Abstract

The IASB’s plans to reform accounting for goodwill prompt this paper’s discussion of the translation of the signifier ‘goodwill’ (and the related terms: depreciation, amortisation and impairment). As a translation problem, this is unusually interesting because there are at least three different types of goodwill but all with the same signifier in English. The paper begins by noting the difficulties which biblical translators have had with ‘goodwill’. It then outlines the different types of accounting goodwill, recording the many terms used in eight languages. This includes a study of national regulations and the specific problems of translating IFRS. The discussion is extended to include the approaches in different languages about whether or not to distinguish depreciation from amortisation and how to translate ‘impairment’. Implications for researchers and standard-setters are drawn. This includes the need for terms which are accurately defined and which have been chosen with an eye on potential translations problems.

摘要

IASB 的商誉会计改革计划促使本文讨论了“商誉”（以及相关术语：折旧、摊销和减值）的翻译。作为一个翻译问题，这非常有趣，因为至少有三种不同类型的善意，但在英语中都具有相同的能指。该论文首先指出圣经译者在“善意”方面遇到的困难。然后概述了不同类型的会计商誉，记录了以八种语言使用的许多术语。这包括对国家法规和翻译 IFRS 的具体问题的研究。讨论扩展到包括关于是否区分折旧和摊销以及如何翻译“减值”的不同语言的方法。绘制了对研究人员和标准制定者的影响。这包括需要准确定义的术语，并考虑潜在的翻译问题来选择术语。