What do you do when you are given an assignment from an agency, and you feel pretty sure from reading the document that the end client is doing something illegal and/or morally dubious? This has happened to me a couple times now, and I'm never sure what is the ethical thing to do. I've thought about telling the agency my suspicions, but of course I can't be 100% sure that the client is doing something unethical, so maybe that would just reflect badly on me. But I don't like the feeling that I am likely contributing to something negative. What do you do (or would you do) in this situation?
[Edited at 2011-10-14 08:45 GMT]
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Giles Watson Italy Local time: 22:08 Member Italian to English
If you're not comfortable with the job...
Oct 14, 2011
... for whatever reason, just turn it down politely.
There's not a lot of point in worrying about other people's motives.
FWIW
Giles
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Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 21:08 Member (2008) Italian to English
Refuse the job
Oct 14, 2011
I agree with Giles. A while ago I was asked to translate a document that verged on racist so I politely turned down the job.
The agency itself had some doubts about it, and agreed with me.
On another occasion I turned down a potentially lucrative long-term job translating technical documents about missile systems (I am an anti-war person).
So if you have any similar doubts about a job, you too should just turn it down, and sleep easy in your bed at night.
[Edited at 2011-10-14 08:53 GMT]
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Livia D'Ettorre Local time: 22:08 Member (2005) English to Italian + ...
I would also turn it down
Oct 14, 2011
I agree with Tom and Giles. I would politely turn it down.
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Ty Kendall United Kingdom Local time: 21:08 Member (2011) Hebrew to English
Not so black and white....
Oct 14, 2011
The knee-jerk reaction to this is to refuse to do the job, as is your right.
But there are shades of gray in these types of things. For example, you may feel uncomfortable translating something you deem racist, but what if the end client is an anti-racism organisation, merely translating something to gain a better understanding of the racial situation i.e. I'm sure much Islamic propoganda has a need to be translated into English to see what certain fringe groups are saying, it may even be a necessity for court proceedings, in a criminal prosecution against hate speech or something similar.
I realise this type of case may be the exception and not the rule, but if you are faced with this situation then if you are able to ascertain the end client's intentions then this could help alieviate your concerns.
If indeed, it is for morally dubious reasons, or you still suspect foulplay then you still have the option of declining. If the source text is somewhat inflammatory for whatever reason, I see no harm in the translator asking a few questions to ease their conscience, and surely if the material is of an iffy nature then the agency and end client should welcome some questioning (it shows the translator has professional integrity). If the agency/end client gets cagey, they it's probably on the dodgy side of things.
So in essence, I think it's not so much a reflex reaction that is required but more careful consideration of the facts to make an informed decision as to whether to proceed or not.
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neilmac Spain Local time: 22:08 Member (2007) Spanish to English + ...
None of my business
Oct 14, 2011
While agreeing with our colleagues' comments so far, I still think that what the client does or does not do is not really my concern as a translator, unless it appears to be something really heinous, in which case you might decide to alert the appropriate authorities.
However, it is also important to bear in mind that you might get the wrong end of the stick and the client may be innocent after all.
The most prudent action is to politely decline the job if you have strong misgivings.
[Edited at 2011-10-14 09:25 GMT]
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In both cases where I came across this, I had already accepted the job and didn't come across the iffy sections until well into the document. At that point it's not so easy to just tell the agency "nevermind." Maybe I should have read the document more closely before accepting, but in the case of something like a long contract, it's not realistic to read the every provision in detail before accepting the job.
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Ty Kendall United Kingdom Local time: 21:08 Member (2011) Hebrew to English
In that case....
Oct 14, 2011
I agree it's not always realistic to deconstruct the entire source document before accepting every job, so in that case...if I had accepted a job, found something distasteful half way through, then as much as my personal sensitivities may be infringed, for the sake of professionalism I would uphold my commitment and finish the job.
If you start abandoning jobs part way through (for whatever reason) your reputation as a translator would be in jeopardy.
Maybe you could search for certain words in the source document prior to accepting. Or have a list of words to search for which if they appear in the source document then give it some closer inspection before accepting.
**using software like in Word etc to search rather than manually.
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Charlie Bavington United Kingdom Local time: 21:08 French to English
Contracts specifically
Oct 14, 2011
Chiara di Benedetto Brown wrote:
In both cases where I came across this, I had already accepted the job and didn't come across the iffy sections until well into the document. .... but in the case of something like a long contract, it's not realistic to read the every provision in detail before accepting the job.
