My son has an allergy to berries and I want to have something written down to say/show our waiters while abroad.
Can you translate for me: "Please, my son cannot have anything made with berries. He is very allergic to them. Thank you."
Appreciate help from you experts out there!
Mary Anne:
Check with your medical insurance provider. As part of their wellness program, or disease management program, or general service, they may have a connection to medical translation services. This is also common in larger hospitals, but they may not have all of the languages you need. Your health care provider or doctor may also have a connection to one.
While your request may not be one that requires a medical translation, if your son's allergy is severe enough to warrant the note, then you should have a note from the doctor explaining the diagnosis, symptoms, and treatment, so that in the event of an emergency you could give the note to the local doctor and not have to worry about making yourself understood or waiting for a translation.
French translation: S'il(see) vous(voo) plait(play)! Mon fils(fees) ne peut(puw) avoir(av-woire) rien(ree-ayn) fait(fay) avec des baies(bays). Il est(ay) tres(tray) allergique a elles. Merci!
You can look at the following site to translate things for you.
The babelfish site provides a somewhat "rough" translation, but it's not perfect.
To ensure that you're getting absolutely correct translation from native speakers, you might also post this question on the Thorn Tree site (Speaking In Tongues section). I'm sure you'll have your answer very quickly. If you'd prefer not to register on the TT site, let me know and I'll post it for you.
I could provide an approximation of the Italian version, but would prefer to see the response from native speakers.
If all else fails, contact the foreign language department of a local college. They undoubtedly have people who can compose a note for you.
I wouldn't worry about the Danish translation. Every Dane I ever met speaks perfect English.
You can try this site too:
http://www.google.com/language_tools
It may not be perfect but it seems to work. The local college suggestion is a terrific idea. If you do not have a local college then try your local hospital - they frequently have language experts available to them.
Mary Anne, i just remembered i had recently bought a little phrasebook, "Western Europe" - Lonely Planet version. It is very very useful. For each language it has a section of "special diets and allergies"..things like how to say "I'm allergic to...", and "Could you prepare a meal without.." I truly think getting a book such as this one (it has almost every european language in it) would be great also because there is a health section, with things like i need a doctor(who speaks english), i need a hospital.. etc. Where in case of a situation where your son does come in contact with berries, you may need some other phrases to get him the help he needs.. Hope this helps.
Thank to all and for the private messages as well.
Go to freetranslation.com They will translate a basic wording to several languages via a computer program for free. For an indepth review by a person the cost will be $50.
I want to second babelfish.com. You can type in your message in English, translate it into multiple languages and print it. I've used it to read magazine articles in foreign languages. I copy the text of the article, paste it into the babelfish window and translate to English. It loses a little in the translation, but it will get the point accross.
