The October issue of the American Translators Association’s ATA Chronicle features an article by Diane Howard called Ethical Codes: Where Are We? The article, besides being very clear and well written, made the argument that much more precision is needed in ATA’s Code of Professional Conduct and Business Practices, which are currently under review.
One point Diane made that I’d like to focus on is this: none of the professional codes cited in the article — the British Institute of Linguists, Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta, Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators, and the ATA’s own — covers translation skills. That is, when these various codes speak of skills a translator needs to know, they talk about language skills and subject area skills but not specifically translation skills. “The ability to analyze a source text, to apply translation strategies, to articulate the translation process — these elements are either assumed or discounted” is how Diane puts it.
So the essential skill of the translator–the skill that sets him apart from the millions who know a second language and even those who are conversant in a specific discipline–has not been codified. Yet we know it exists. How do we know? Because it irritates us when someone tells us their brother-in-law speaks a few languages so, naturally, he’d make a good translator. “Maybe you can send him some. He has a free weekend now and again.” Hey, come to think of it, maybe I’ll let him work on my car over the weekend, too. He has a few cars, doesn’t he?
Could this be the source of the lack of respect translators often feel from people who don’t understand their profession? That the whole is no more than the sum of the parts? Pehaps. I do know that anyone who’s given translation a serious try quickly finds there’s more to it than knowing two languages.
One big discovery for beginning translators is that languages were not made to interlock like Lego pieces. Sure, there are plenty of words that have a one-to-one correspondence, more or less. But there are so many more that are slippery. The image that comes to my mind every time I translate is of two sheets of plastic with glue in between. You try to slide one around on top of the other–making tiny adjustments–while the glue is still wet. By the time the glue dries (the deadline!) we hope the two texts align as closely as possible, albeit never perfect.
I overheard a translator friend arguing with a lawyer about who makes the best translator: a seasoned legal translator, or a law student with a language background. You can see from this post which side I was on, but it was an interesting — if infuriating — conversation to listen to just the same.
We, as translators, put our best foot when we talk about our essential skill, not just the accessory skills needed to perform our job. Now if we can just update the Code accordingly.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Jenn Mercer // Nov 23, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I think that the difficulty in describing this odd profession is somehow linked to the difficulty of translation itself. There is an empty space between the words in one language and the words in another, just as there is between the ideas we want to express and how they come out on the page.
2 Glenn // Nov 23, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Jenn,
Thanks for reading. “Empty space” is a terrific description.
3 Nick Rosenthal // Nov 24, 2009 at 6:54 am
Please take a look at the Code of Professional Conduct of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (www.iti.org.uk), which you will find here.
4 Tomasz // Nov 24, 2009 at 7:36 am
For me, it is still difficult to explain what is the translation about. Thanks for an interesting post.
5 Glenn // Nov 24, 2009 at 11:02 am
Nick,
Thanks for reading. And thank you for the link to the ITI Code of Professional Conduct. In this code, too, like those Diane Howard cites, the skill of translation as separate from language skills and subject knowledge, is not clearly described. The closest it comes is:
“4.1.2 Subject to 4.5 below, members shall at all times maintain the highest standards of work according to their abilities, ensuring fidelity of meaning and register, unless specifically instructed by their Principals, preferably in writing, to re-create the text in the cultural context of the target language.”
This is important but it does not codify the skill of translation. And maybe it can’t, anymore than one can describe the difference between following a cake recipe and becoming a pastry chef. There’s a broad gray area there where skills have obviously been acquired through years of experience, but describing those skills to establish standards for the next generation to follow may not be possible. So basically we describe the tools and the ingredients.
6 Angela Dickson // Nov 25, 2009 at 6:46 am
Interesting article, Glenn, and I see Nick has already mentioned the ITI. It’s worth bearing in mind the entry criteria for full membership of these organisations - full membership of ITI is only obtained after submission of a sample of work or an examination text, which is assessed. An MITI has to demonstrate adequate skill in translation in order to be admitted, and adherence to the code of professional conduct is additional to this.
7 Leah Aharoni // Nov 26, 2009 at 6:06 am
Glenn,
Very good article. I think translation work calls for a lot of lexical intuition and knowledge of language nuances that are hard to qualify. Now try listing that in a skills description.
8 Milatova // Dec 23, 2009 at 6:04 am
Thanks Glenn for that article.
You mention that in many cases there are no two words that convey the same meaning, which is obvious for anybody working in translation.
I would just like to add that, when translating from a Latin based language to a semitic one, such as Hebrew, teh lack of corresponding words is compunded by the structural differences between the languages.
English, for example, relies heavily on the wealth of its vocabulary. The wealth of Hebrew, on the other hand, is conveyed by the grammatical rules, as its grammar is built like mathematics, so nuances are conveyed by skillfully using those rules.
For a translator, that multiplies the translation problems exponentialy.
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