In the case of contracts specifically, I would say that there is an good chance that, in translating it, you are working on the side of "good" not "evil", as it were
After all, thanks to your efforts, some poor soul will be enlightened as to what, exactly, they have just signed up for (since they naturally are unlikely to have waited for the translation - 90% of the contract documents I translate date from some time ago, and I assume the translation is required because some excrement has come into contact with a mechanical ventilation device) and they can take steps to get out of it.
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There is one thing I do not quite understand. If the document is illegal or dubious, why would the client order the translation to an unknown translator or to a translation company in which the document passes through a number of persons?
P.S. Interesting topic. Facing a similar problem, by the way...
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As a project manager in a translation company, I'm on the other side of the debate.
I would not be happy if a translator abandoned a job halfway through.
However, some of my translators have made me aware that they cannot accept certain types of work for their own personal, moral reasons (related to religion, or their anti-warfare convictions for example). I respect this and I simply make a note on their record, so that I don't contact them for this type of work.
So to answer the original question - if you've already accepted the job, I would finish it, but I'd tell the project manager that in future I would not want to undertake similar work for X reason.
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Signe Golly Denmark Local time: 22:08 Member (2011) Danish to English + ...
purpose of the translation
Oct 14, 2011
You can't always know what the exact purpose of the translation is. There is always a chance that the translation was not ordered by the author of the ethically/legally questionable document but rather to by used against said author in a court case or such.
I recall another thread on here about turning down work involving objectionable material, and someone said that they had in fact worked on an assignment that they would never have accepted otherwise since the subject matter was certainly unethical; however, the translated documents were to be used as court evidence.
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Ty Kendall United Kingdom Local time: 21:08 Member (2011) Hebrew to English
Skopos theory extended...
Oct 14, 2011
Signe Golly wrote:
You can't always know what the exact purpose of the translation is. There is always a chance that the translation was not ordered by the author of the ethically/legally questionable document but rather to by used against said author in a court case or such.
I recall another thread on here about turning down work involving objectionable material, and someone said that they had in fact worked on an assignment that they would never have accepted otherwise since the subject matter was certainly unethical; however, the translated documents were to be used as court evidence.
This is also my argument for not being so dismissive of it. It also gives Skopos theory a new angle, while the purpose of the translation can have bearings on the actual translation of source material, the purpose can also determine whether a translator takes the job on at all. Perhaps the purpose of the translation is a factor that is overlooked more often, I have to admit, I rarely question or dwell on the purpose of most of my projects. Perhaps I should.
Edited for typo
[Edited at 2011-10-14 16:03 GMT]
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Sworn translations in Brazil are regulated by law. The general setup is explained here if anyone cares to know about it. The Brazilian law forbids a sworn translator to refuse any such job. (No, it's not so bad, it sets mandatory rates, and specifies some 400 words/day production as maximum without a 50% urgency surcharge. Beyond that, the client cannot impose a shorter deadline.)
Anyway, when I get some material to do a sworn translation of, I don't know - and I'm not expected to investigate or ask - what is the purpose of having that translated. While it may be a straightforward procedure, it might equally be to use those docs as evidence against who issued/signed them. So I apply the same principle to plain translations: it´s none of my business what the translation is intended for.
Now what happens if you notice that the original document is a forgery? A colleague once mentioned having translated a driver's license from the UK, or a driver's licence from the US, can't remember which. Brazilian sworn translators are not trained, qualified, nor expected to ascertain an original's authenticity, hence nor to vouch for it either. All our sworn translation will do is to render the document acceptable by our domestic authorities. If it's bogus, it will be their problem, not ours.
And what if, from your experience, you see that your client is entering some doomed business with the stuff they gave you to translate, for whatever reason? Would you tell them?
My answer here is that I only provide them information relevant to the translation process itself. For instance, if they want me to subtitle a video where the image is extremely important, e.g. "you should reach the latch release lever under the lid..." and shows how ít's done, I warn them, that dubbing would be advisable. However I don't advise them on their business itself.
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Neil Coffey United Kingdom Local time: 21:08 Member (2009) French to English + ...
Start by deciding if it's actually illegal
Oct 14, 2011
Chiara di Benedetto Brown wrote:
sure from reading the document that the end client is doing something illegal and/or morally dubious?
There's a difference between gritting your teeth about something you're morally a bit squeamish about and actually abetting a crime: I would start by not lumping these into the same basket.
However, I don't think it's your job to jump to hasty conclusions. If your grounds for suspecting criminality are so strong, why aren't you informing the police...?
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