| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: In your experience, do most non-translators regard translation as an easy task? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "In your experience, do most non-translators regard translation as an easy task?".
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| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 22:19
English to French
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Some do, some do not
People who are demanding with themselves and precise with words know how difficult it can be to convey the ideas/thoughts of someone else.
More careless people (who very often have trouble expressing themselves clearly) tend to think everybody else can read their mind and has to fit into their pattern of thought.
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Interlangue wrote: Some do, some do not
I agree with Interlangue. I meet people who seem to assume that, because I speak both languages fluently, translating would not be a problem. I meet others who show huge respect because they think it is an extremely difficult task.
The reality, for me, is probably somewhere between these two attitudes!
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 22:19
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Both opinions are present | Mar 17, 2012 |
Catherine Knight wrote: Interlangue wrote: Some do, some do not I agree with Interlangue. I meet people who seem to assume that, because I speak both languages fluently, translating would not be a problem. I meet others who show huge respect because they think it is an extremely difficult task. The reality, for me, is probably somewhere between these two attitudes!
I agree with Interlangue and Catherine. Some people believe that fluency in any two languages (or more) automatically qualifies the speaker for translations - which are conceived as an easy job.
Others know that it takes more than just fluency in two or more languages to be a quality-orientated translator. These people seem to know that there is hardly anyone on this planet who knows every single word and its meaning in their native language, let alone in their second language, simply because nobody is savy in every existing field.
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Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:19
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
I can only speak from my own experience. I translate from Russian into English, and most people assume that because Russian is written in a different alphabet it must be a very difficult language to translate. Like the report of Mark Twain's death, this is an exaggeration. The alphabet only took me about a week to master at the very beginning of learning Russian.
| | | | Simon Bruni
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:19
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
| Perhaps not "most" | Mar 17, 2012 |
But some. Translation certainly doesn't have the status it deserves. I think many people see it as a job that students or housewives/husbands who speak a foreign language do to earn some pocket money.
More than once I have been asked "so you can actually make a living from that can you?"
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:19
Spanish to English
+ ...
As I posted earlier today in another context, I think "sweeping generalisations are best avoided".
Some do, some don't, and others don't know or care. The danger from my point of view is when non-translators think that "anyone can do it, especially with Google etc..." and the rest ¡s history...
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:19
Spanish to English
+ ...
Jack Doughty wrote:
I can only speak from my own experience. I translate from Russian into English, and most people assume that because Russian is written in a different alphabet it must be a very difficult language to translate. Like the report of Mark Twain's death, this is an exaggeration. The alphabet only took me about a week to master at the very beginning of learning Russian.
Once you get the alphabet under your belt, you have to deal with all the verbs of motion and the case system etc... so I think the grammar is pretty hard for English speakers to master, although the spoken language is not any more difficult than most European languages. I personally find Hungarian or Finnish more impenetrable.
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| some, perhaps | Mar 17, 2012 |
but not everyone. I think it's one of those things people think anyone can do if they know two languages. I do a lot of editing and I can tell you, that is not the case. yikes.
I was also a journalist for years and writing is another one of those 'anyone can do that' skills. Some people believe they can write, and we have all seen plenty of proof of that misconception: blogs, websites, etc.
I am now editing a translation done by someone who was not a translator, but an inhouse... See more but not everyone. I think it's one of those things people think anyone can do if they know two languages. I do a lot of editing and I can tell you, that is not the case. yikes.
I was also a journalist for years and writing is another one of those 'anyone can do that' skills. Some people believe they can write, and we have all seen plenty of proof of that misconception: blogs, websites, etc.
I am now editing a translation done by someone who was not a translator, but an inhouse employee. I have seen worse but it is requiring more than just proofreading. Some do believe anyone can do it, until they try it themselves! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Isabelle F. BRUCHER (X)
Belgium
Local time: 22:19
English to French
+ ...
| It depends if they have to pay for it, | Mar 17, 2012 |
then all of a sudden they assume it's "easy" - a typist's job, in other words, or just about... Bad faith has a lot to do with it, once they have to reach for their wallet (or rather, their coin purse...), it seems... My impression, at least... I have oftened wondered if it is was just plain ignorance or bad faith - or a bit of both...
[Edited at 2012-03-17 12:59 GMT]
| | | | Amy Duncan (X)
Brazil
Local time: 17:19
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Most people I know (who are not involved in translating) think it's very difficult.
| | | | DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
Most people I know and met strongly (mis)believe that translation is something very easy and formal and automatically implied when one even started learning some foreign language: ain't it far too easy to google-translate and pick terms?! Money for nothing!
Earlier I used to object or tried to explain it, but now I just smile and nod, 'Indeed! How true! Please, don't belittle--it's just nothing at all...' and so on. Yet a few times I did take my vengeance on some of them when they a... See more Most people I know and met strongly (mis)believe that translation is something very easy and formal and automatically implied when one even started learning some foreign language: ain't it far too easy to google-translate and pick terms?! Money for nothing!
Earlier I used to object or tried to explain it, but now I just smile and nod, 'Indeed! How true! Please, don't belittle--it's just nothing at all...' and so on. Yet a few times I did take my vengeance on some of them when they asked to translate this or thatm 'You don't say so! Just use google and pick terms--priceless!' ▲ Collapse
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| definitely YES | Mar 17, 2012 |
question is MOST non-translators, well it seems that because you know more than one language "what is the real effort?" it sounds like a hobby, and everybody thinks you translate novels.
I have also met clients with this idea, and my answer was: "you're right, it's very easy, so ask your assistant to do it, she studied English at school, you do not need to waste your money with a professional translator".
| | | | R. Alex Jenkins
Brazil
Local time: 17:19
Member (2006)
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| My instinctive reaction was 'Yes'. | Mar 17, 2012 |
...but that's only the way non-translators perceive translation work on the surface, a bit like an accountant's job being 'nothing more than adding up a few numbers'.
Practical experience tells us otherwise.
[Edited at 2012-03-17 14:49 GMT]
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 21:19
| The most dangerous do. | Mar 17, 2012 |
Catherine Knight wrote: Interlangue wrote: Some do, some do not I agree with Interlangue. I meet people who seem to assume that, because I speak both languages fluently, translating would not be a problem. I meet others who show huge respect because they think it is an extremely difficult task. The reality, for me, is probably somewhere between these two attitudes!
It is pretty much a 50:50 split. Some people have a total lack of interest in what translation (or anything remotely close to a desk) entails and I doubt they ever even think about its possible degree of difficulty. Others' minds boggle at the mere fact that one "knows" another language. Some do have respect for translation as a profession and freely admit they could not submit themselves to the rigorous discipline involved. Their geuine interest is gratifying at times.
The most dangerous people are those who show frequent disregard for linguistic precision in their mother tongue and - based on how "easy" it is to communicate in their mother tongue - decide that translation into English has to be equally easy. These are the people who perform translations for free when they should stick to their normal administrative jobs; these are the people whose translations cast professional translators in a poor light. In my experience, these are also the people who have the most to say on the subject in pubs and cafés. Fortunately for me, I am usually too busy to be in these places for long enough to get involved in these discussions!
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