“Hey, Jimsmuse!” you’re saying to yourself after reading the job title above, “Didn’t you already feature this cool job when you interviewed Douglas Dunn who works with English and American Sign Language?” Interestingly, and lucky for me as your guide to the world of work, the answer is no. Although many people use the words “interpreter” and “translator” interchangeably, to those who work in the field they are very different occupations.
An Interpeter is someone who provides live, spoken communication between people who speak different languages, and a Translator provides that communication through the written word. Today’s Cool Jobster, French to English Translator Céline Graciet, has even written a blog post on this very subject, which makes clear not only the difference between the two jobs, but her preference for translation!
I love the English language and have always been a “word freak”, but didn’t become interested in the subject of translation until I read Douglas Hofstadter’s incredible book Le Ton Beau De Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language. While the main text of the book deals philosophically with what constitutes a “good” translation between two languages (or if a “good” translation is even possible), he also explores some of the most challenging translations ever attempted and the thinking and creativity that went into them.
For example, Hofstadter spends quite some time considering the translation of “La Disparition” by Georges Perec, a novel written in French that does not contain a single use of the letter “e”. What is the “right” way, Hofstader wonders, to translate this novel into English? Would a literal, word for word translation into English (which would surely contain many instances of the letter “e”) be the best way to convey the original author’s work to English speaking readers? Or should a translator be willing to change a word, a sentence, or even an entire paragraph in order to render the work into English without the letter “e” so that readers of the translation will experience in some way the original author’s intent? (In fact, translator George Adair made the latter choice, and won a prestigious award for his translation of Perec’s novel, entitled “A Void“.) ‘
I’ll grant you that the above is a very extreme example of the challenge a translator might face, but if you’ve never really stopped to consider how much creativity and consideration goes into even the simplest of translations, or how many choices a professional translator faces, I hope it’s at least got you thinking!
While literary translations of famous novels may be what we avid readers usually think of when presented with the word “translation”, in a world that’s gone “international”, there are thousands of people who write documents in hundreds of different languages that require translation into many hundreds of other languages so that the transmission of ideas can take place without all of us having to learn and speak dozens of languages.
I’m glad that I didn’t have to learn French to read “A Void” and enjoy its eerie weirdness, and I’m glad that there are Cool Jobsters like Céline to foster communication between people via the written word — including writing subtitles for everything from episodes of “The Simspons” to the movie “Shaun of the Dead” and if doing that doesn’t qualify as her as a Cool Jobster, I don’t know what does. You can check out more of Céline’s interesting translating jobs here.
So what’s the work of a Translator like? Let’s find out!
1) When people ask you “what do you do?” how do you describe your job?
I say “I’m a freelance English to French translator”, which is as simple as it sounds: I get sent documents in English and I have to send them back in French. If I’m in a talkative mood, I’ll go on about some of the interesting projects I’ve worked on or some of the things I’ve learnt through my job. From translating dozens of device manuals over the years, I can troubleshoot most printer/scanner/copier problems; from translating magazines on bodybuilding, I can tell you what exercice will give you the perfect calves and I know way too much about the workings of testosterone in men; from my work for NGOs, I have a pretty good idea of the problems linked to aid in the developing world and from my work with local authorities, I could probably design a comprehensive waste management strategy for a small country. I’ve also been on interpreting assignments in a helicopter, on landfill sites and on a boat shaped like a big sausage.
2) What are the things about your job that you love?
I really love translating. I’ve been doing it for 8 years and I just can’t get bored of it. I’ve often been asked why I offer translation services in just one language pair, when I could be opening up my client base and earn more by teaming up with translators working with other languages. My problem with that is that it would mean cutting down on my translation work to take on more project management-type work, and I don’t want to do that. I want to translate all day long! I don’t really have any greater ambition than that.
The other thing I love is that to me, a computer has always been a big toy and I still can’t believe I’m allowed to play on it all day. I love being constantly online and in touch with the news, my friends and family and with everything that’s happening out there. And of course, being my own boss, nobody will tell me off for playing Scrabble with my friend in America or checking my favourite blogs.
3) What are the things about your job that you hate?
I spent the first four years of my career working from home and after three years, I started really hating it. I felt completely isolated, cut off from the rest of society and going on translators’ forums for a chat just wasn’t the same as being in the actual presence of another human being. I felt like the world was going on without me and I found the silence of my own flat rather oppressive. Eventually, I found a shared office, moved in and was extremely happy there for 3 years: I made some excellent friends and my work clearly benefited. When I moved town, my first concern was to find a football team, then a new shared office.
That’s about the only thing I hate(d). I sometimes worry that my clients will all stop calling me, but I don’t think any job is 100% safe. Actually, being the Pope is quite safe, but there’s no opening at the moment.
4) What education, training, vocation or just plain luck would someone have to have in order to get a job like yours?
The funny thing about my job is that anyone at all can call themselves a translator. Nobody will come and check that you are actually qualified because there is no official body that grants the “translator” title. I would say the main qualifications you need are an in-depth, near-native knowledge of your working languages (certainly a native knowledge of your target language) and of the cultures to which they belong, excellent written skills and a capacity to research and learn very quickly, as you might not be a specialist in all the areas covered by the documents you’ll be asked to translate. You have to be self-confident, self-reliable, organised and resilient. These clients don’t find themselves!
