Translation - A Highly Complex And Specialized Process
A good translation is one that looks nothing like a translation
. In other words, the translator should be invisible, their work limited to conveying the originals meaning in a fluent and natural style.
Because most people think of the process of translation as a mere swapping of words from one language to another, it is common for us to hear comments that basically devalue our work. Were translation really such an easy task, it would have been replaced by computer software long ago, rather than remaining the often extremely exhausting intellectual work it actually is. Which one of us does not have a relative or friend who appears from time to time with the technical manual for some electronic device or other and asks whether you could do a quick translation? After several such experiences, I have found a way of fixing this type of situation: I take the manual, flip through it, count the pages, and state how much my quick translation will cost. In most cases, this is enough for the cheeky in-law to give up.
The main upshot of this attitude, which we can dub universal, is the notion that
translation is an undemanding job. Translating is presumed to be easy as people imagine it involves little more than an automatic and mechanical process, matching word for word the contents of the original. Another nefarious outcome of the long-term propagation of this idea is underpayment for translation work. Perceiving it as childs play, clients often budget low costs for related work. It is common for companies and people to be astonished with the prices actually charged, and they are unprepared to pay the sums that a project actually demands.
Another central point of this article is the idea of the translators invisibility. This notion is reflected in the instructions frequently dispatched to the translator, roughly along the lines of reproduce the idea of the original text in full, follow to the letter the originals style and ensure that the translation has the same fluency and naturalness as the original text. For most critics, a good translation is one that bears no living resemblance to a translation and where the translator manages to convey the meaning of the original text. This attitude completely negates the translators essential intervention in the text.
In the real world our work is slightly more complicated than switching words around like building blocks it is much more complex, demanding an interchange of meanings. If it were an easy operation, automatic translation programs would be able to perform the task. However since it is necessary to exchange and change meanings, especially in order to achieve the much coveted fluency in the target
language, nothing matches human thought and the human beings capacity for abstraction. Our task is to transmit the texts meaning, bearing in mind that it is not always possible to find exact equivalents.
Apart from the difference in language, there is a whole set of other differences that the translator must take into account. Some of these differences completely engulf every translator, such as the social and historical context within which they live.
The idea that translation is a simple exchange of meanings also involves another supposition that the translator is capable of reading the authors mind and converting what he or she meant into another language. However, no reader including the translator is capable of absorbing exactly what an author meant to say. Every reading we make is equally influenced by our education, the environment in which we live and by the present moment.
These factors in mind, it is difficult to think of the translator as an invisible being. Even the most fluent text will be heavily influenced by its surroundings. No translator works simply by swapping words. Our work involves adapting and transferring the meaning of these words into the local reality. It is not by chance that software translation is called localization, or in other words, adaptation to local patterns.
The work of translation is acquiring the recognition it deserves as people and companies demand higher quality results and become aware of the difficulties involved in the process. Each sub-area of translation has its own peculiarities, such as the use of special tools, the limits imposed by space and time, production of source texts by non-native speakers, and so on. These aspects, associated with the increased demand caused by globalization, have highlighted the above questions and show that translation is in fact a highly complex and specialized process.
Aunes Oversettelser AS has been in the business for 26 years, and we are specialized in technical translations. We are specializing in the Nordic languages, and can offer services into Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Icelandic. The premier translation agency for Norway and the Nordic region! Technical translation services for businesses in the Nordic countries and translation agencies world-wide.
by: carmen
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