Translation: Getting it Right is a free brochure published by ATA - American Translators Association and available for download in PDF format. Although this document addresses the buyers of translations, it is an import input for translators as well. At least to all those who seriously take counseling and advising their clients as part of their profession in order to gain the best results and satisfaction for both sides. Reading this material will give you important insight into the considerations of your clients and will help you adapt your approach towards potential buyers.

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Dr. Ursula Ron is Content Manager at Babylon.com and heading the Babylon Translator Outreach Program. Babylon is provider of online dictionaries, online translations and a translation software.

As a translator, I believe more in learning from experience rather than studying books on translation theory. Theory is all about what should happen in an ideal world, but this is usually far from the truth when it comes time to working with imperfect texts and tight deadlines. There are also many spontaneous online resources that cater to the spontaneous nature of freelance translation today. Nevertheless, there is one book out there that is both theoretical and realistic: Becoming a Translator by Douglas Robinson. I have learned some new ideas that have pleasantly surprised me. I can honestly say that I would not have thought of them myself. I can also say that this book has shown ideas, though already known to me, in a different light. I like this fact because it vouches for the book’s value to both the novice and veteran translator.

A piece of new information that I learned was about the human memory and how it applies to translators. Apparently, we have something that is called procedural memory, which means that we do things without even realizing that we are doing them. This is the sort of autopilot that we “turn on” while we are driving, washing the dishes and tying our shoes, to give a few examples. When we are translating, we are very much applying this type of memory. Imagine if we had to think about each word and how it is translated into the target text! We would never finish, and our work would not be a smooth and cohesive I suspect. After reading this part of the book, I immediately began to analyze the way I applied procedural memory to my workflow and how to make the most of it.

A fact that I did know about somewhere in the back of my mind but had not properly analyzed before was the fact that the documents that we translate come from people. In other words, they are not static texts with mere grammar structure and specialized terminology to contend with. As a result, the way I perceive, and indeed translate documents has changed as a result. I tend to think more about who wrote these documents, and in my free time, I observe people whom I think could have written similar documents they translate such as doctors, lawyers and engineers. I also make mind maps of my documents when I have time to do so.

Becoming a Translator has helped me to be a better translator and regard myself as being more important to the world than I had previously realized I was. If you haven’t already read this book or any other books or contributions by Douglas Robinson, I suggest that you do. Though it is a small investment of your time and money, the potential benefits that you will reap are sizable. It is available at Amazon as a paper book, and can also be found in e-book format.

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Read D. James is a freelance translator who has been living and working in Santiago Chile for over a decade. He is married with two children. In his free time, he likes to read, exercise, travel and play the piano. He runs a web site called Spanish Language Gateway. If you have any questions or comments, please contact him at: rjames@vtr.net