Translator Lounge

Martin Esposito asks why professional linguists sometimes fail to communicate amongst themselves - and sometimes with their clients - and what good might come if we did

As I sit in a plane bound for Budapest, I can feel the slight exhilaration of being for a brief day in a condition of absolute repose. For a start, pressurisation always gives that slight light-headedness (perhaps enhanced by the excellent bar service), and, though usually a tragedy, not being online on this occasion is the perfect complement to the rare situation where a translator has no work pending, having delivered the previous commission late the night before. It is, as I say, quite the exception, and not always a welcome one, as unpredictable lulls in workflow do not always translate into rest, and sometimes degenerate into downright worry.

Yet it is at times like these that I feel we are best equipped to consider our profession, and to take stock. Possible reasons not to do so during the normal flow of business include, of course, too much of the business in question, or simply an attitude inclined to discard the need for a deep analysis - why fix what ain’t broke? I believe, however, that the inevitable condition of constant transition from linguist/wordsmith to unwitting one-man-company entrepreneur is mainly to blame for the loss of a sense of direction I am feeling and, at least in my case, the lack of preparation for such a position is mainly responsible for the unease.

In troubled times, it pays to know what’s going wrong: should we just accept our fate, or reach for new challenges? Most translators will complain about the fact that in this customer-led industry, the former leads so much in fact as to exclude the language professional from the production process. This is visible in the setting of deadlines (We’re ready for the launch in the morning - all we need to do is get the thing translated) in the idea of financial reward (It’s only a translation, - it’s not like you have to re-write the whole thing!) and especially in the discrepancy between source and target language quality (We jotted it down quickly in Italian and there are a few inaccuracies. But it’s the translation that will be published, so can you make sure the English reads well?).

Yet when the world of work as we know it is undergoing the deepest change since the Industrial Revolution, are people really less in need of good communication? Or have they all suddenly brushed up on their language skills? Is this not the time to ensure one final good draft of a message really gets through so that effective communication takes place? Also, it is certainly worth noting that never before have staff been the object of welfare guidelines and stringent health and safety measures: ergonomic desks, workstations and telephones, activity-rest alternation, healthy snack options from the canteen, ventilation and lighting standards; to this we can add provisions pertaining to equal opportunity, race, sex and creed parameters, and we get quite a rosy picture. Yet is certainly odd that such an era should be also the one with the most outsourcing, use of freelancers, externally appointed and self-employed staff, therefore not in any way provided for under the regulations mentioned above.

I have asked enough questions to which I don’t not know the answers. All of them, though, certainly quietly imply that a range of business practices the multiple industries the translation industry is part of need to begin to be questioned, and this can only come from the latter industry - i.e. us. The sale of ‘first drafts’ for internal use, for one, the abuse of software as a substitute for knowledge and instinct, should also undergo careful scrutiny. What is sometimes blamed most of all though, is the lack of a sense of professional kinship among language practitioners, simply based, it seems to me, on the fact that we are in competition for the same financial rewards, and our normally naturally complementary skills are really exploited and kept splintered by greater entrepreneurs than ourselves, who know their main lesson well: communication is key (how many times did you translate this one?). This is why all big corporate players meet at the highest levels, in an almost incestuous closeness, whilst their outlets fight on the high street. It is what keeps business alive under an umbrella preserving them from the hailstones of loneliness and the deadly silence of lack of communication. Alive? Not much these days, you may say, and ‘join an association of translators then’, comes another voice. Both interesting notions. The latter, I may follow one day, when I am able to see a selection process going beyond mere qualifications and fees I charge. The former…well, read on.

It seems to me that the shared dimension of our work (the one we choose to talk about with colleagues) focuses on the quantity we get or do not get. Quality is for each of our own eyes only. So no real progress can be made in pooling and complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses (I have never used translation software, but work in close contact with a colleague who does. We share out the right work for each translating style, or work as a team: he is quick and cost-effective, I supply the final revision without getting bogged down in a document I could never handle efficiently by hand). No really unified voice is reaching the major dictionary companies, requesting comprehensive platforms and online/offline streamlined and specialised resources - not clumsy CD ROMs (though Babylon is a start). But most seriously, clients all too often cannot see our passion through the tiredness and the stress as we say yet another time ‘it’s actually not a bad piece of writing, if I had the time to appreciate it’. Our contribution? A little honesty could work wonders: yes, my rate may be slightly higher, but look, has my cheaper colleague actually pointed out that the six line headed paper you pay for every time could be applied by your clerical staff to the body of the letter? Can I remind you that this draft is identical to last season’s and tracking changes might save you money and often more importantly time? Not to mention the health tips I get from some of my colleagues with a greater sense of responsibility towards body and soul. Again, I think I can hear a silence… I know I might have puzzled a few. When one’s theories are about to be hacked to pieces, it pays to throw oneself into battle, rather than one’s thoughts alone, as these cost nothing: yes, this is my only job, and both me and my family depend on it. Furthermore: over the years, work has become less repetitive, more interesting and better regarded, and I am beginning to help younger professionals by passing on the work I choose to do no more, which has the added bonus of not leaving disappointed clients stuck with a refusal and no alternative. So things are mainly good - at least until now. Whether I am to be surrounded by a wall of fire or suddenly find myself part of a network of the motivated linguists I know to be out there, will not depend on me. And for once, not even on clients. I am running on trust here. Silly of me, but it is hard times. And, as the old adage has it (though I’m not entirely certain of the translation), ‘If you always do the same thing in the same way, don’t be surprised when you get the same results’. Happy the way you are? You probably stopped reading this quite a few lines ago. Want to try something new or just curious? I may I have started asking questions I have no answer to again, though this of course may be my very reason for asking. I’m not sure what we may find, but as soon as I’m off this plane and back to (on?) earth I’ll be getting online again…

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Martin Esposito is a freelance bilingual Italian/English Conference Interpreter and Translator. He currently lives and works in London, but is professionally active and retains a business base in Rome.
He can be reached on www.bigcitymartin.com