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Ethics of translation
Thread poster: Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)
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Yes, there is at least one thread Dec 18, 2017

Jan Truper wrote:

Mario Chavez wrote:

Apparently, some are literalists, lack a basic sense of civility or can't/won't understand rhetorical questions. Whatever the case, may I ask you, The Misha and Jan Truper, to reconsider your postings?


My posting was a response to Misha's posting, not to yours.

FYI, there was another thread where we discussed ethical aspects of translation recently.


I know, I read that thread.


 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
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For what it's worth Dec 18, 2017

I'm with Tina on this one.

 
Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
Italy
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It never ends Dec 19, 2017

Once you start asking yourself how ethic is your work conduct, why not apply the same process to your whole life? Is it ethic buying a T-shirt made in Bangladesh by someone slaving for $1 a day only because you want to spend $4 and not $40? Is it ethic buying a new computer or mobile phone on a whim while children extract cobalt for batteries in a mine in Congo? Is it ethic complaining about low translation rates while decent people are forced to sleep in the streets?

You tell me.


 
Mario Chavez (X)
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A lot of food for thought Dec 19, 2017

Daniel Frisano wrote:

Once you start asking yourself how ethic is your work conduct, why not apply the same process to your whole life? Is it ethic buying a T-shirt made in Bangladesh by someone slaving for $1 a day only because you want to spend $4 and not $40? Is it ethic buying a new computer or mobile phone on a whim while children extract cobalt for batteries in a mine in Congo? Is it ethic complaining about low translation rates while decent people are forced to sleep in the streets?

You tell me.


You're bringing good examples, Daniel. I guess some people apply the same ethical guidelines to everything they do in life, as in “I only deal with honest service providers.” Jean Dimitriadis expressed a thought-provoking idea, that he is against compartmentalizing one's life when it comes to ethical behavior. I suppose the answer to some of your questions depends on how socially invested I am in the fate of the Bangladeshi working earning $1 a day, for instance. That's in the realm of our conscience, I think.

I kind of half remember someone on Twitter telling J.K. Rowling that a particular opinion of hers is horrible (I'm paraphrasing here) and that this person will burn all of his Harry Potter books as a result. There are ethics of performance, ethics of consumption, and so on. A concrete case in point: Volkswagen cars. It's now well known that the company tweaked their software to make their cars appear to meet certain standards. I never owned a VW car in my life, but would I buy one knowing they totally cheated? Or that other firm, Takata, which went bankrupt: its errors proved fatal to some people because Takata used the wrong chemicals in airbags to cut costs. Would I consider it unethical to translate Takata literature? That depends, and I'm not compartmentalizing here.

Suppose I get two sets of Takata documents, one is extolling the virtues of its products (which I know are faulty and dangerous) and another is a press release from Takata HQ expressing condolences for lost lives, promising to make important changes, etc. If I go with an internal ethical rule of “don't translate anything from Takata,” then I should conclude that I shouldn't accept either assignment, right?

Like you said: it never ends.


 
Heinrich Pesch
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Your decision Dec 19, 2017

I definitely would not work for some governments, but I don't understand why corporations should be banned. The consumer can decide if they buy the product or not. Or should I only take jobs for Fair Trade product lines? But people cannot choose another government, except by voting with the majority. I don't like facebook, but use Google all the time.

 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
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Consistency Dec 19, 2017

I strongly agree with Daniel: you cannot be an ethical translator unless you are, or at least try to be, ethical in all aspects of your life. Ideally you should live a life that is consistent with your beliefs but we are only human. The examples Daniel gives often bother me too but unfortunately we are not always aware of many of these things. Clothes have labels, serious mistakes or deceptions by manufacturers of cars etc. usually make it into the media, but there are many other things we simp... See more
I strongly agree with Daniel: you cannot be an ethical translator unless you are, or at least try to be, ethical in all aspects of your life. Ideally you should live a life that is consistent with your beliefs but we are only human. The examples Daniel gives often bother me too but unfortunately we are not always aware of many of these things. Clothes have labels, serious mistakes or deceptions by manufacturers of cars etc. usually make it into the media, but there are many other things we simply don't know about. I also think that if you refuse to buy a T-shirt made in Bangladesh, just to name one of Daniel's examples, what impact are you as an individual really having on the situation there? Would you have the time, energy, and enough clout to start an entire movement? I think if we want to have some impact, the best way is to support organizations that are working on the front lines to address the problem and do whatever you can in your own backyard and, yes, buy the more expensive T-shirt.


[Edited at 2017-12-19 21:34 GMT]
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Mario Chavez (X)
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Working for governments Dec 19, 2017

Heinrich Pesch wrote:

I definitely would not work for some governments, but I don't understand why corporations should be banned. The consumer can decide if they buy the product or not. Or should I only take jobs for Fair Trade product lines? But people cannot choose another government, except by voting with the majority. I don't like facebook, but use Google all the time.


To me, the problem with taking a purist stance in ethical matters is dangerous. Some honest and good people have worked for abominable governments in different capacities, for reasons not always or necessarily visible to us. The current pope, for instance, was criticized by some for having “collaborated” or remained silent during the years of the Argentine junta oppression, which involved state-sanctioned murders. I'm no Catholic, but who am I to say that priest (now the pope) was actually collaborating with a hated government?

Many good people work in the shadows, from inside, trying to effect a degree of change. Some changes take a very long time to happen and show fruit. If I were a purist ethical person (an extremist, in my view), I may end up condemning or persecuting those people. After all, I'd only have very little information, what can only be seen, which is not the whole story.


 
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