26/10/2020
Translating is not always a good option.
Is it convenient to learn a language trying to translate everything you see or hear?
The feeling of not understanding your environment is frustrating, especially if you are just starting to study a language, the solution we naturally find is to look for the equivalent in our mother tongue. But learning a new language by translating everything may be one reason why your learning is affected.
I tell you why:
A common mistake is to believe that sentences in English are the same as in Spanish. Sentences in Spanish have a different structure. For example; if you wanted to say "I've always been a fan of swimming", when translating it would be; "Yo he siempre sido un fanático de natación", would you say it's okay? NO, the correct way is "Yo siempre he sido un fanático de la natación."
Perhaps it has also happened to you that when trying to translate songs you notice that some verses are meaningless. The truth is that neither songs, films, speeches or texts are translated literally. The people who are in charge of doing these "translations"👩💻 actually listen to the original message and adapt it to the words and context of the target language. But for this, they must have an advanced knowledge of both languages, as well as the techniques of Translation.
Ideally, you should learn languages by association. If you are learning a language I recommend that you do not translate everything, better observe how the word or phrase is used so that you can understand its meaning, make an effort to learn the structure of the sentences, do not try too hard to find sense on everything because it is not always achieved, basically because each language has its own rules.
If you think it is easier said than done, I agree with you, but I guarantee you, from experience, that it is a better way to learn.
Try it!
Yanelis G. (Xvalente team)
www.xvalenteglobal.com
[email protected]