When one mentions restaurant, food is the very first thing that comes up in people’s minds, which is true because with every individual or group seated in one, there is food, a drink or water in front of them.
In the so not far past, it is families that went to eat out in restaurants as special treats, or on weekends to have time together. Later on, couples in love and those married took it upon themselves to have their own private time in restaurants.
Still, one can say one can do all the above in the comfort of their homes, however Restaurants have slowly become part of us as people young and old throng there especially in the evenings and weekends because of the various reasons people enter restaurants.
Reasons
- Discussions by students
- Dating
- Business meetings
- Wedding meetings
- Birthday party celebrations
- Engagement celebrations
- Socialization
- Bachelor parties to mention a few
Language issues
It should be noted that restaurants have become multilingual; as per the various groups under the same roof however, speaking different languages. Each group dining might be communicating in a different language to that of the group next to them.
This is because some families might be migrants speaking their native language, or students having an academic discussion in the official language of that particular country.
The other group might be of tourists having a cheerful conversation in the language belonging to their country of origin.
What all these groups might have in common is the language to which the restaurant operates in while making orders, inquiries and payments.
Translation need
It would be of much ease if restaurants, café, diners and all eating joints, especially in urban centers where people from different backgrounds gather, employed multi lingual personnel. These could include chefs, waiters and waitresses so as to ease communication with the multicultural customers.
Then may be the menus could be availed in famous and widely spoken second languages like;
- French
- English
- Arabic
- Spanish
- Chinese
- Japanese
- Portuguese
Negatives involved with un-translated menus
A customer might eat foods containing components they are allergic to thus causing health complications, which wouldn’t be the case in the first place if the menu was translated.
There are foods forbidden from being eaten by followers and would be devastating to the restaurant visitor if they came to know that they consumed religiously prohibited foods.
The translation of such menus should however be handled by professional linguists who speak the language in question as their native language. This is to translate within context, having the culture of the language’s origin in mind. This is to bring out the exact meaning as it is in the original menu.
Translation Information 