Two months ago I received a proofreading job – from English to Hebrew. The document in question was the instructions manual of a telehandler – a tractor-like machine (on wheels) with a telescopic boom. Here are some of the more incorrect translations that I encountered.

As baseline statement, even though Hebrew is a relatively new language (it was taken off its mothballed status only some 150 years ago  – before that it was a “dead” language more or less like ancient Greek), its technical vocabulary is quite diverse.

On top of that, te English document originated (most likely) from its Italian version, because the manufacturer of the machine was Italian, so some of the terms were mistranslated in the IT>EN phase.

The terms “scale” in “Beaufort scale” was translated as the scale of a drawing (קנה מידה)

The term “washer” (the mechanical round thing with a round hole) was translated as “washing device” (התקן השטיפה).

The term “joint” in “Universal joint splines” was translated as “common universal splines” both a parsing error (“joint” is a noun here – not an adjective) and a consequent mistranslation (משותפים).

So in English, the steel cable (“wire rope” in technical English) of the hoisting attachment was called “rope” (probably from from Italian “catena”) and was translated to “rope” in Hebrew that implies a rope made of natural or synthetic fibers.

But then the plot thickened – here are some pearls of EN>HE miss-translation:

The suspension of the driver’s seat was translated with the Hebrew word used for when one is suspended from his job/position – a totally different word (השעיה).

The external “diameter” of a bolt/screw was translated to external “radius” – sheer misunderstanding of geometry/mechanics terms.

The hydrostatic “transmission”  was translated with terms used for electrical energy  “transmission – a totally different word in Hebrew (הולכה).

The “expansion” tank (of the motor cooling system) was translated as something equivalent to “widening” or “extension” in English (הרחבה).

In “Rated load capacity” – “rated” was translated as something that received a ratings (excellent, good, bad) (מדורג) and capacity was translated as “volumetric capacity” (קיבולת).

The term “circulation”  in “preparation for road circulation” (of the vehicle) was translated as “turning” (in a arc/circle) (סיבוב)

The list goes on an on – just a warning of using the dictionary without being familiar with the subject matter of the document in question.