A Practical Guide for Translators / Edition 5 available in Hardcover
A Practical Guide for Translators / Edition 5
- ISBN-10:
- 1847692605
- ISBN-13:
- 9781847692603
- Pub. Date:
- 03/24/2010
- Publisher:
- Channel View Publications
- ISBN-10:
- 1847692605
- ISBN-13:
- 9781847692603
- Pub. Date:
- 03/24/2010
- Publisher:
- Channel View Publications
A Practical Guide for Translators / Edition 5
Hardcover
Buy New
$109.95Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781847692603 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Channel View Publications |
| Publication date: | 03/24/2010 |
| Series: | Topics in Translation , #38 |
| Edition description: | Fifth Edition |
| Pages: | 224 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
A Practical Guide for Translators (Fifth Edition)
By Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown
Multilingual Matters
Copyright © 2010 Geoffrey Samuelsson-BrownAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-84769-259-7
CHAPTER 1
How to become a translator
They know enough who know how to learn Henry Adams, 1836–1918
People usually become translators in one of two ways: by design or by circumstance. There are no formal academic qualifications required to work as a translator, but advertisements for translators in the press and professional journals tend to ask for graduates with professional qualifications and three years' experience.
Many countries have professional organisations for translators and if the organisation is a member of the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT) it will have demonstrated that it sets specific standards and levels of academic achievement for membership. The translation associations affiliated to FIT can be found on FIT's website – www. fit-ift.org. Two organisations in the United Kingdom set examinations for professional membership. These are the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIoL) and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI). To gain a recognised professional qualification through membership of these associations you must meet certain criteria. Comprehensive details of professional associations for translators in the United Kingdom are given in Chapter 11.
If you have completed your basic education and have followed a course of study to become a translator, you will then need to gain experience. As a translator, you will invariably be asked to translate every imaginable subject. The difficulty is accepting the fact that you have limitations and you are faced with the dilemma of 'How do I gain experience if I don't accept translations or do I accept translations to get the experience?'. Ideally as a fledgling translator you should work under the guidance of a more experienced colleague.
Do not disregard your dossier of translations made while studying at university. You will have covered a range of subjects and received feedback from your tutor. You will be unlikely to receive this level of analytical constructive criticism from an agency or client. If you have progressed to studying for an MA you will have reached a very professional level. Continuous personal development with a professional body such as the ITI or the CIoL will stand you in very good stead.
1.1 'Oh, so you're a translator – that's interesting!'
An opening gambit at a social or business gathering is for the person next to you to ask what you do. When the person finds out your profession the inevitable response is, 'Oh so you're a translator – that's interesting' and, before you have a chance to say anything, the next rejoinder is, 'I suppose you translate things like books and letters into foreign languages, do you?'. Without giving you a chance to utter a further word you are hit by the fatal catch-all, 'Still, computers will be taking over soon, won't they?'. When faced with such a verbal attack you hardly have the inclination to respond.
The skills clusters that the translator needs at his fingertips are shown in Figure 1. Regrettably, an overwhelming number of people – and these include clients – harbour many misconceptions of what is required to be a skilled translator. Such misconceptions include the following:
• As a translator you can translate all subjects.
• If you speak a foreign language ipso facto, you can automatically translate into it.
• If you can hold a conversation in a foreign language, then you are bilingual.
• Translators are mind-readers and can produce a perfect translation without having to consult the author of the original text, irrespective of whether it is ambiguous, vague or badly written.
• No matter how many versions of the original were made before final copy was approved or how long the process took, the translator needs only one stab at the task, and very little time, since he gets it right first time without the need for checking or proofreading. After all, the computer does all that for you.
1.2 A day in the life of a translator
Each day is different since a translator, particularly a freelance, needs to deal with a number of tasks and there is no typical day. I usually get up at around 7 in the morning, shower, have breakfast and get to my desk at around 8 just as my wife is leaving to drive to her office. Like most freelances I have my office at home.
I work in spells of 50 minutes and take a break even if it is just to walk around the house. I try and take at least half an hour for lunch and try to finish at around 5 unless there is urgent work and then I will perhaps work in the evening for an hour or so. But I do the latter only if a premium payment is offered and I wish to accept the work. If I were to analyse an average working month of 22 possible working days, I would get the following: My average monthly output for these fifteen and a half effective days is around 28,000 words. If this is spread out over effective working days of six working hours (8 × 50 minutes in reality), my effective hourly production rate is 300 words an hour. This may not seem a lot but it may be worth considering that to expect to work undisturbed on translation eight hours a day, five days a week, is unrealistic. There may also be times when you are physically or mentally unable to work – how do you take account of such eventualities as a freelance?
