The Bookseller.com

17th May 2008

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BBC Active scores with Which?

08.05.08 Anna Richardson

A BBC Active phrasebook was crowned the best in its field, following research conducted by Which? Holiday magazine.

The consumer magazine compared Mandarin phrasebooks, rating them on accuracy of translation and ease of use, with the help of a linguist and Which? researchers and travellers. The magazine selected BBC Active as the best buy, giving it five stars out of five for accuracy, with four stars for ease of use, whereas Instant Chinese (Tuttle Publishing US) came bottom of the list, getting just one star in both categories. The linguist assessed that “the writer’s command of the language is not at the level of a native speaker and some phrases don’t sound authentic”.

Globetrotter’s Mandarin in Your Pocket also scored poorly, with two stars for accuracy. The linguist said that there were “quite a few errors in translations”, while the researchers found “a lack (and bad choice) of phrases”. Chambers’ phrasebook came second behind the BBC, followed by Berlitz, Collins Gem and Lonely Planet.

Jonathan Mitcham, senior researcher at Which? Travel, stressed that the survey provided just a snapshot and was not a judgement on phrasebook brands in general. However, he urged publishers to take notice and put more effort in to get editors to spot check translators’ work.

Media Anna Richardson travel BBC Active Which?