I have frequently felt that people who are not a part of the language translation industry do not view language translation as a real job. It pained and annoyed me in the beginning to no avail, since people after all don’t really change. After a few months of discussions and debates which were anything between informal and friendly to argumentative, I gave up trying to convince anyone that I held a ‘real job’. But that doesn’t mean that I am going to keep shut on the topic throughout my life. You guessed it right! Today I am itching to launch on this well worn out subject and what better place for that than this blog.
Those who believe that language translation is not real work like say, teaching grammar or selling soaps are also frequently guilty of thinking that all language translation requires is learning a couple of languages well, and then reading the original document and translating it word by word. If translation had been a religion, then such a belief would have been akin to blasphemy!
The reality is that there are probably millions of people who know more than one language. A large number of them must have also studied a couple of languages deeply. But, this is not enough to turn them into good language translators.
In order to ensure even an adequate translation, a translator has to go beyond being conversant in the language pairs he or she works with. A language is not simply an assembly of letters, words and grammatical conventions. It reflects the culture and lifestyle of a people. Even if you get the grammar right you would not be able to ensure accurate translation. As a very small example, take any regularly used idiom of the English language… say “kick the bucket”, and try translating it literally in English. You would come nowhere near the intended meaning. When such a thing can happen in translation within the same language, just imagine the complications that can arise in translations involving two different languages.
The fact is that language translation is a highly specialized work and is not everybody’s cup of tea. Far more people can successfully sell soaps and teach grammar, than ensure high quality translations.
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