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Off topic: The Ten Commandments of How to be a Good Translator
Thread poster: Icecreamqueen
Icecreamqueen
Icecreamqueen
Germany
German to English
Apr 14, 2015

The Ten Commandments of How to be a Good Translator

1. A good translator is also a good cultural manager. That means understanding the heritage of both your source language and your target language, and the sensitivities of a culture. It means not translating “sandalias de esclava” as “slave sandals”, yes, Zara we mean you. Stop using Google Translate and start paying decent translators a decent wage.

2. A good translator will say no when they have too much work
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The Ten Commandments of How to be a Good Translator

1. A good translator is also a good cultural manager. That means understanding the heritage of both your source language and your target language, and the sensitivities of a culture. It means not translating “sandalias de esclava” as “slave sandals”, yes, Zara we mean you. Stop using Google Translate and start paying decent translators a decent wage.

2. A good translator will say no when they have too much work on. Clients will appreciate a clean-cut “I won’t be able to do this until next week” to a rush job, or worse, an outsourced job to some poor student. In most cases, amazingly, you’ll suddenly find that it’s not the end of the world if you can only deliver next week.

3. A good translator knows their own worth. They won’t give volume discounts because their work doesn’t suddenly lessen if the job gets bigger. Unless they are using one of the latest CAT tools and translating some law book or instructions manual, in which case, fine: although I think they deserve a generous bonus for taking on such boring work!

4. A good translator doesn’t need to wear a suit to deliver excellent copy. In fact they will sometimes be wearing pyjamas or sports gear when doing their best work. And might even not be freshly showered (shock horror!) as they translate your press release about the swanky, star-studded after-show parties at Berlin Fashion Week.

5. A good translator will, at some point in their career, be criticised or told a piece they delivered was not up to standard, but we all live and learn. Ask a fellow translator for their opinion and ask the client exactly what they don’t like about it. Everyone has an off day, but it’s important to find the source of the client’s unhappiness. Was it the client’s boyfriend’s friend of a friend who spent a summer learning the said target language who reckons it was bad? Or was it the client’s customers or PR agency? There is a difference.

6. A good translator is a word nerd with at least four books stacked on their bedside table. Preferably in both their target and source languages. They will understand jokes in both those languages and will know that someone who has “ein Ei auf’m Kopp” most likely isn’t walking around with an egg on their head, but is just a bit of an idiot. They will also know the difference between kissing an Irish lad* and giving a Glasgow kiss**. And they’ll know their plates of meat from their mince pies***.
*Kissing someone from Ireland is considered lucky.
**In the UK, a head butt is sometimes referred to as a Glasgow kiss.
***Cockney rhyming slang: plates of meet = ‘feet’ and mince pies = ‘eyes’.

7. A good translator will only translate into their native language. Even if you grew up bilingual, your strongest language will most probably be that of the country you were immersed in before and during puberty (the so-called “critical period” for language acquisition).

8. A good translator will try hard not to get offended when someone verschlimmbessert their great translation. Verschlimmbessern = a portmanteau of verschlimmern and verbessern, aka actually make a text worse with so-called corrections. If the client thinks the word “indispensable” is better than “prerequisite” then let them have their way. However, if they think that “an utilitarian” is better than “a utilitarian” then copy and paste the applicable passage from your trusted style guide* and politely explain to them that they are mistaken.
* (The correct option is ‘a utilitarian’ because the article behaves according to the sound of the first letter, rather than according to whether it is a vowel or consonant. ‘u’ from utilitarian sounds like a consonant, which is why you use the article ‘a’.)

9. A good translator will usually have a specialisation or two. That means if you ask them to translate a medical text, and their field of expertise is architecture, they will say no and refer you to a colleague.

10. A good translator will have a colleague proofing their work for them and vice-versa. That way, if they’re having a bad day, it isn’t reflected in the text and any embarrassing clangers or bloopers can be quickly eradicated before delivery. And because it’s reciprocal you’ll both be learning on the job. I learned today that ‘arctuate stitching’ is a thing in jeans manufacturing! Who knew?

Bonus Commandment.
A good translator has a sense of humour. There is no greater joy than discovering that the fashion rookie who wrote the puff piece you are translating on emo fashion in Berlin has written “Susie and the Bandshees”* by mistake. But be careful with the commentary function in Word. My colleague and I often use it for personal banter, but sending it to the client with comments included could be potentially embarrassing (and yes, I am speaking from experience).
*Anyone born before 1985 knows the correct spelling is Siouxsie and the Banshees!

If you want to read more from me, head to www.BritBitchBerlin.com


[Edited at 2015-04-14 19:58 GMT]
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RobinB
RobinB  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:55
German to English
Just for the record... Apr 14, 2015

... verschlimmbessern is probably most succinctly translated as "disimprove" (and "Verschlimmbesserung" = "disimprovement").

And I do like your 10Cs. Definitely worth repeating.


 
Icecreamqueen
Icecreamqueen
Germany
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
Disimprovement Apr 14, 2015

RobinB wrote:

... verschlimmbessern is probably most succinctly translated as "disimprove" (and "Verschlimmbesserung" = "disimprovement").

And I do like your 10Cs. Definitely worth repeating.


OOh yes, thank you, I like "disimprove". I was struggling with a good version of it..."Stop disimproving my work.." Yes, has a ring to it! ; )


 
RobinB
RobinB  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:55
German to English
Disappeared commandments Apr 14, 2015

I'm not entirely sure why your excellent commandments have disappeared, but I found them on your blog in any case. I hope you don't mind me pointing the world towards it...

"Stop disimproving my work.." Yes, has a ring to it! ; )


Yes, it's what you say to those clients who proudly boast "We can English".


 
Victoria Britten
Victoria Britten  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 13:55
French to English
+ ...
Blog? Apr 15, 2015

RobinB wrote:

I found them on your blog in any case. I hope you don't mind me pointing the world towards it...



Unfortunately, you haven't pointed the world towards it - or am I being monumentally dim?


 
Diana Obermeyer
Diana Obermeyer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:55
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
Initiative Apr 15, 2015

Victoria Britten wrote:

RobinB wrote:

I found them on your blog in any case. I hope you don't mind me pointing the world towards it...



Unfortunately, you haven't pointed the world towards it - or am I being monumentally dim?


http://www.trendtranslations.de/english/blog/


 
Icecreamqueen
Icecreamqueen
Germany
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
bad signposting Apr 15, 2015

dianaft wrote:

Victoria Britten wrote:

RobinB wrote:

I found them on your blog in any case. I hope you don't mind me pointing the world towards it...



Unfortunately, you haven't pointed the world towards it - or am I being monumentally dim?


http://www.trendtranslations.de/english/blog/




Yes, sorry I am also not very good at advertising! You can see the Ten Commandments WITH funny pictures at www.britbitchberlin.de
or read it on my company translation website http://www.trendtranslations.de/english/blog/
or follow me on facebook for more fun posts:
https://www.facebook.com/Trend.Translations?fref=nf
Phew, that should do it!


 
RobinB
RobinB  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:55
German to English
Sorry, I meant the world Apr 15, 2015

Victoria Britten wrote: Unfortunately, you haven't pointed the world towards it - or am I being monumentally dim?


outside ProZ. The real world. Diana has already provided the link.


 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 09:55
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Why the OP vanished... Apr 15, 2015

As here it's The Lighter Side...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YX-gqRdK_8

Maybe moderators are looking for the "lost 5" Commandments in this meantime.


 
Balasubramaniam L.
Balasubramaniam L.  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 18:25
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
"Who is" rather than "How to be" Apr 16, 2015

The ten points describe who according to the author can be termed a good translator, it says nothing about "how to be" a good translator, or even a translator. So the thread, as well as the referred article, is mis-titled.

Needless to say, some the ten points are controversial and cannot be agreed with, they merely parrot the commonly held shibboleths about translation that have been debunked over and over again in these forums, and have no scientific base.

[Edited at 2015-04
... See more
The ten points describe who according to the author can be termed a good translator, it says nothing about "how to be" a good translator, or even a translator. So the thread, as well as the referred article, is mis-titled.

Needless to say, some the ten points are controversial and cannot be agreed with, they merely parrot the commonly held shibboleths about translation that have been debunked over and over again in these forums, and have no scientific base.

[Edited at 2015-04-16 02:21 GMT]
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Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei  Identity Verified
Ghana
Local time: 12:55
Japanese to English
Pfft Apr 16, 2015

Icecreamqueen wrote:
6. A good translator is a word nerd with at least four books stacked on their bedside table.

Pfft. Amateurs.


 
Rachel Waddington
Rachel Waddington  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:55
Dutch to English
+ ...
Glasgow kisses, etc. Apr 16, 2015

Icecreamqueen wrote:

They will understand jokes in both those languages and will know that someone who has “ein Ei auf’m Kopp” most likely isn’t walking around with an egg on their head, but is just a bit of an idiot. They will also know the difference between kissing an Irish lad* and giving a Glasgow kiss**. And they’ll know their plates of meat from their mince pies***.
*Kissing someone from Ireland is considered lucky.
**In the UK, a head butt is sometimes referred to as a Glasgow kiss.
***Cockney rhyming slang: plates of meet = ‘feet’ and mince pies = ‘eyes’.
[Edited at 2015-04-14 19:58 GMT]



Not much call for that kind of knowledge in the technical documentation that I translate (or in any kind of formal writing, I would think).


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 13:55
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
The books I READ are all over the house... Apr 16, 2015


... at least four books stacked on their bedside table.


Just a manner of speaking, like coffee = tea when applicable. Or the other way round.

I do have a pile of books by my bedside, but my husband turns the light off in the bedroom... We have bookshelves in every room except the bathroom, which is too small, but there are books (and dictionaries!) 2 metres away in the passage.

I'm planning to download books on my new tablet for reading on the move, but so far always have at least one real book in my hand luggage, no matter how short the journey.


 
Icecreamqueen
Icecreamqueen
Germany
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
on-trend fashion blurb Apr 16, 2015

Rachel Waddington wrote:

Icecreamqueen wrote:

They will understand jokes in both those languages and will know that someone who has “ein Ei auf’m Kopp” most likely isn’t walking around with an egg on their head, but is just a bit of an idiot. They will also know the difference between kissing an Irish lad* and giving a Glasgow kiss**. And they’ll know their plates of meat from their mince pies***.
*Kissing someone from Ireland is considered lucky.
**In the UK, a head butt is sometimes referred to as a Glasgow kiss.
***Cockney rhyming slang: plates of meet = ‘feet’ and mince pies = ‘eyes’.
[Edited at 2015-04-14 19:58 GMT]



Not much call for that kind of knowledge in the technical documentation that I translate (or in any kind of formal writing, I would think).


Yes, I'm sure most translators don't have to struggle with having to translate jokes or word play. But I have to do it all the time. I translate a lot of fashion texts for cutting-edge fashion labels, articles for magazines and PR companies, and the things they come up with...all the examples in my commandments are from texts I have translated at some point in my 12-year career.
Thanks for reading!


 
Victoria Britten
Victoria Britten  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 13:55
French to English
+ ...
Different strokes... Apr 16, 2015

Rachel Waddington wrote:

Not much call for that kind of knowledge in the technical documentation that I translate (or in any kind of formal writing, I would think).


And almost too much call for it in some of what I do, the most extreme (and recent) example being subtitling a documentary about teenage girls on inner-city housing estates!


 
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