Translators
often face an uphill battle from misinformed clients
who have misconceptions about translators and the
translation profession. Many times translators have
to educate the clients about the industry in order
to debunk the myths that seem to keep on circulating
year after year.
I've put together a list of 10 of
the various myths I've encountered in my work as
a translator. I hope you enjoy them. Maybe you can
use them as educational tools for helping your clients
understand what you do as a translator.
1. Translators are just people who
can speak two or more languages.
This is one of the most prolific
myths circulating outside the translation industry.
Merely knowing two languages does not mean that
a person can translate with those languages. Translation
is so much more and non-translators are often perplexed
by this fact.
2. Translators can translate any
subject matter as long as the material is in a language
they know.
Good translators will specialize
in only a few different (but oftentimes) but related
areas. This allows them to keep up-to-date on changes
in their industry and keeps them abreast of current
trends. Inexperienced (or bad translators) will
often say they can translate anything thrown at
them.
3. Translating from one language
to another (i.e. Spanish to English) is the same
as translating in the reverse direction (i.e. English
to Spanish).
There are translators that can do
a good job translating in both directions; however,
the number of translators that can do this is not
very high. Clients often think that translating
is the same no matter which direction the translator
is going. Translators have dominant languages and
it is usually in the best interest of the translator
and client for the translator to translate into
his/her dominant language.
4. Translators can produce any translation
with little or no turn-around time.
Once again, clients often believe
that translation is a simple task that can be accomplished
quickly. A good translator will educate the client
and let them know that translators need sufficient
time to produce a quality product.
5. A native speaker is always a
better translator than a non-native one.
This is a myth equal in error to
that of #1. Merely being a native speaker of a language
does not ensure or guarantee that that person will
be able to translate adequately. Translation requires
discipline, study, and continual practice. A native
speaker of a language does not inherently possess
all (or even any) of these qualities. Clients for
some reason don't seem to understand this.
6. Translators like it when the
client changes their translation after it has been
delivered.
After a translator has edited, revised,
retranslated, and perfected a translation, do you
think he/she wants it to be changed after it's delivered
it to the client? Many times, a well-meaning person
on the client end will think that the translator
has incorrectly translated something in the translation.
Nearly 99% of the time, however, their good intentions
are ill founded. Not only does the translation quality
decrease, but the translator's reputation can also
be called into questioned.
7. Only translators who are members
of a professional translation organization can translate
well.
There are many translators that
do an excellent job without ever being members of
any organization. These so-called professional organizations
are not governing bodies over the worldwide translation
industry. They might have a single measure for evaluating
translators, but it is what it is: a single evaluation
metric. I'd say that a list of satisfied clients
from a translator is a far better indication of
a translator's competency.
8. Translators can also interpret.
Translation is not interpretation
and interpretation is not translation. They are
not synonymous. Translation is written material;
interpretation is speaking. These are two very different
skill sets.
9. Translators like to do free translation
work.
Most translators are willing to
do pro bono work every once in a while. However,
translators are professionals who need to make a
living doing their profession. Translation is not
a hobby for most translators and it is not right
for people to ask translators to freely translate
something for them.
10. A good translator will take
whatever payment the client is willing to give.
Good translators will have a set
price and will not very often deviate from this
price. Clients will often try to have translators
bid against each other for the lowest price; however,
when the price gets too low, a good translator will
choose not to take the translation because it will
not be worth his/her time. 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.
