trust you” or “We believe in you”? Or “We have confidence in you”?
Finally I said: “We… umm… we really think you’re good!”
Everyone laughed. After all, translation is hard work!
Dear students and colleagues, readers, translation is truly difficult work. Sometimes we translate the words but lose the meaning. Sometimes we preserve the meaning but lose the beauty. Sometimes we… lose everything and invent something new!
But remember this: translation isn’t just turning words around, it’s connecting cultures. Even if we make mistakes, let’s accept them with laughter. After all, as my teacher used to say: “The best translator is the one who isn’t afraid to make mistakes!”
Author: Abdurasulov Nuriddinjon is an English language teacher at School No. 41, which is under the Department of Preschool and School Education of the Sharof Rashidov district, Jizzakh region, Republic of Uzbekistan. He also holds the positions of press secretary at the same school and director of the “Happy English” courses.
Additionally, he serves as the homeroom teacher for the 6th grade, is the leader of the “Zakovat” intellectual club, and is a recipient of the “Ko’krak Nishoni” medal for outstanding service.
He is the author of the books “My Poems 1” and “Remembering the Past Times,” as well as numerous articles.
He is an active member of the Youth Wing of the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party, holds a specialized secondary degree in law, and is currently a first-stage master’s degree student in the “Foreign Language and Literature” direction at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the University of Exact and Social Sciences.
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