Translations translations and then some...are they reliable or biased?

[Carana]

Why a double checking? Did they think the translators the Mccanns used were below par?
re the parts of the files the Mccanns didnt have, true, but no reason to get a different translator for the main parts that they did have

Whether they did or not, I have no idea, but I would find it plausible that the police would have engaged a service to double-check translations, just in case. That wouldn't mean translating all over again, just double-checking, but it still takes time.

[Redblossom]

Whether they did or not, I have no idea, but I would find it plausible that the police would have engaged a service to double-check translations, just in case. That wouldn't mean translating all over again, just double-checking, but it still takes time.

oh right so the police didnt get the files translated as they sid they were doing,  but employed translators just to check if the mccanns translators work was ok? Ok carana
 

[Carana]

oh right so the police didnt get the files translated as they sid they were doing,  but employed translators just to check if the mccanns translators work was ok? Ok carana
 

They were bringing together all the files... Yes, there may have been a certain amount of double-checking (if the translations were correct in substance, the task may have been relatively quickly done for their purposes), but also "confidential files" which were not necessarily in English.

[AnneGuedes]

Rereading costs the same as translating.

[Redblossom]

They were bringing together all the files... Yes, there may have been a certain amount of double-checking (if the translations were correct in substance, the task may have been relatively quickly done for their purposes), but also "confidential files" which were not necessarily in English.

Give it up carana sy have said they got the files translated, obviously the mccanns one was below the par for some reason

[DCI]

BUMPED FOR ANNE!

There is the "McCann" translation (at least it's supposed to exist). Is it an accredited one ? If so that will be likely the one used in "McCann vs Bennett".
Let's hope the "SY" translator helped him/herself with the Astro's, Ines' etc. translations.

Anne, who translated the files from Portuguese to English, for the DVD's, we have?

[sadie]

BUMPED FOR ANNE!

Anne, who translated the files from Portuguese to English, for the DVD's, we have?

I would like to know too

[Chinagirl]

There is the "McCann" translation (at least it's supposed to exist). Is it an accredited one ? If so that will be likely the one used in "McCann vs Bennett".
Let's hope the "SY" translator helped him/herself with the Astro's, Ines' etc. translations.

This is one of the most foolish comments I have read here.

I can confidently state that it is highly unlikely that the UK High Court and the Scotland Yard investigation team have even heard of "Astro," let alone read any of her translations, nor those of any other amateur translator who posted on internet forums.  I am amazed - and disturbed - that the intelligent academic Guedes claims to be could suggest that any anonymous amateur translation should be considered "helpful" by any legal authority, whether in the UK or Portugal.

I might add that the intelligent, practical, sophisticated Astro I "knew" and with whom I corresponded fairly extensively in 2007/08 would have had no difficulty in understanding this concept - that none of her or her amateur colleagues' translations would carry any weight with the UK judicial authorities, the police, or the McCanns themselves; that these bodies would need the assurance of accurate, objective translations which can only be obtained from accredited professional translators.

No one here can answer the question of whether or not the McCann's translations were undertaken by accredited translators, nor if these translations were the same as those used by the court in the McCann v Bennett judgment.  However, it is a confident assumption that the translations referred to by the High Court were properly accredited.
 
 

[John]

I would have thought the McCanns sought out the best value for money when it came to translating Portuguese documents into English.  Accredited foreign language translation companies are very expensive so are usually best avoided unless of course the documents are required for some judicial process.

[Eleanor]

Aren't The McCanns supposed to have spent £100,000 getting The Files translated?  There was much derision and even outrage about this from the Sceptic Camp because according to them the translations were on line for free.
£100,000 sounds fairly professional to me.  Or did someone make this up so they could have a pop at The McCanns for wasting Fund money?

[Mrs. B]

Aren't The McCanns supposed to have spent £100,000 getting The Files translated?  There was much derision and even outrage about this from the Sceptic Camp because according to them the translations were on line for free.
£100,000 sounds fairly professional to me.  Or did someone make this up so they could have a pop at The McCanns for wasting Fund money?

That figure comes from Time's online - I think. Though in many other places it is referred to as 100,000 PAGES, I don't know if there's some type of mix up - but £1 per page seems AWFULLY cheap to me, at least I've never used any professional translator who charged that measly sum for a page.

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id237.html

Also, NSY received documents from various sources in various countries, e.g. I think lots came from Spanish Police. Those documents would be needing translating separately. If you are to use documents in any legal circumstances, they'd HAVE to be from an accredited agency or professional.

[AnneGuedes]

Believe me or not, the very likely accredited translator of the short extract used by the court in McCann vs Bennett altered the original text for some reason. We're speaking here not of style but of conformity between the translation and the original. Some syntax tours aren't easy to understand, even for a Portuguese. They reveal the state of mind of the redactor and shouldn't be bypassed.

I know Astro, I don't share her feeling about the McCann case, but I've no doubt about her honesty. Ines banned me for being pro or not enough anti or whatever, but I've no doubt about her intellectual rigour concerning the files.
I wouldn't hesitate to claim to be careful with the translations of the PJ files on the Web, if suggestions of correction had been refused. They were always welcomed, as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes inaccuracies can lead to misunderstanding, especially if reading isn't "benevolent".  What DCI mentioned as "a lie of Ines" has now been corrected, as everybody can confirm.

My remark isn't a general opinion about professionally made translations, it is limited to a short extract used by a UK court. I claim it doesn't reproduce what the AG meant. I've no idea why, even professionals aren't perfect.

[Mrs. B]

This is one of the most foolish comments I have read here.

I can confidently state that it is highly unlikely that the UK High Court and the Scotland Yard investigation team have even heard of "Astro," let alone read any of her translations, nor those of any other amateur translator who posted on internet forums.  I am amazed - and disturbed - that the intelligent academic Guedes claims to be could suggest that any anonymous amateur translation should be considered "helpful" by any legal authority, whether in the UK or Portugal.

I might add that the intelligent, practical, sophisticated Astro I "knew" and with whom I corresponded fairly extensively in 2007/08 would have had no difficulty in understanding this concept - that none of her or her amateur colleagues' translations would carry any weight with the UK judicial authorities, the police, or the McCanns themselves; that these bodies would need the assurance of accurate, objective translations which can only be obtained from accredited professional translators.

No one here can answer the question of whether or not the McCann's translations were undertaken by accredited translators, nor if these translations were the same as those used by the court in the McCann v Bennett judgment.  However, it is a confident assumption that the translations referred to by the High Court were properly accredited.

Totally agree.

[AnneGuedes]

I would have thought the McCanns sought out the best value for money when it came to translating Portuguese documents into English.  Accredited foreign language translation companies are very expensive so are usually best avoided unless of course the documents are required for some judicial process.

I would have thought also the McCanns sought out the best value for money when it came to PI. But they weren't well advised, isn't it ?

[Eleanor]

I wouldn't trust the translations of Ines or Astro.  They have both "Poorly" translated against The McCanns at more than one point.