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A column with practical tips for practicing translators.
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
I graduated as a Sworn Translator in English and Spanish in 1996 and since then have been working as a translator in my native country, Guatemala. I translate all sorts of documents—legal, technical, news articles, insurance adjuster reports, tourism articles and more—and really enjoy my job. I also have a degree in communications and in literature and would some day love to translate novels and short stories, but feel that I need to practice in this area to get a better grip.
Do you know of any relevant study programs that I could take "at a distance," or could you advise me as to how to proceed to slowly begin specializing in this field—translating literature?
Eager to Study
A:
Dear Eager,
Your question gave us an opportunity to revisit the informative and immensely readable web sites of the PEN American Center and ALTA, the American Literary Translators Association. While you will be working into Spanish, we recommend that you—indeed, anyone interested in literary translation—start there, with, respectively, PEN's online Guide to Literary Translation http://www.pen.org/translation/handbook.html and ALTA's "Breaking into Print" http://www.utdallas.edu/research/cts/ALTA/guides.htm.
The disappointing news is that distance courses in literary translation appear to be fairly thin on the ground, although we would be delighted to forward readers' recommendations.
In the meantime, an editor whose company specializes in publishing literature in translation suggests the following:
- Try translating a few texts that have already been translated by a top-notch translator. The aim is not to see whether you've done it "right," but rather to analyze how the experienced translator made his or her decisions.
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Read articles and books about literary translation. One we enjoyed recently was Robert Wechsler's "Performing Without a Stage / The Art of Literary Translation," Catbird Press 1998, ISBN 0-945774-38-9).
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Select a writer you like who has not been translated into your language. Translate a few stories or poems, get the author's permission (the PEN and ALTA sites have a lot more to say on this critical point), and submit these short pieces for publication in literary magazines.
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Go to translator conferences/events and network; get out there and build yourself a reputation. In literary as in technical translation, never underestimate the power of word of mouth—especially once you've got some work to show.
FA & WB
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
What do you do when the text you are given to translate is badly written? How much should you "tidy up" and how much should you leave as is? And how much should you say to the client?
I am translating (French to English) a series of articles on a popular history topic. Although they seem to read well, on closer inspection the sentences fall apart: they are full of grammatical errors, mixed metaphors, and unclear ideas. I want to respect the style, of course, but I also want to make the articles clear and readable in English! In each article there is also a sprinkling of misspelled names, wrong dates, words used incorrectly, etc. I have been pointing out these errors to my contact person (the project manager—I'm not in contact with the writer) so they can be corrected before publication, but I don't think it's winning me any brownie points. Advice?
Broom in Hand
A:
Dear Broom,
Forget the pundits who speak in hushed tones about respecting source-text style; for a start, how are you going to achieve equivalent bumpiness and spelling mistakes? More importantly, why on earth would anybody want you to?
If you translate for publication—with the sole (possible) exception of Literature—identifying and fixing bits that don't work goes with the territory. Likewise flagging inconsistencies and factual errors.
Why? Because regardless of what is actually on the page, you can safely assume that the author's intent was to demonstrate mastery of his subject and communicate information while keeping as many readers as possible on board. In your case, the publisher no doubt wanted to sell copies of his magazine, too.
This was the purpose of the original text/project. Your job is to achieve the same end in the target language. If, on the way, you produce a piece of work that represents an "improvement" on the original, you are just doing your job. Because the quality of your work should be driven by your sensitivity to reader expectations—that is the key to and core of your skill. Appropriate grammar, spelling, register and style are natural and inseparable aspects of this skill.
Not that you are taking all these decisions on your own: adjustments should be made in close collaboration with the author or coordinator. If your project manager discourages improvements/questions, something is definitely wrong, and we can think of at least two explanations:
- Your questions are not put clearly or efficiently. As experienced linguists know, virtually all texts benefit from interaction with the originator, but calling the project manager—or author, for that matter—every fifteen minutes with a new query is not an efficient way to go about it. Ideally your agency contacts will have a procedure in place for asking questions/resolving problems. This makes all the more sense if the text is being translated into several languages. Note how the procedure works before starting the job and follow it to the letter. Questions numbered, on a separate sheet? Footnotes? Color-coded in-text queries? Do it!
- S/he belongs to the line-'em-up, churn-'em-out school. If papering over cracks is the name of this agency's game, it is time to shift to more worthy clients. There are a lot more of them around than you'd think. They welcome input and comments—and generally pay a lot more, too.
FA & WB
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
This year a good (but minor) client of mine received four letters criticizing the English version of their annual report—not my work, nor do I know the translator who produced it. But the criticism has really set them on edge. Two of the critics were in the UK, one in Sweden and one in the US.