1.3 ITI's peer support group
ITI runs two online peer support groups. These are the ITI Professional Support Group (PSG), for translators launching a freelance career, and the ITI Orientation Course, for newcomers to translation. Details of both courses are given below.
ITI Professional Support Group
An online course for translators launching a freelance career Who is it for?
Do these statements apply to you?
• you have qualifications and experience in a field other than translation on which you can draw in establishing yourself as a translator;
• you have done some paid translation work, but not enough to earn a living;
• you are about to launch a freelance translation career;
• you have joined ITI as an associate or qualified member but you are not sure how to go about earning a living from freelance translation work.
1.3.1 Its aims
The ITI PSG is a mentoring scheme, run annually for a group of20-25 members of ITI who are establishing themselves as freelance translators. It is online, so it does not matter where you live. It consists of a set of exercises in which, under the guidance of senior and experienced translators, mentees work on their CVs, business and marketing plan and equipment/ technology plan and gain insight into negotiation with clients and other business skills.
Feedback from the mentors is intensive and given through the online group. Ideas are debated and solutions pooled among the fellow mentees, so that they build up a lasting community of friends and colleagues. In this private, friendly and supportive environment, newcomers gain the confidence to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by ITI, such as its professional development course, language and subject networks, and regional groups.
1.3.2 Who is eligible?
Applicants are accepted if they can demonstrate that they are ready to launch a freelance career. Consequently, enrolment on the course is restricted to those who have joined ITI as an associate or qualified member, and who can devote at least 12 hours a week throughout the course.
1.4 Literary or non-literary translator?
Although used quite generally, these terms are not really satisfactory. They do however indicate a differentiation between translators who translate books for publication (including non-fiction works) and those who translate texts for day-to-day commercial, technical or legal purposes.
1.4.1 What is literary translation?
Literary translation is one of the four principal categories of translation. The others are interpreting, scientific and technical, and commercial/business translation. There are also specialist fields within these categories. Literary translation is not confined to the translation of great works of literature. When the Copyright Act refers to 'literary works', it places no limitations on their style or quality. All kinds of books, plays, poems, short stories and writings are covered, including such items as a collection of jokes, the script of a documentary, a travel guide, a science textbook and an opera libretto.
Becoming a successful literary translator is not easy. It is far more difficult to get established, and financial rewards, at the bottom of the scale, are not excessive by any measure. Just reward is seldom given to the translator – for example, the translator of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice doesn't even get a mention. Your rewards in terms of royalties depend on the quality and success of your translation. You would be well advised to contact the Translators Association (TA) of the Society of Authors on matters such as royalties, copyright and translation rights.
1.4.2 Qualities rather than qualifications
When experienced members of the TA were asked to produce a profile of a literary translator, they listed the following points: • The translator needs to have a feeling for language and a fascination with it.
• The translator must have an intimate knowledge of the source language and of the regional culture and literature, as well as a reasonable knowledge of any special subject that is dealt with in the work that is being published.
• The translator should be familiar with the original author's other work.
• The translator must be a skilled and creative writer in the target language and nearly always will be a native speaker of it.
• The translator should always be capable of moving from one style to another in the language when translating different works.
• The aim of the translator should be to convey the meaning of the original work as opposed to producing a mere accurate rendering of the words.
• The translator should be able to produce a text that reads well, while echoing the tone and style of the original – as if the original author were writing in the target language.
As is evident from this description, the flair, skill and experience that are required by a good literary translator resemble the qualities that are needed by an 'original' writer. It is not surprising that writing and translating often go hand in hand.
1.4.3 Literary translation as a career
Almost without exception, translators of books, plays, etc., work on a freelance basis. In most cases they do not translate the whole of a foreign language work 'on spec': they go ahead with the translation only after the publisher or production company has undertaken to issue/perform the translation, and has signed an agreement commissioning the work and specifying payment.
As in all freelance occupations, it is not easy for the beginner to ensure a constant flow of commissions. Only a few people can earn the equivalent of a full salary from literary translation alone. Literary translators may have another source of income, for example from language teaching or an academic post. They may combine translation with running a home. They may write books themselves as well as translate other authors' work. They may be registered with a translation agency and possibly accept shorter (and possibly more lucrative) commercial assignments between longer stretches of literary translation.
If you are considering a career in literary translation, it is worth reading a companion to this book. It is entitled Literary Translation – A Practical Guide (Ref. 1) and is written by Clifford E. Landers.
