Today, let’s discuss one of the most common and potentially critical problems when translating from English to Korean. This is an issue I frequently encounter while working on translation projects for clients.
The Problem in Context
Imagine you’re working on a website (or app, game) where the following English text is used:
Get
Free Gift
This formatting, often seen in headings or small UI text, uses line breaks for aesthetic purposes. Additionally, part of the sentence is bolded to emphasize certain keywords.
Now, let’s translate each part into Korean:
- Get → 받기
- Free Gift → 무료 선물
So far, everything seems fine. But when the entire phrase is translated into Korean:
- Get Free Gift → 무료 선물을 받으세요.
Visually, it might appear as:
무료 선물을
받으세요
Did you notice the issue?
The order of “Get” (받으세요) and “Free Gift” (무료 선물) has flipped! This happens because of the structural and grammatical differences between English and Korean. This phenomenon is not limited to Korean; it also occurs in Japanese due to similar differences in word order and sentence structure.
A Real-Life Example
Let’s imagine a client provides the following Excel file for translation:
| English | Korean |
| Get | |
| Free Gift |
Without deeper thought, one might quickly translate it as:
| English | Korean |
| Get | 받으세요 |
| Free Gift | 무료 선물을 |
If implemented as-is, the website could end up displaying:
받으세요
무료 선물을
This feels awkward or even confusing to Korean users. It’s like writing “Free Gift Get” in English!
The Solution
So, how do we solve this issue?
Here’s the best approach: keep the original English text intact within one cell, rather than splitting it. This allows translators to adjust the sentence structure appropriately for the target language while maintaining its original intent and formatting.
For example:
| English | Korean |
| Get <b>Free Gift</b> | <b>무료 선물</b>을 받으세요 |
In this format, bolding and other formatting elements can also be handled accurately.
When implemented on a website, it will appear as:
(English)
Get
Free Gift
(Korean)
무료 선물을
받으세요
Final Thoughts
By maintaining the full sentence in one piece and respecting the natural grammatical order of the target language, you ensure a better user experience for Korean audiences. This method avoids the pitfalls of splitting phrases, leading to translations that are clear, natural, and professional.
Next time you work on a project with similar UI text, keep this in mind to avoid common translation mistakes and deliver a seamless result! 😊