Here is a good example of why we should be careful with our global search and replaces.
The other day I downloaded the
Sample of
Mein Kampf, translated by Matt Kirkland.*
*Disclaimer: I do not like Hitler or the Nazis, their ideology, politics, et cetera. However as an amateur historian I try read every side of an argument to get the larger, fuller picture of the historical period.
The sample only contained a few pages, but I noticed a few strange words in those few pages. Keep in mind this an English translation, but these words at first seemed really odd.
recrimicountry
indigcountry
examicountry
At first I was very puzzled until I saw the repetitive pattern and realized what the publisher had done. S/He had globally substituted the English term "
country" for the term "
nation". I'm sure s/he had a reason as these two terms can convey different meanings in English. The goal of a translation is to convey the closest meaning intended in the original. However, s/he got sloppy and didn't verify all the global changes and apparently never considered that "
nation" can be used at the end of a verb or adjective to form a noun. Thus:
recrimicountry should have been written as
recrimination
indigcountry should have been written as
indignation
examicountry should have been written as
examination
Since the book cost $8.99, I deleted the sample and chose not to waste my money on what probably would have been a very sloppy edition/translation.