Trump’s linguistic style which is characterized by disjointed syntax, run-on sentences, and frequent use of sarcasm, hyperbole, and colloquialism has proven to be challenging to translate into other languages.

As Ann Simmons in the Los Angeles Times explains, “President Trump’s language is an annoyance to some, a balm to others. But for one group, it’s something else — a professional hazard.”

The Los Angeles Times  recently interviewed professional translator Bérengère Viennot  who wrote a widely circulated article in Slate France about the difficulties of translating Trump’s speech. “You have to be able to get into someone’s mind in order to translate his speech and reformulate it into your own language. Trump is not easy to translate, first of all, because, most of the time, when he speaks he seems not to know quite where he’s going…..Trump’s vocabulary is limited, his syntax is broken; he repeats the same phrases over and over, forcing the translator to follow suit. If she does not, she betrays the spirit of the original piece. The translator has to translate the content and the style.”

The following articles describe in more detail and provide compelling examples of how translators in Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, and sign language struggle to come to terms with Trump’s unique speaking and writing style. 

Lost in Trumpslation: An Interview with Bérengère Viennot

How do you say ‘lowlife’ in another language? Trump’s tweets lose much in translation

Make America big again’? The headache of translating Trump into foreign languages

Donald Trump confuses French translators with mixed-up speeches

 

Spring 2017 non-credit courses at the Center for Applied Liberal Arts

Foreign Languages

Translation

Interpreting