PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATION IS SELDOM SMOOTH-GOING (WHATEVER YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT IT). BUT I ALWAYS FIND WAYS TO APPRECIATE IT, AND THAT’S THE MAIN THING.
Wouldn’t it be great if I somehow attained a condition whereby I would never have to worry about making a mistake in my work as a professional translator again? And if I did – which I consider unlikely – I would never have to worry about ending up confused again, right? But my life is my life, and I should accept it for what it is. That said, in this comment I list a bunch of “translation business-related anecdotes” which are comprised of language-related issues of various natures that I have noted in professional translation projects…
In one French-to-English translation project I did, I saw this in the original: “Recherche de nouveaux aciers et amélioration des procédés de transformation, notamment pour l’allégement des véhicules”. And I can swear that I instantly found myself asking this: does “allégement” really mean relief (as in reducing the burden that the vehicles have to bear), or making vehicles lighter (figuratively speaking)?
In some proofreading work I once did, I read this in the original version: “Of course, we are worried about the situation in Syria and around it”. I agreed with conviction that the last three words effectively meant “in the surrounding area” i.e. the area around Syria, rather than “around the situation” – I thought “in the surrounding area” even if I was just so quick to agree that the original was written by someone whose mother tongue was not English, even though, I have to admit, the original was written in very masterful English for a foreigner. In the same project, I read this: “On the contrary, we wish to involve all the countries of the region into our joint work to overcome the problems based on mutual respect, consideration of interests and legal concerns of everybody, respect for principles of international law”, where I was proud of myself for thinking of and applying the expression “on a basis of mutual respect”.
In one German-to-English translation project I did, I learned that the German word “bequem” can mean “convenient” rather than “comfortable”. Fair enough.
I once did some proofreading work where, in the unedited original version of the file in question I read this: “Slovakia supports small-scale farmers in some regions of Kenya and contributes to improving food security”. And I was just so quick to wonder: security or safety? Are we actually talking about the availability of food (in which case choose „security“) or food hygiene (in which case choose „safety“?
And I know that I’m not the only one who has ever felt like telling the world about these things – even educated people get madly misled sometimes; as an example, just look at the Sheng Long fiasco http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheng_Long
Like I said in the beginning, my life is my life, and I should accept it for what it is. So is it possible to reject the frustrations you know in everyday life “the tough way” and still “love yourself”?
