A big issue with many languages when translating from English, is when is it OK to use English words within the target language? The answer of course is that it depends…. English often adopts words from other languages into common everyday use, in recent years for example we have had the word “tsunami” come into regular English use, of course this was a direct impact on language of the tragedy of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004. English has many adopted words from Latin and French which have been in the language for centuries. Generally translators will use the target language word if there is one, for example Spanish has a perfectly good term for e-mail, “correo electronico”, although the term “e-mail” is commonly used. However there is no simple rule about when to use an English term within the language and when not. This is where the professional judgement of the translator is very important, as is the context and purpose of the translation.

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