I agreed to give the company an opinion. Now, having examined the text thoroughly, I think the translation is pretty good. Should I simply tell them as much?
No Whistle Blower
A:
Dear Whistle,
Amazing, isn't it? Feedback on translations is still so rare that four (4) letters are enough to set off a full-fledged attack of the corporate heebie-jeebies.
If the texts pass muster—and you might ask a trusted colleague for a second opinion just to be on the safe side—the challenge facing you and your client is to work out precisely what upset the letter-writers. Were British readers put off by US spelling? Was the text simply too long? Did both authors and translator stumble over a vital national statistic? Was the style too formal? Too relaxed? Comments on language (mis)use can also reflect deeper misunderstandings: has the company had bad press on issues dear to critics' hearts? Has its share price plummeted? (Is its home country testing nuclear devices in nearby waters?).
If your clients are not fluent in English, their reluctance to pursue the investigation directly is only natural. This is your cue. Ask to see the original letters and help them read between the lines. You might even offer to phone the writers on the company's behalf, or help script a call by someone on the corporate communications team. This is good PR for them (and you), since personal attention will generate more specific information and prove to writers that the company cares. As always, feedback—good or bad—gives everyone a better understanding of requirements for future translations.
If you are feeling particularly energetic, consider launching a new trend: write a letter praising a good corporate translation you've seen recently, and post it today.
FA & WB
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
I am a graduate student in California and have supported myself for some time through teaching and occasional small translation jobs. I have just been offered my first large (400 page) book to translate and I need to know how much to charge. Do you have any suggestions as to where I can get that information?
Opportunity Knocks
A:
Dear Opportunity,
Your first book—congratulations! But don't forget that money is only part of the deal. If your offer is accepted, make sure that your contract covers copyright, mention of translator's name, subsidiary rights, etc.
You'll find "A Translator's Model Contract" for literary translation at the PEN American Center web site http://www.pen.org/translation/modelcon.html. For European readers, a model contract is also available from the Translators' Association of the UK's Society of Authors, which has the status of a trade union and advises members on contracts authorsoc@writers.org. The TA's minimum recommended rate is GBP 70 per thousand words; while some literary translators get more, many work for less, says our contact. Alas for you, US publishers generally pay less. The American Literary Translators Association is not allowed to suggest prices, but do check their web site and links; networking with published translators is the best way to collect figures for your market.
FA & WB
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
I am not satisfied with the work another translator has done for me. I am committed to paying him. How can I get him to do a decent job within his abilities without giving the impression I'm trying to wriggle out of paying him?
No Cheapskate
A:
Dear No,
Set up a meeting with the translator and explain that an independent editor on the project has objected to his work. You took the heat for him at a meeting with the client, but Howard is furious and insists on a rewrite. So does the client. And so, on reflection, do you.
Keep his first and second drafts as examples for the next time you commission work from another translator. Show these to candidates up front, before the project gets under way; make it clear that exhibit A will not do and explain why. Your client insists on better work. So does your independent editor. And so, on reflection, do you.
FA & WB
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
I was intrigued by your comments to Pass the Ammo. In translation school we were encouraged to resolve source-text ambiguities on our own, and at least one of my teachers suggested that authors would not take you seriously if you bothered them with questions. Now I hear I'm supposed to. I'm willing to try, but I wish I'd known this sooner.
Better Late than Never
A:
Dear Better,
Your comments are one reason we urge teachers (and translators) to commission translations of their own writings at regular intervals. Being on the receiving end is the best possible reminder of how frustrating it can be for authors when a well-meaning translator blasts through, "resolving" queries on her own.
We agree with your teachers that direct clients unfamiliar with translation will not always realize how valuable your input can be. Not immediately. You'll probably have to educate them. Rest assured, virtually all will appreciate your eagle eye and commitment to readability if you take the time to explain how you work and why.
Start with a reminder that we are not just lining up words here, folks (that service is available instantaneously online, and it is free, to boot). Nobody will ever read their work as carefully as you, the translator. Along the way, you will naturally encounter passages open to several interpretations, in which case questions/comments are absolutely normal—a page straight from the best practice manual. Questions are good news for text originators, since your comments will allow them to tighten up the original.
Ultimately, our own preference is for phone or in-person exchanges. Here practice in asking questions pleasantly, efficiently and diplomatically will serve you well. Keep in mind: -
Authors' time is money (so is yours), so no rambling.
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Slipping in a few technical or sector-specific asides early on is a good way to reassure and to establish your mastery of the subject. ("The reference here is to Alan Greenspan's comments at the World Economic Forum, right?"). You master the subjects you translate (your teachers did insist on that, didn't they?) and you do your homework. That's good.
