The Translation

The Translation

Fact of the day: College Admission Officers can't read Malay. 

Not trying to be Captain Obvious here, but most of us would have forgotten that in Malaysia, where people usually speaks in 3 tongues and that hybrid language is acceptable. In the case of overseas college application, we need to ensure our documents are all in English for the English-speaking universities we are applying to. (This does not only apply to the US)

So you will need to translate your documents, following these few steps:

1. Translate it word for word. This is a no-brainer, but some will forget to do so, thinking that it is better to have a beautifully worded and poetic document instead. Really, there is no need for us to translate documents into Haiku which the officers the officers will only see the content in it. Time is better spent catching pokemon.

2. Mirror it from your original document. If the officers can't read the original document, then how does he/she comes to understand which paragraph are you translating? Hence, we need to not only translate it word for word for ease of understanding, but also mirror the format in the original document so that the admission officer can understand our logic in translation.

3. Use the official translation. Sometimes, although our Malaysian Lembaga Peperiksaan (examination syndicate) can be a bit cringeworthy in their translation i.e. an A+ in SPM is a super distinction? Come on! It looks like they have tried so hard in making the grade sound superior. The examination syndicate is another example, we can't just rename it the examination board as we please. Official is official and it is best to follow what it says, however wrong it sounds to you.

4. When you are unsure of a word, use the least controversial. There had been times in translating our application document that me and my friends couldn't agree on a word, and we would resolve the issue by using the word that wouldn't be misunderstood. For example, in the moral values assessment in your report card, what would you translate for kekemasan (neatness)? Neatness, hygiene and cleanliness were 3 words we debated to use. While almost in the same spirit, hygiene and cleanliness could mean different things such as personal hygiene. Hence, it is always safer to use a word without a double entendre.

The Verification

After translation, the next step would be the verification of the documents, where a couple of things would have to be noted as well:

 

Not just anyone can "chop and sign"

1. Never stamp your document with a Malay stamp. Speaking from experience, I've been through this before. It is hilarious when sudden realization hits you that the document you have painstakingly translated into English is disahkan benar (verified) in Malay by your principal. If your school doesn't provide an English stamp, don't worry, just write verified true copy and ask your principal to stamp and sign below.

2. Ask the right authority. In Malaysia, Bolehland, anyone with a higher authority can verify that a document is true, such as your village head, your local municipal head, teachers, etc. etc. However, more formally, only the head of the institution should sign the document for you and it should be appropriate as well, meaning that secondary school principal should only verify secondary school documents and A-Levels director verify only A-Levels documents.

That's my brief tips on how to translate documents. Oh ya, and never, ever leave it in the hands of Google Translate.