translateresque phrase
- noun
- /ˌtrænzləˈtɛrɛsk freɪz/
- Jargon
:
frase translateresca
- Whenever software is poorly localized, you can spot a translateresque phrase in the dialog boxes.
Examples
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Her novel was criticized for its use of translateresque phrases, which made the prose seem unnatural.
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The report contained a translateresque phrase that made the instructions difficult to understand.
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That sentence is a classic translateresque phrase.
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Many authors avoid using translateresque phrases in their writing.
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Her novel was criticized for its use of translateresque phrases, which made the prose seem unnatural.
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The report contained a translateresque phrase that made the instructions difficult to understand.
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Whenever software is poorly localized, you can spot a translateresque phrase in the dialog boxes.
How Natural
Surface Forms
Morphology
translateresque + phrase
The phrase is clearly built from 'translate' + the derivational suffix '-esque' plus 'phrase', so its meaning 'a phrase that resembles or sounds like a translation' is largely inferable from the parts. However, 'translateresque' is a nonstandard, nonce formation and the suffix '-esque' is somewhat literary/derivational and may be unfamiliar to many B1 learners, so the exact nuance (awkward/poor translation) is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Translateresque phrase comes from joining translator and -esque, where translator is the person who moves words between languages and -esque means 'like'. The image is of a sentence made by moving words one by one from another language, so the term means 'a phrase that sounds like a poor or awkward translation'.