| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Off topic: What is your most curious translation request? Thread poster: Ramon Somoza
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Mervyn Henderson (X) 
Spain
Local time: 10:59
Spanish to English
+ ...
I saw an ad in a newspaper in a certain Spanish city quite a few years ago, Erotic magazine needs translator. I rang them, before e-mails, this was, and they told me Well, we said erotic magazine in the ad because we wanted to be cool about it, but really it's quite shocking, so are you easily shocked? I said I wasn't, or didn't think I was, but they said again, whispering down the phone in fact: Really this stuff is quite hard-core, it's banned in some countries, you know. I said Look I can do ... See more I saw an ad in a newspaper in a certain Spanish city quite a few years ago, Erotic magazine needs translator. I rang them, before e-mails, this was, and they told me Well, we said erotic magazine in the ad because we wanted to be cool about it, but really it's quite shocking, so are you easily shocked? I said I wasn't, or didn't think I was, but they said again, whispering down the phone in fact: Really this stuff is quite hard-core, it's banned in some countries, you know. I said Look I can do it, I'm sure.
When I got to the office the editor, or whoever he was, was sitting there with a load of foot-fetish mags on his desk. He said Thanks for coming, but [again!!] really, I must tell you this stuff is very very very shocking indeed, definitely not for the faint-hearted, Margaret Thatcher banned this kind of thing, you understand. It's sado-masochism, the worst kind of S&M, actually, and what we want to do is publish in English for the German, Scandinavian and Dutch markets, since it can't go to the UK, and most people understand English in those countries, though not Spanish. So, he said, why don't you take this magazine home with you, take a look at it, and tell us if you'd like to translate this kind of stuff, or could.
So I did, and it was full of people tied to chairs and people dressed in black with whips, that sort of stuff. The text was hardly difficult from the point of view of terminology, since "handcuffs" was about as technical as it got, I needed the money so I rang them and said OK, I can do it. Never heard from them again. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jean-Pierre Bergez Saretzki (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:59
English to Spanish
I translated a set of recipes to get rid of a spell or to put one on somebody else. There were about 30 recipes and many of them were based on taking an animal’s part –the heart, a paw, the testis, etc.– and then cook them with some specific herbs, nuts or something else and finally bury the lot at a crossroads, your back garden, under the bed and do so while repeating a set of words. It was difficult because I had to research some names of African trees, plants and animals. And although i... See more I translated a set of recipes to get rid of a spell or to put one on somebody else. There were about 30 recipes and many of them were based on taking an animal’s part –the heart, a paw, the testis, etc.– and then cook them with some specific herbs, nuts or something else and finally bury the lot at a crossroads, your back garden, under the bed and do so while repeating a set of words. It was difficult because I had to research some names of African trees, plants and animals. And although it did not have any of the more gruesome remedies, such as taking an albino’s heart, leg or hand and eat it for good luck, or do the same with a child or, even, and infant, I had to ask the agency to make sure that the translation was NOT to be used in England and that my name was not be mentioned. Last thing I needed was the police calling at my door enquiring about some dog’s heart found in Hyde Park.
The second one was a letter written by the hospital representatives to the parents of young man who died in a car accident. The parents had donated his organs for transplants. The letter dealt with thanking them for the brave decision and explaining which organs had been removed and how many people had received a transplant. It was a combination of terrible sadness and comfort from my translator point of view, I cannot imagine what the parents felt when reading it. It was difficult because I did not want the letter to have any traces of being a translation, I wanted everything to be natural, easy to read and from the heart.
[Edited at 2008-10-06 09:18]
[Edited at 2008-10-06 09:19] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 10:59
English to German
| Retributive justice | Nov 13, 2008 |
I was asked once if I would mind translating an "unmet needs" survey about private lubricants instead of the usual IT marketing I get from that agency, or if I found that too embarassing - I replied that I would do it if I could send them a photo of my desk, unless they found that too embarassing (I run the local fancy-rat rescue, and they know I have rats right up to my keyboard ).
The most difficult thing was keep... See more I was asked once if I would mind translating an "unmet needs" survey about private lubricants instead of the usual IT marketing I get from that agency, or if I found that too embarassing - I replied that I would do it if I could send them a photo of my desk, unless they found that too embarassing (I run the local fancy-rat rescue, and they know I have rats right up to my keyboard).
The most difficult thing was keeping the text free from IT jargon, I'm just so steeped in it. ▲ Collapse
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