undertranslation

English

Etymology

From under- +‎ translation.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

undertranslation (plural undertranslations)

1. the act or result of undertranslating
   • 1974, American Translators Association, State University of New York at Binghamton. Translation Center, Translators and translating: selected essays from the American Translators Association summer workshops, 1974, page 69:

     An expression which lacks the proper specificity results in undertranslation; when the translator is too specific, on the other hand, overtranslation results.

   • 1984, Multilingua, page 130:

     If mere identification does not suffice, transfer is restricted, thus indicating that a certain amount of information content is lost in transfer; in other words, undertranslation occurs.

   • 2014, Michele H. Jones, The Beginning Translator’s Workbook: or the ABCs of French to English Translation, University Press of America, →ISBN, page 7:

     Overtranslation and undertranslation are standard translation mistakes resulting from improper T.U. delineation: