Class 2 Myths and Misconceptions 2024.pdf

Myths and Misconceptions about the craft of translation

1. TRANSLATION MYTHS AND
MISCONCEPTIONS
ENGLISH TRANSLATION I
UNIVERSITY OF EL SALVADOR

2. MISCONCEPTIONS
•Translationisoccasionallytakentoolightlyby
some.However,translationisinfactaserious
businessthatshouldbeapproachedsensiblyin
ordertoavoidpoorresults.
•Beforestartingaprojectthatinvolves
translationbearinmindthefollowing
misconceptionsregardingtranslation.

3. 1. Anyonewhospeaksa foreign
languagecanbecomea translator
•Thisisperhapsthemostcommontranslation
misconceptionandthemostdamagingone.
•Beingabletoread,speakandwriteaforeign
languagedoesnotgiveanyonelicenseto
undertaketranslationwork.

4. •Firstly, a translator must have in-depth
understanding and knowledge of at least
two languages: a foreign language and a
mother tongue.

5. •Secondly,translatingisaskill.Youmustbeable
towritewellandhaveanexcellentcommand
ofthenuancesinlanguageuse.
•Thirdly,iftheculturebehindthelanguage
whichisbeingtranslatedisnotappreciated,an
accuratetranslationisextremelydifficult.

6. 2. Translatingiseasy
•Translationisfarfromeasy.Itcanbevery
intricate,complexandarduouswork.Having
tosimultaneouslyconcentrateontwo
differenttextsismentallyexhausting.Thisis
becauseatranslatoriscontinuouslymoving
betweentwolanguagesandmindframes.

7. 3. Computers cannow
do translation
•AccordingtoArleLommel,SeniorAnalystat
CommonSenseAdvisory,andDonaldA.DePalma,
ChiefStrategistatCommonSenseAdvisory,
•“[Companiesnow]usethecomputertoperformthe
workoftranslatingsimplecontentandensuring
terminologicalconsistency,whiletheyroute
complexandinterestingcontenttotranslatorsto
takeadvantageoftheirskillsanddopost-editing”

8. 3. Computers cannowdo translation
•Thisisbecausecomputersdonotunderstand
whatlanguageis,howitisused,thesubtleties
withinitandtheeverchanginguseofit.
•Takealookattheculture.
•Bothpartiesneedtogettoanagreement

9. Seven COMMON
TRANSLATION MYTHS

10. Translatorsoftenfaceanuphill
battlefrommisinformed
clientswhohavemythsabout
translatorsandthetranslation
profession.

11. THE MYTH (1)
•1.Translatorscantranslateanysubject
matteraslongasthematerialisina
languagetheyknow.
•Goodtranslatorswillspecializeinonlyafew
differentbutrelatedareas.Thisallowsthem
tokeepabreastofcurrenttrendsand
changesintheirindustry.Inexperienced(or
badtranslators)willoftensaytheycan
translateanythingthrownatthem

12. THE MYTH (2)
2.Translatingfromonelanguagetoanother(i.e.
EnglishtoSpanish)isthesameastranslatinginthe
reversedirection(i.e.SpanishtoEnglish).
•Therearetranslatorsthatcandoagoodjob
translatinginbothdirections;however,the
numberoftranslatorsthatcandothisisnotvery
high.Translatorshavedominantlanguagesand
itisusuallyinthebestinterestofthetranslator
andclientforthetranslatortotranslateinto
his/herdominantlanguage

13. THE MYTH (3)
3. Translators can produce any translation
in almost no time.
•Onceagain,clientsoftenbelievethat
translationisasimpletaskthatcanbe
accomplishedquickly.Agoodtranslator
willeducatetheclientandletthem
knowthattranslatorsneedsufficient
timetoproduceaqualityproduct.

14. THE MYTH (4)
•4.Anativespeakerisalwaysabetter
translatorthananon-nativeone.
•Thisisamythequalinerrortothatof#1.
Merelybeinganativespeakerofalanguage
doesnotensureorguaranteethatthat
personwillbeabletotranslateadequately.
Translationrequiresdiscipline,study,and
continualpractice.Anativespeakerofa
languagedoesnotinherentlypossessall(or
evenany)ofthesequalities.Clientsforsome
reasondon'tseemtounderstandthis.

15. THE MYTH (5)
5. Translators can also interpret.
•Translationisnotinterpretationand
interpretationisnottranslation.Theyarenot
synonymous.Translationiswrittenmaterial;
interpretationisspeaking.Thesearetwovery
differentskillsets.

16. THE MYTH (6)
•6.Translatorsliketodofreetranslation
work.
•Mosttranslatorsarewillingtodoprobono
workeveryonceinawhile.However,
translatorsareprofessionalswhoneedto
makealivingdoingtheirprofession.
•Translationisnotahobbyformost
translators,anditisnotrightforpeopletoask
translatorstofreelytranslatesomethingfor
them

17. THE MYTH (7)
7.Agoodtranslatorwilltakewhateverpayment
theclientiswillingtogive.
•Goodtranslatorswillhaveasetpriceandwillnot
veryoftendeviatefromthisprice.Clientswill
oftentrytohavetranslatorsbidagainsteachother
forthelowestprice;however,whenthepricegets
toolow,agoodtranslatorwillchoosenottotake
thetranslationbecauseitwillnotbeworthhis/her
time.

18. •An inexperienced translator (and one
that might not be that good) will take
whatever the client is willing to pay. In
that case, clients get what they pay for.