5) What is the funniest story you can think of that involves your professional training or your job?
Hm. I’m not saying translators aren’t a bundle of laughs, but I can’t really think of anything really funny that has happened during my work (if you exclude some of my ex-co-workers’ “hilarious pranks”, of course; calling my phone just as I’m on my way up to the toilet, causing me to sprint back to my desk, nearly falling over chairs and small dogs, only to hear them say “Just wanted to say hello” at the end of the line, is NOT that funny).
However, the latest funny translation mishap I’ve seen is as follows:
When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.
Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: “I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated”.
So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket.
Translation is an amazing occupation. All translators really love translating. can you think of a similar occupation? There isn’t one.
Most people do not understand the creativity in translation, the interest and diverse in translation and the joy of completing a translation task.
jimsmuse sez: Thanks for stopping by My Cool Job, Jim. One of the things I like to do best here is to fill my readers in on jobs that are so important that they might never have given a moment’s thought to before. I’m glad to give your profession some well deserved attention! (Update: However, since it turns out you’re just spamming blogs that mention translation so you can self-promote, I’ll leave your nice comment and remove your URL…_)
now this was a fun job interview!!! i have always longed to be fluent in another language and admire people who can move flawlessly from one language to another. this job seems like fun–not boring like one might expect from a ‘desk’ job.
carrie, you always entertain! now, if you could help me improve my italian and spanish…then you’d be TOPS in my book. (my italian is limited to food and profanity while my spanish is pretty much 4th grade level despite 8 years of spanish in school.)
jimsmuse sez: Yes, it was fun! Now for improving your Italian and Spanish…according to Google Translate, here is how to tell people who speak other languages the name of this blog:
Italian: Raffreddare il Mio Lavoro
Spanish: Mi Trabajo Fresco
You’re welcome!
Thanks for a fascinating interview!
Unfortunately, I’m now wondering if Céline’s job would feel as safe to her as the Pope’s if Translatormobiles were manufactured.
jimsmuse sez: I love that you have such a strange outlook on everything. 🙂 If our Cool Jobster acquires a Translatormobile, I will be sure to link to a picture of it on My Cool Job!
In your reply to CyWyGY, you’ve demonstrated one of the hazards of machine-based translation and the enduring need for humans in this field: fresco literally means “cool” but I don’t think it carries the idiomatic sense. Maybe something like esbelto might be better, but I have my misgivings about its appropriateness too. One of the pitfalls of English is that it is so very malleable in comparison to most other languages.
jimsmuse sez: Well that was kind of my point, but I guess I wasn’t that clear about it. Thank you for putting it so plainly!
This was facinating. I was thrown in Germany with an Italian and Spanish (Latin) education and was lost for a couple of years until someone studying “language” really sat me down and helped me. I learned a lot from American TV shows translated into German. It sounds sad, but Married With Children (in German) helped me learn to speak conversational German.
Thanks for bringing this into our attention.
jimsmuse sez: The hot foreign babe in every spy flick always seems to learn conversational English overnight just by watching TV in a hotel room…I’m amazed to find out that there may be a bit of truth in that cliche!
Great interview!
I get asked sometimes to “correct a few mistakes” on business letters, brochures, signs, and other materials that have supposedly been translated from Japanese to English. 9 times out of 10 what I’m given is so bad it needs to be totally rewritten.
Some people really think they are good at other languages; most aren’t. Good translators are hard to find.
jimsmuse sez: I always giggle at translations that seem awkward (one of my favorites is in the movie “The Killer” when the dramatic car chase ends up at a medical facility with a sign out front that says “Scared Heart Hospital”). You’ve just made me realize that in the context of a conversation, a misunderstanding can be fixed or clarified right away, but when it comes to the written word you may not be there to explain it later! I guess that makes a good translator not only hard to find, but very necessary when dealing with important documents!
So interesting!
Il y a beaucoup de forêts en France ; certains sont privés.
jimsmuse sez: Thanks for your comments, Dishy, but OH NO, I don’t speak French! Will I have to learn, or should I just hire Céline to help me read my own blog? 😉
Don’t worry babe – it’s one of the few things I memorized in HS French.
“There are many forests in France; some are private.”
Strangely, it’s never come up in conversation..
jimsmuse sez: I know what you mean. While my Spanish at one point was relatively good, I never got further in German than being able to discuss a girl named Helga and her beach adventures: “Helga findet Muscheln am der Strand.” For more entertainment on the subject of barely speaking French, please view “Foux de Fa Fa” by Flight of the Conchords HERE.
Eddie Izzard knows well your travails, Dish-Dish.
jimsmuse sez: I wish Eddie Izzard was my crazy uncle. He rocks.
Okay, just added Hofstadter’s book to my “to read” list. I have always been intrigued by what makes a “good” translation. One of the most beautiful books I ever read was “The Shadow of the Wind,” translated from Spanish, and it made me wonder was it as beautiful in Spanish? More so? How did the translator do it? Or any translator? It’s clearly so much more than just word for word substitution that it mystifies me. Totally psyched for this – thanks, Carrie!
jimsmuse sez: I am totally psyched that you are going to read this book. I know you are going to love it!
You might find this article interesting:
Jim
Translation is a great job… thanks to it I have friends all over the world and a job where no two days are the same.
Happy New Year/Très bonne année
Rich