Clifford E. Landers writes with the clean, refreshing style that puts him on a par with Bill Bryson. His book should be read by all translators – not only because it is full of practical advice to would-be and practicing literary translators but also because it has a fair number of parallels with non-literary translation.
The title embodies the word Practical and this is precisely what the book is about. Practical aspects include The translator's tools, Workspace and work time, Financial matters and Contracts. These words of wisdom should be read and inwardly digested by all translators – yes, even we non-literary translators who seldom come in serious contact with the more creative members of our genre. Literary translators have a much harder job, at least in the early stages of their careers, in getting established. You probably will not find commissioners of literary translations in the Yellow Pages. In this context Clifford Landers provides useful information on getting published and related issues such as copyright.
Selectively listing the contents is an easy but useful way of giving a five-second overview and, in addition to what it mentioned above, the book also considers Why Literary Translation? (answered in a concise and encouraging manner), Getting started, Preparing to translate, Staying on track, What literary translators really translate, The care and feeding of authors, Some notes on translating poetry, Puns and word play, Pitfalls and how to avoid them, Where to publish and so much more.
1.5 Translation and interpreting
The professions of translation and interpreting are significantly different, but there are areas where the two overlap. As a translator I interpret the written word and the result of my interpretation is usually in written form. I have time to deliberate, conduct research, proofread, revise, consult colleagues and submit my written translation to my client. There are occasions when I need to seek clarification from the client, etc. An interpreter interprets the spoken word and does not have the luxury of time nor a second chance to revise the result of the interpretation. Many translators will have done some interpreting, but this will probably have been incidental to written translation.
To find out more about the profession of literary translation, I would recommend you read The Interpreter's Resource (Ref. 2) written by Mary Phelan. This book provides an overview of language interpreting at the turn of the 21st century and is an invaluable tool for aspiring and practicing interpreters. This guide (with the accent on practical) begins with a brief history of interpreting and then goes on to explain key terms and the contexts in which they are used. The chapter on community interpreting details the situation regarding community, court and medical interpreting around the world. As with any other profession, ethics are important and this book includes five original Codes of Ethics from different professional interpreter organisations.
While this discussion could migrate to other areas where language skills are used, another form of translation is that of forensic linguistics. My experience of this, and that of colleagues, is listening to recordings of telephone calls to provide evidence that can be used during criminal or disciplinary proceedings. This can present an interesting challenge when various means such as slang or dialect are used in an attempt to conceal incriminating evidence.
But let us get back to translation.
1.6 Starting life as a translator
A non-literary translator needs to offer a technical, commercial or legal skill in addition to being able to translate. Fees for freelance work are usually received fairly promptly and are charged at a fixed rate – usually per thousand words of source text.
If you are just starting out in life as a translator, and have not yet gained recognised professional qualifications (through IoL, ITI or some other recognised national body) or experience, you may be fortunate in getting a job as a junior or trainee staff translator under the guidance and watchful eye of a senior experienced colleague. This will probably be with a translation company or organisation that needs the specific skills of a translator.
Having a guide and mentor at an early stage is invaluable. There is a lot more to translation than just transferring a text from one language to another, as you will soon discover.
You will possibly have spent an extended period in the country where the language of your choice is spoken. Gaining an understanding of the people, their culture and national characteristics at first hand is a vital factor. There is the argument of course that you can translate a language you may not be able to speak. This applies to languages that are closely related. For example, if you have gained fluency in French you may find that you are able to translate Spanish. This is perhaps stretching the point though.
What do you do when faced with slang words, dialect words, or trade or proprietary names? This is when an understanding of the people as well as the language is useful. If you have worked or lived in the country where the source language is spoken, it is very useful to be able to contact people if you have difficulties with obscure words that are not in standard dictionaries. If the word or words can be explained in the source language, you have a better chance of being able to provide a correct translation.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Practical Guide for Translators (Fifth Edition) by Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown. Copyright © 2010 Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown. Excerpted by permission of Multilingual Matters.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
1 How to Become a Translator2 Bilingualism - The Myths and the Truth
3 The Client’s Viewpoint
4 Running a Translation Business
5 Your Working Environment and the Tools of the Trade
6 Machine Translation and Computer-Aided Translation
7 Sources of Reference, Data Retrieval and File Management
8 Quality Control and Accountability
9 Presentation and Delivery of Translations
10 What to Do If Things Go Wrong
11 Professional Organisations for Translators
12 Planning Your Exit Strategy
13 Glossary of Terms