Writing article in other language

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ardianto

ardianto

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Just curious, when you wrote an article that not in your mother language, did you write directly in that other language ?, or at first you wrote in your mother language then translate that article into other language ?.

I tried to write articles in English but I felt it's very difficult. Then I used another way, wrote in Indonesian language, then translate those articles into English, and i feel, it's easier.
 
Humbly, my native language is Arabic and I am realy weak and too poor in english language but humbly and Alhamdulilah I can write articles directly in english and of course google translation and other dictionaries are my friends always...and there are so much of what I write which I can not pronounce, utter or even remember its meaning...I am too awful in speaking the english language ...tho I am happy; Alhamdulilah for everything...

may Allah fill your heart with Qur`aan , Sunnah and plant their knowledges deep inside your heart core and mind and may Allah ease everything for you in this dunya and in Al Akhirah and all of us Ameeeeeen
 
:sl:

Myself, when I write in English, I write in English; when I write in Malay, I write in Malay. I find that different languages have different flavors, so to say. When it is translated, the taste is not quite the same.

For example, take the English word "love". In Malay, I can say "cinta", "kasih" or "sayang" which may seem to mean the same but are actually all different things.

A language is the product of the culture and history of the people who use it. Each and every word in a particular language refers to experiences specific to the people who use it.

For example, take the English word "eat" and compare it to the Malay word "makan". The word "eat" to an English person would bring up mental pictures of, say, steak and bread. To a Malay person, the word "makan" would bring up mental pictures of, say, rice and budu. So when the English word "eat" is translated into the Malay word "makan", the original meaning is somewhat lost in transit.

It is this reason why holy books which are translated cannot convey the same message as the original. This is also one of the reasons why the Holy Quran must be learned in the original Arabic language. We only refer to the translations to help us understand while we are learning the Arabic language.

Hope this is useful. WaLLahu aklam.
 
Considering said:
Your English is not as bad as you think :-)
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Thank you for your beautiful kindness and encouragement my respected brother. May Allah lead your way to the path of the endless true happiness and success always and forever and give you the best of this life and after it the best of the Hereafter Aameeeeeen


ThisOldMan said:
Keep on speaking it and it will get less awful. Insha Allah. btw I never learned to lisp in English from my mother's lips either.
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Wa Alikum Assalaam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh

in shaa Allah I will try my best my respected brother, Thank you for your precious advice, Jazakum Allahu Al Firdaws Al Aalaa bella hisaab Aameeeeeen and indeed you are right; reciting Qur`aan (the words of Allah) in its original language is different than reading its translation, Sub`haan Allah...

May Allah help the whole world to learn the language of Qur`aan, understand it and put it into effect too and May Allah open the eyes and the hearts of all Jinns and Mankind to His guidance and light Aameeeeeeeeeeeeen
 
Walaikum Assalam brother ardianto,

I think brother T.O.M so Far has given the best opinion on the issue, I would just like to add the golden rule in linguistics is never translate your thoughts and try to think only in the language that you are using. :hmm:
Inshallah you will find that, that's the best way.
As far as Islam goes nothing has brought more discord amongst Muslims than Quranic Translations.
Lets not fall into the same abyss that the Bible translators landed in, for the next step will surely be "Quran evangelists" Audhu Billahi minash Shaytaanir rajim.
To all the non English as a mother tongue brothers and sisters out there; do the best you can and don't let it slow you down or worry:cry: about it, after all it's not:phew our language is it ?;D;D;D

Masalam
 
Thanks for the replies, brothers, sister.

When I was younger sometime I wrote articles in my language. I felt so easy to write it, word by word were flown i my mind like a river flow. Nowadays, after I learn English, I tried to write some articles in English, but I felt it's hard. It's not easy to find the accurate English word. I must stop after one or two sentences, read my dictionary, and it's annoyed my idea.

Then I used another method, wrote an article in my language then translate it with google translate, and the last was edit the grammar. Indonesian grammar and English grammar are very different. Google translate cannot translate Indonesian to English, or English to Indonesian in correct grammar. But at least, google translate showed me more words in English that never appeared in my mind.


(Edit) But I never use this method when I write posts in forum. I always write directly in English.
 
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I took Spanish in university and sadly I have forgotten most of it now. But I used to do as you said, write down what I wanted to say in English first and then translate it to Spanish.
 
at the start you can do that but gradually you should write directly in the other language, especially short articles or paragraphs. practice makes perfect and that's more true for writing than anything else. and when translating, do it on your own, translating most sentences by yourself and resorting to a dictionary only for the words that you don't know. don't use a translator program as it will keep you from learning.
 
My native language is Urdu, but since my childhood, I've been studying in English medium schools, and as a result, Atleast when you consider writing, My English is better than Urdu. I don’t know Urdu perfectly, as I have not studied it all my life... I have studied Hindi all my life but its not my mother tongue and I have never reached the stage of a 'good' Hindi speaker or writer , nor a 'good' Urdu speaker and writer... The only language I can read and write , as well as speak is English.Normally, I speak Urdu, but not pure Urdu.. The common impure language...
 
WRITER said:
at the start you can do that but gradually you should write directly in the other language, especially short articles or paragraphs. practice makes perfect and that's more true for writing than anything else. and when translating, do it on your own, translating most sentences by yourself and resorting to a dictionary only for the words that you don't know. don't use a translator program as it will keep you from learning.
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In this time I still have a problem to find the right English words for certain Indonesian words. But you're right, if I always use translator to help me in writing article in other language, finally I would always depend on translator.

Inshaallah, I would train myself to write English article without translator. By the way, in every English forum, I always write in English directly.
 
^that is great. your english seems very good.
 

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