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Literal translation
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<p>Literal translation, direct translation, or word-for-word translation is the <a href="/facts/Translation/2foI82so">translation</a> of a text done by translating each word separately without analysing how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence. </p><p>In <a href="/facts/Translation_theory/A00gIACI">translation theory</a>, another term for literal translation is <i><a href="/facts/Metaphrase/CPMa0bAc">metaphrase</a></i> (as opposed to <i><a href="/facts/Paraphrase/YQuQNPcn">paraphrase</a></i> for an <a href="/facts/Analogous/LYcGaTdm">analogous</a> translation). It is to be distinguished from an <a href="/facts/Language_interpretation/7NxWE3xS">interpretation</a> (done, for example, by an <a href="/facts/Interpreter/7NxWE3xS">interpreter</a>). </p><p>Literal translation leads to mistranslation of <a href="/facts/Idiom/JaAk3qnW">idioms</a>, which can be a serious problem for <a href="/facts/Machine_translation/DGF3NwuI">machine translation</a>. </p>