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Poll: Do you make exceptions and translate into your source language?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Julieta Moss
Julieta Moss
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:28
Spanish to English
+ ...
Some clarifications... May 30, 2017

writeaway wrote:

I am always amused when I read this claim. First of all, we are supposed to be professional translators, i.e. professional linguists. What sort of professional linguist forgets his/her native language to the extent of no longer being able to write in it?


Maybe I didn't word it right, but I am not saying I struggle speaking my native language. I said I struggle translating into my native language, because I do mostly the opposite combination and I sort of have an equivalent in English for every Spanish idiomatic phrase. I don't do it the other way around, because although I use English in my everyday life, I never stop and think how would I translate this or that phrase into Spanish. And this is what my struggle is, finding the right equivalent line in Spanish.

writeaway wrote:
And English is deceptively easy. As in most other languages, spoken English and written English often go their separate ways. Being able to hold a conservation doesn't automatically mean being able to write at a professional level.
And naturally my reply to the poll is: No, never.


That is another thing I maybe didn't explain very well. Apart from translating, I also work for British companies where I am constantly producing original English content (user manuals, emails with technical instructions, internal wikihow articles, reports). So if my English is good enough to write these, surely it will be good enough to translate the same type of material from Spanish?


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 10:28
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Nice May 30, 2017

Thayenga wrote:

This is one of the most important factors when considering whether or not to accept a job, we all have bills to pay.
...


Thank you, Thayenga. Nice words.


 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:28
English to Spanish
+ ...
The evidence is anecdotal (i.e hearsay) May 30, 2017

Baran Keki wrote:

Even if you do that and no matter how smooth and flawless your translation is, one is always bound to notice the glimpses of translation lurking in the text. It will never look like as if it's written by a native speaker. This is especially the case with a language like Turkish, which has a fairly low affinity with western languages like English, French, German etc. Besides I don't see that many Brits or Aussies heading this way to learn Turkish in the hopes of becoming exclusively Turkish to English translators. No offense but "Make exceptions and translate into your source language" just sounds snobbish and pretentious to me. And yes, as a few posters above aptly pointed out, we have bills to pay.
Just who are we to pontificate if a person feels confident enough to take a stab at translating into their source language? At least they are going about it in an honest manner compared to those who claim to be bilingual and have two (most probably fake) gray N signs on their Proz profile.


My thoughts precisely: who made (up) that rule? Sadly, some well-known translation associations even state it is an ethical rule. But do they have the data or the facts to back it up? No. That's why I posted the link to a paper analyzing precisely this phenomenon.


 
Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:28
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
A translation that doesn't read like one. May 31, 2017

Baran Keki wrote:

"Even if you do that and no matter how smooth and flawless your translation is, one is always bound to notice the glimpses of translation lurking in the text. It will never look like as if it's written by a native speaker."

I don't agree. Particularly when translating novels and stories, I always try to produce a translation that reads like native English, and I think I succeed, even though I have to take a few (as few as possible) liberties with the o
... See more
Baran Keki wrote:

"Even if you do that and no matter how smooth and flawless your translation is, one is always bound to notice the glimpses of translation lurking in the text. It will never look like as if it's written by a native speaker."

I don't agree. Particularly when translating novels and stories, I always try to produce a translation that reads like native English, and I think I succeed, even though I have to take a few (as few as possible) liberties with the original meaning, so that the translation is not totally faithful to it.
Collapse


 
Linda Miranda
Linda Miranda  Identity Verified
Portugal
French to Portuguese
+ ...
The same here May 31, 2017

Marta Cervera Areny wrote:

I used to do it for friends and family, but not any more. The result is not as good as it would be from a native speaker, and it requires a lot more time and effort... so when people ask, I just refer them to some native colleague...


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 10:28
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Partially agreed... May 31, 2017

Jack Doughty wrote:
(...) It will never look like as if it's written by a native speaker."
(...) I don't agree. Particularly when translating novels and stories.


I agree with both assertions. It will never sound like it was written by a native speaker. And the other day, a Brazilian colleague was really mad at me in a question about being native in two languages, because I said he could well translate into English, but everyone who read the translation would know that.

As I said, I do translate technical and legal documents into English, and I know there will be such glimpses. But the result is quite acceptable, and I never had any complaints, even from native clients.

Now, regarding literature (novels and stories, among others), non-natives should be 'legally forbidden' (an exaggeration, of course) to try to translate. There is no way anything reasonable will come out of it, no matter how "native" the person considers themselves. I would never accept a literary job into my source language. It would be even non-professional or non-ethical.


[Edited at 2017-05-31 21:07 GMT]


 
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Poll: Do you make exceptions and translate into your source language?






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