Why Candidates Fail NAATI Translation and Interpreting Exams

NAATI carries out testing for translators and interpreters in both Australia and New Zealand. When someone passes the NAATI professional interpreter or translator examination he or she can then file an application to become a full member of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) or New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters (NZSTI) and if the NAATI paraprofessional examination has been passed, affiliate status of AUSIT and NZSTI is available.

At the moment the examinations are completed using pen and paper but a keyboard is being considered as an option. Interpreting tests are pre-recorded. All the tests have a part on ethics for both interpreters and translators.

How are the NAATI tests marked?

Two markers are responsible for marking each test. If there is any noticeable discrepancy between the two markers a third marker is brought in to assess the discrepancies. The test solutions are based on responses that are considered acceptable not fixed answers or what the marker would have written but accuracy is strongly emphasised. The language quality is evaluated on how accurate it is. 

What causes NAATI test failure?

Unfortunately the pass rate is not high, at only 10-15%. This is due mainly to candidates sitting the examination being not fully prepared for it. Some simply sit the test to get migration points to qualify for entry to Australia and many really believe that only a certain level of bilingualism is required to pass the test.

The NAATI translation examination is sat by candidates who lack proficiency in their second language. Often, when translating text from their second language to their first language they fail to understand the text sufficiently enough to conduct a satisfactory translation that will enable them to pass the examination. Some exam takers encounter technique problems too so they don’t use words appropriately when translating.

Candidates sitting the NAATI interpreters test fail because of poor listening skills and so are not able to translate fast enough between the two languages. Poor vocabulary knowledge is a problem too particularly when translating in the legal and medical areas. 

To put it simply If you are planning to sit the NAATI translation examination you should begin to prepare early and that means packing in as much practice as you can before the examination date. You must ensure a great deal of proficiency in your second language and that means being able to handle highly complex specialised areas. You will be rewarded when you pass as professional translation services are always on the lookout for those who have passed the NAATI translator’s exam.

Translation Errors Can be World Shakingly Important

One would hope that professional translation services in Australia know their languages so well that errors just don’t happen or at least the proofreader spots the errors in time before they get passed on to the client. Translation errors have happened frequently throughout history and in many cases, they have just caused minor confusion or even mirth, but occasionally they have been very serious omissions. If you are looking for a professional translator in Australia, it’s always worth making sure you use a NAATI translation provider. NAATI is the Australian national accreditation authority for translators and interpreters.

Some of the best known translation errors get passed around time and time again. Some of them continue to amuse but others are a chilling reminder of the importance of getting translation or interpreting right.

In the ‘serious’ category are the well known Miami hospital story of a Cuban man, Willie Ramirez, who was taken to hospital in a coma. His relatives couldn’t speak good enough English to explain what they thought was the problem, so a bilingual hospital worker was used to do the translation. The family said that Willie was intoxicado, meaning, in Spanish, that he was suffering from some type of food poisoning. The amateur translator mistook the word as being intoxicated and that’s how the hospital treated him, or more exactly, didn’t treat him, until it was too late. Willie ended up being paralysed because of the translation mistake and later successfully sued the hospital for damages to the tune of over 70 million dollars.

Another commonly quoted mistranslation was a phrase used by Russia’s Nikita Khruschev in the Soviet era cold war period. The Russian president was translated as saying that the Russians would ‘bury’ the Americans. It was enough for the U.S. military to prepare themselves for the worst: nuclear war. In fact, Khruschev was merely bluffing. His Russian, if it had been translated by a more professional translator, would have shown that he was only telling the Americans that the Russians would be still around to see the Americans ‘buried’, i.e. they would outlive them. 

Of course, not all translation errors are quite so serious. There are the funny ones, too. The U.S. President Jimmy Carter took on a rather poor Polish translator when he visited Poland in 1977. Of the many translation errors during that visit, one message he had for the Poles was that he had ‘abandoned’ his own country. He actually meant that he had left his country on a visit. He then told his hosts that he understood their ‘lusts’, actually meaning their desire for a better future!

And then, of course, there is the old KFC slogan mistranslation which keeps on being retold. That’s when ‘finger lickin’ chicken’ was translated into Chinese as ‘eat your fingers’. Fortunately, most Chinese saw the translation error for what it was and avoided ending up fingerless!