literal translations
Word-by-word conversions
Literal translations render text word-for-word from one language to another, preserving the source language's structure and vocabulary choices rather than adapting for natural expression in the target language.
The results often sound awkward or nonsensical: The literal translation of "il pleut des cordes" is "it's raining ropes".
Literal translations help language learners understand how another language constructs meaning, but they sacrifice fluency and idiom.
- word-for-wordExactly as stated
- word for wordExactly as spoken
- verbatimIn identical wording
- directUndeviating or to guide
- calqueBorrowed phrase translated literally
loan · awkward · clunky · stilted · false friends · broken English · interlinear · gloss · crib · phrase book · source language · target language · mother tongue · native speaker · equivalence · fidelity · accuracy · dictionary
- translationsFrench edition
- classicsHomer, Iliad, the Iliad, Odyssey, the Odyssey
- Bible editionsKing James Version, Bible, KJV, NIV, Gutenberg Bible
- Bible TranslationsKing James Version, NIV, KJV, King James Bible, RSV
- idioms errorsmalapropisms, mixed metaphors
- Latin classicsVirgil, Ovid, Cicero, Horace, Caesar
literal translationstranscreation
Culturally adaptive translation process
artistic renderings · reimaginings · retellings · interpretations
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