Poll: What percentage of the translations you do per year are into a language that is not your native?
writeaway Local time: 23:53 Partial member Dutch to English + ...
0%
Jan 5
Mainly because I recognise and understand the difference between being able to speak a language and being able to write in it to a high professional standard.
Even though many non-natives consider English a language where anything goes, rules don't matter and basically there is no way to get it wrong, this does not apply at all to the written word. In this respect, 'anybody can do it', 'we've all studied it' English is no different than any other language.
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Rob Grayson United Kingdom Local time: 22:53 Partial member French to English
Saying you're a native speaker when you're not – there's a name for that
Jan 5
writeaway wrote:
It really doesn't matter if people translate into a foreign language as long the clients know what the real native language is, which is the language a person grows up in and is educated in, allowing for people who can have more than one native language because they grew up speaking, reading and writing more than 1.
[Edited at 2011-11-24 16:30 GMT]
As far as I'm concerned, this is the crux of the matter. If a client knowingly agrees to pay a translator for a translation into a non-native language, all well and good. However, a quick look around KudoZ (certainly in my pair, FR>EN) will turn up any number of translators who boldly proclaim that they are native speakers of English, yet even a cursory look at what is written on their profiles gives them away as not being native speakers. If such a person accepts paid work from a client on the understanding that they are translating into a native language when, in fact, that is not the case, that is called misrepresentation, which is defined as "An assertion or manifestation by words or conduct that is not in accord with the facts."
West's Encyclopedia of American Law (to quote but one source) has the following to say about misrepresentation:
"Misrepresentation is a tort, or a civil wrong. This means that a misrepresentation can create civil liability if it results in a pecuniary loss. For example, assume that a real estate speculator owns swampland but advertises it as valuable commercially zoned land. This is a misrepresentation. If someone buys the land relying on the speculator's statement that it is commercially valuable, the buyer may sue the speculator for monetary losses resulting from the purchase.
To create liability for the maker of the statement, a misrepresentation must be relied on by the listener or reader. Also, the speaker must know that the listener is relying on the factual correctness of the statement. Finally, the listener's reliance on the statement must have been reasonable and justified, and the misrepresentation must have resulted in a pecuniary loss to the listener.
A misrepresentation need not be intentionally false to create liability. A statement made with conscious ignorance or a reckless disregard for the truth can create liability. Nondisclosure of material or important facts by a fiduciary or an expert, such as a doctor, lawyer, or accountant, can result in liability. If the speaker is engaged in the business of selling products, any statement, no matter how innocent, may create liability if the statement concerns the character or quality of a product and the statement is not true. In such a case, the statement must be one of fact. This does not include so-called puffing, or the glowing opinions of a seller in the course of a sales pitch (such statements as "you'll love this car," or "it's a great deal").
A misrepresentation in a contract can give a party the right to rescind the contract. A Rescission of a contract returns the parties to the positions they held before the contract was made. A party can rescind a contract for misrepresentation only if the statement was material, or critical, to the agreement."
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Simon Bruni United Kingdom Local time: 22:53 Member (2009) Spanish to English
It's not as simple as that
Jan 5
Rob Grayson wrote:
If a client knowingly agrees to pay a translator for a translation into a non-native language, all well and good.
Most end-clients do not understand the implications of translating into one's second language. When I meet people and tell them what my profession is, most of the time they automatically assume I translate both ways. It's difficult for non-linguists to understand the implications and, as we have seen, even some linguists are in denial about them. I would argue then that it is our responsibility to explain the situation.
An easy way to do this is to point out how few famous authors there are who write or wrote in their second or third language. The same can be said of the translation industry - only a tiny minority of illustrious exceptions to this rule are able to produce native-standard prose in their second language.
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Rob Grayson United Kingdom Local time: 22:53 Partial member French to English
My bad – I meant agencies
Jan 5
Simon Bruni wrote:
Most end-clients do not understand the implications of translating into one's second language.
Simon, I completely agree. As I should have pointed out, I was really referring to agency clients.
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