Translating a piece of writing is not just a question of finding the meaning of a word in the original text in one language and expressing that same meaning in the target language. The new version also needs to be ‘localised’, so that it can be understood by readers who are not from the area in which it was written.
When we write or say something, we often include a whole range of expectations and assumptions, which we expect our audience to share, but which people in other countries may not know anything about.
To illustrate one of the issues here, try asking a young child about their favourite computer game or TV series and there is a distinct possibility that you will end up rather confused, due to not recognising the names of the characters or the world they inhabit.
The same would happen if that child saw the name of a particular celebrity for the first time and asked who that was. For example, whilst they would soon learn that people like David Beckham and Vinnie Jones used to be football players, that would only tell part of the story of their different characters and post-football careers. Yet any article in a British newspaper about them today would likely work on the assumption that the reader was aware of their history and reputations.
So if that article needed to be translated into another language, the translator might have to add in some additional details to provide the readers in another country with the essential background. Similarly, someone like Thomas Gottschalk is very famous in Germany, yet is virtually unknown in Britain, so British readers would not have the existing knowledge a German reader might be assumed to have. A translator cannot expect everyone to recognise the name instantly, let alone relate that name to specific things he or she may have done. Each country has its own examples of national celebrities whose reputation comes to be associated with particularly memorable events, achievements or even bad press.
If the translation is of a general nature, it may be possible to change the name for someone more familiar to the audience, such as substituting Thomas Gottschalk with Noel Edmonds. However, the options for doing this effectively are often limited and many of the nuances of the individual will be lost.
So if you want to write something with international appeal, which you want to get translated into other languages, be aware of what cultural assumptions you are making, especially if you want to refer to specific famous individuals.
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