| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Do you ever have difficulty letting go of your translation "babies"? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
Fiamma Lolli
Italy
Local time: 02:33
Spanish to Italian
+ ...
| I am flabbergasted! | Feb 4, 2008 |
What Danae wrote left me almost breathless:
Danae Ferri wrote:
Yes. Last time it happened was with the translation of the novel of an Argentinian writer. I worked on it for a long time: first I translated it and then I kept on editing and re-editing it. I really loved the original and respected the hard work the writer had done and didn't want anybody else -like the editor of the publishing house- to "touch" my translation. When I finally gave it to the publishing house, I really felt like loosing something I hearted. This feeling was stronger than the sense of accomplishment. I know that this might be slightly pathological, but that's how I felt...
Absolutely the same thing happened to me with another Argentinian book, Le Reaparecide (http://www.stampalternativa.it/libri.php?id=88-7226-867-2).
I do not think it is pathological. I will always remember what once I heard Jerzy Grotowski saying:
"Pathological means that your discourse is organized around pain. If it is, then is pathological, but if it is organized around hope, then it is not."
All my work (and I, as Danae did, worked on this book for months and months, translating, retranslating, editing, re-editing and finally proofreading it twice) was organized around the hope to give some justice, and the right to be NEVER FORGOTTEN, to the desaparecidos - the vanished ones.
Therefore no, Danae, I do not think is pathological. Is... elpislogical? I mean, its logos was around hope (I think is elpis in greek, sorry if I am wrong).
Sometimes a book is like a child: you know you have to let it go but you're kind of afraid of the world outside. Will it love it like you did?
May be not. But your task is done and it is time to turn page.
With courage, strenght, pain and joy.
Four indissoluble feelings.
| | | | | dont´t understand question | Feb 5, 2008 |
Please clarify, what is a "translation baby"??? (a client, a beginner whom you´ve taught how to translate, a good translation of a difficult term or expression, a recent translation of a text ???????????)
?????
Thomas
| | | | lillkakan
Local time: 02:33
English to Swedish
| "Baby" = translation (product) | Feb 5, 2008 |
Thomas Johansson wrote:
Please clarify, what is a "translation baby"??? (a client, a beginner whom you´ve taught how to translate, a good translation of a difficult term or expression, a recent translation of a text ???????????)
?????
Thomas
I interpret it ("baby") to be a translation you have worked on e.g. very dedicatedly, for a long time, or put a lot of time (and emotion?) into. It has become your "baby" and the question asker wants to find out if you find it hard to let go of it (=deliver, be finished).
Personally, I have yet to be assigned a translation with which I would develop such a "relationship". I suspect it's more common the more creative the job is (literary translation, editorial recreation jobs etc).
| | | | | I simply mean the translations that you work on. | Feb 5, 2008 |
Thomas Johansson wrote:
Please clarify, what is a "translation baby"??? (a client, a beginner whom you´ve taught how to translate, a good translation of a difficult term or expression, a recent translation of a text ???????????)
?????
Thomas
What I mean to say with this question is that do you ever think of the translations you work on as a part of yourself, as if they were "childen you have raised " and when it is time to turn them over to the client or publisher, do you have difficulty letting someone else take over for you.
[Edited at 2008-02-05 06:40]
| | |
|
|
|
Jocelyne S 
France
Local time: 02:33
French to English
+ ...
Hilary Davies wrote:
Having answered a vehement "Never!" to the poll, as I really don't become attached to my translations, I have to admit that I feel very differently about things I write myself, from scratch. Then I really do feel very protective of them, and I hate them being edited!
I'm with Hilary - I find that it is infinitely more difficult to have someone edit my original work than my translations.
Even though I do a lot of editing (for translators and writers) as part of my business, I still occasionally take issue with editors working on my own writing.
I think that it boils down to the importance of building a trusting relationship between editors and writers/translators. It is much easier to accept constructive criticism from someone we work with regularly and trust than from some PM we’ve never met and whose talent (or lack thereof) is totally unknown to us.
Best,
Jocelyne
| | | | TextTrade
Local time: 03:33
English to French
+ ...
| oh yeah, it breaks my heart every time... | Feb 5, 2008 |
... especially when the source text is written by "samwan hoo spiks inclish" or "ki pahrl fransé", but the outsourcer is reluctant to pick a translator who's not a native speaker of the target language. so I really feel like crying every single time I deliver on time - the only thing that comforts me is the sound of cha-ching. but I'm just a technical translator. perhaps if the clients were old will or sir geoffrey, I'd feel like explaining them "l'mal que m'a coûté / la dernière pelletée".... See more ... especially when the source text is written by "samwan hoo spiks inclish" or "ki pahrl fransé", but the outsourcer is reluctant to pick a translator who's not a native speaker of the target language. so I really feel like crying every single time I deliver on time - the only thing that comforts me is the sound of cha-ching. but I'm just a technical translator. perhaps if the clients were old will or sir geoffrey, I'd feel like explaining them "l'mal que m'a coûté / la dernière pelletée". j'suis un pauvre fossoyeur. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Not particularly | Feb 5, 2008 |
... a job is a job is a job But I was a technical/govt. translator so the prose was usually dry and straightforward.
[Edited at 2008-02-05 11:07]
| | | | Matt Stott
Spain
Local time: 02:33
Russian to English
+ ...
| Substance over style | Feb 5, 2008 |
Nils Enkvist, the stylolinguist, wrote that one should not even think of the style but on writing properly and expressing the substance best for the target readership. That way, he said, the style shall emerge on its own and be far better than anything one could strive to bring about deliberately. I agree.
To illustrate, I wrote a novel that after a long time I finished last September... See more Nils Enkvist, the stylolinguist, wrote that one should not even think of the style but on writing properly and expressing the substance best for the target readership. That way, he said, the style shall emerge on its own and be far better than anything one could strive to bring about deliberately. I agree.
To illustrate, I wrote a novel that after a long time I finished last September (at www.aequilibrio.eu). I became so obsessed with it that I ended up turning down work and even told my main client I couldn’t work for them for a month. At the end of the month I became very ill from the effort, fatigued with the worst sore throat of my life and unappealing and irritating skin rashes, but after working on it for so long — a little like any text I suppose — the “babies” just didn’t seem important compared with the story itself.
I would not like to become so ill again but I can say that if I had focused on it sounding good or having neat phrases, rather than the story, I would probably never have finished it. Despite the side effects, furthermore, writing it was one of the best experiences of my life and so, no, the babies in a text are not important at all compared with the bigger picture.
[Edited at 2008-02-05 12:58] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2] | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Do you ever have difficulty letting go of your translation "babies"? | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
| | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
