A bad translation can have humorous and sometimes tragic effects. Bernard Liller runs a Hollywood consortium called Tele Trans, which provides different kinds of translation services to companies. Liller spoke to Jolie Gorchov about how the Internet and computer software has changed the quality and the nature of the translation business.

I moved from France in 1966 to pursue a degree in physics at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. At that time, I helped French companies sell their products and buy companies here. I was appointed vice counsel to the French embassy in Washington and Chicago, as a trade attach & #233;. That’s how I got started translating.

Four years ago I built a consortium of translation companies. They do translations for manuals, brochures, depositions, Web sites, contracts, proposals, packaging and scripts. Some companies want translations in as many as 48 languages. I still do some of the French translations, and some of the voiceovers, but mostly I am like the maitre d’ in a restaurant whatever you want, I am at the center.

American companies are not good at doing business overseas, because they think that English is the only language of the world, which is not true. Ninety percent of the world does not speak English. If you want to sell your product in China, they will choose the product that has been translated into their language.

All the American companies have a tendency to jump on the Internet, and have translations done on computer software or on the Internet. Big problem: the quality of the computer translations is like, “Me Bob, you Jane, we run” like that.

It’s like fast food, in and out. If you have your translations done in cyberspace, the Spanish might be translated in Pakistan, German in Afghanistan, the Japanese might be done in Florida. We can’t compete with some guy in Pakistan, translating into German, charging four times less.

I’ll give you a couple cases of bad translations: “The Queen of Beers” and “Eat Your Fingers Off.” Of course, those were supposed to be “The King of Beers,” and “Finger Lickin’ Good.” Those are just advertising, then you get to chemical compounds, and it’s more serious there was an accident in Mexico, a chemical explosion that killed 14 people because the ingredients were translated incorrectly on the container.