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Mention but do not dwell on obvious mistakes at their end ("...a typo, no doubt; I've fixed it for the English, OK?").
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Depending on your contacts' foreign-language skills, the number of queries you have, and the length of the text, it may be worth sending them a draft translation with questions clearly marked, proposing several options for each. This gives them a chance to tick their choice, or start mentally rephrasing what was unclear, prior to your call.
FA & WB
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
I head an in-house translation department in Belgium. While I agree with most of what you say about translation quality and pay, my company's accountants don't. To put it bluntly, they complain about per-word discrepancies from one outside supplier to the next, and keep insisting that we use the cheaper ones. Is there any way we can secure the services of top-flight translators even if we can't pay top prices?
Tight Budget
A:
Dear Tight,
If your prices are rock-bottom, forget it. If they are somewhere in the middle range, try a three-pronged attack.
- Take the accountants' comments on board by drawing up, with them, a grid for the different types of texts your company requires. Even non-linguists will understand why you want a larger budget for the CEO's speech, televised nationwide, than for an equal number of words on scheduling a delivery of office supplies.
- Use non-monetary initiatives to strengthen your ties to premium suppliers. For this top tier, client feedback, personal contacts and all-around job satisfaction generally weigh heavily in the balance. By treating them as the rare commodities they are, you may be able to get onto their client rosters despite your budget limitations. Concretely:
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Be a premium customer. Book important jobs well in advance and keep translators in the picture if timing is changed, even by an hour. Provide background documents, direct phone numbers for in-house contacts, and detailed feedback—including compliments—on all jobs.
- Pay promptly (by return mail if possible; talk to your accountants about this).
- Where appropriate, include translators' names in printing credits.
- Express thanks.
- Once or twice a year, invite translators to presentations on your company's strategy or new products, followed by lunch in the executive dining room or other well-appointed eatery (as your accountants will tell you, this is usually booked as an entertainment expense, so may not even come into your translation budget).
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As head of your company's translation department, you are in the front line for client education. Budget limits will be adjusted if you manage to convince senior executives that outstanding translation is a priority. Circulate information about language snafus and successes, and use every opportunity to raise management awareness of what is at stake. Preparing a few sample translations into their own language at different levels of quality (fair, good, excellent) will help draw their attention to the differences.
FA & WB
Q:
Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,
I am a graduate English and German translator from South America, got my BA degree one and a half years ago and have tried very hard to get a job as an in-house translator and find clients paying adequate prices. I haven't done badly so far, but I don't really see a promising future as a translator in my country. There is work for translators, but we are hardly paid "decent" prices, either as free-lancers or as in-house translators. That's why, although I really love languages, I'm losing hope of making it as a translator here.
I currently see only two possible solutions: -
going abroad (Europe or the USA; by the way, do you know in what country translators have the best possibilities?) In that case, do you have any advice for a foreigner translator who would like to make it there?
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studying something else (probably computing), so that I have more job chances.
However, since I wouldn't like to abandon languages, do you think there's any way to combine both activities?
No Retreat, No Surrender
A:
Dear Soldier,
Extended stints abroad are an essential part of the translator's career path. How else are you going to consolidate language skills and acquire the insights you need to act as a bridge between cultures? For you, it sounds like one of the best times to do this might be now—with an initial experience of professional life in your own country under your belt, and plenty of get-up-and-go. We nonetheless suggest you keep the following considerations in mind. -
Visas & such: get the red tape out of the way before you go anywhere.
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Experience does count, so wherever you end up try to be patient. It sounds like you are only 18 months out into the working world; how many business school graduates get senior positions that quickly? To make it into the top tier—where, rest assured, prices are more than "decent" in many, many language combinations—you must consolidate your book-learning by logging at least a million words. Look for opportunities to work with top-flight revisers, and be prepared to accept lower prices if that is part of the deal. This is an investment in your future.
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Further studies in another field are always a good idea; specialized translation—where a lot of the action is—is impossible unless you take the time to acquire in-depth subject-matter knowledge in promising areas.
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Where to go? Business logic says set up someplace where your language and subject-matter skills will make you a rare-ish commodity, or demand is strong. Network with colleagues abroad and read the business section of the paper to see where deals are being done and projects launched by client industries that involve your language combinations. Give yourself at least three months to carve out a niche, and spend the time attending professional events (for businesspeople as well as linguists) in your area of specialization. Thanks to modern technology, you can always build up a clientele abroad and retain good customers when you return home, with regular follow-up visits back to their market to touch base.
One terrific thing about language skills is that they can be combined in an almost infinite variety of permutations, opening doors into all sorts of exciting activities. We wish you the best of luck as you explore them.
FA & WB
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