Richard Green (asker) Feb 11, 2014:

The SWE can fix itself. I always highlight any errors I spot in the source, but I'm buggered if I'm going to spend my time correcting it. That's up to them.

As for charging double... let's just say that I tried increasing my rates by ha'penny last summer on account of being more experienced than when I started, and it was like drawing blood from a stone.

And on that note, have a fun Tuesday everyone! Given the rain the UK has been having, I expect I'll be paddling about in half a foot of water come lunchtime.

Deane Goltermann Feb 11, 2014:

Agree Richard with your assessment and Anna's. Now try to charge double for fixing the Swe! ;-)
That question was a nice laugh to start the day!

Richard Green (asker) Feb 11, 2014:

Great info, Anna Hi Anna,

Thank you for that really useful information. I'm definitely going to pass that on to the project manager for this job.

In this case, this expression certainly does not fit the nature of the text, which is a preamble to an annual report. In my mind, these sort of texts should be kept as professional, but as accessible as possible so as to attract and maintain investors.

Thanks once again.

Anna Herbst Feb 11, 2014:

Badly written sentence. The person who wrote the original Swedish is not a very accomplished linguist to say the least. The meaning of the phrase "att slå någon på fingrarna" is that someone has been doing the wrong thing and needs to be disciplined. Whether this is a suitable expression in the cited case is highly debatable.
Furthermore, the past participle of "slå" is "slagit" in Swedish. The vernacular jargon "slått" is not accepted in SAOL 2011. http://www.svenskaakademien.se/svenska_spraket/svenska_akade... page 859

An interesting question arising here is whether we, as translators, are supposed to act as editors and correct badly written language before translating it? If so, do we charge double for this?

Deane Goltermann Feb 10, 2014:

Unusual usage? Rap on the knuckles/fingers certainly fits the phrase, but I get the sense that the Swe is misused here. Perhaps the original meaning (what teachers and parents did to discipline children) has migrated to mean 'beating (winning over) the other guy'. I see it used in hockey contexts where the literal meaning of this phrase is supposedly not allowed, but it does seem to be used as above -- winning against the other team. But that really doesn't make sense to me... Any thoughts?

George Hopkins Feb 10, 2014:

Wording How about: ...but above all we have again given our competitors something to think about.
Or: ...have again given our competitors something to think about.
(Perhaps more sympathetic than slapping someone).
(Perhaps more sympathetic than slapping someone).