The pitfalls of agricultural translations: Homonyms

Translating texts for the agricultural sector obviously requires a certain degree of specialist knowledge. At AgroLingua B.V. the terminology typical of this industry is part of our daily work. There are plenty of homonyms in the English language - words that are alike in spelling and pronunciation, but different in meaning. A sound knowledge of the technical nuances of the agricultural sector is vital in order to correctly interpret and translate the homonyms. A few examples:

1. Lodging (a type of residential accommodation/the permanent displacement of plant stems from the vertical)
2. Flush (sudden reddening of the face/cultivated mushrooms appear in flushes on the growing beds)
3. Rig (arrangement of sails and masts on a ship/a pig with an undescended testicle)
4. Button (small round piece of metal or plastic used to fasten clothes/a closed mushroom)
5. Creep (to move slowly/highly palatable, easily digested feed offered to piglets while suckling)

Dictionaries give various meanings of the words, but the agricultural usage is often missing. So a translator has to know what the word means in the context of the translation, and be able to find the correct term in another language. Over the years AgroLingua B.V. has compiled a list of these typical 'pitfalls' in 20 languages, and this list continues to grow.