Student Companion Web Site:
Manual of Spanish-English Translation
Ch. 1
A useful metaphor for language use and translation
“…using language is not similar to drawing a detailed map in which each object is
represented in one particular way and each point and line correspond to given objects;
rather, it is like using a set of road signs to point toward a destination. It is up to the
Receiver to reach that particular destination by interpreting the signs. Each language and
its associated culture can be likened to a set of available road signs. When producing
speech or text, Senders use the signs available in the source language and place them
along the roads on a particular route. Translators use signs available in the target
language and place them along the same roads. Their main task is to lead the Receivers to
the same destination as the Senders….” (Gile, Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter
and Translator Training, 71)
Translation warm-up: Schäffner (2004, 115, following Hönig and Kussmaul 1991, 1516) designed this task for new translation students. Reply “true”, “not true”, or “don’t
know”. (You may also use “not necessarily” or “depends”). The questions are reproduced
verbatim below; your class may hold a debate as a follow-up activity:
(1) If we do not know the readership for a text, we cannot translate it.
(2) If it is obvious that a text is a translation, then it is a bad translation.
(3) Translating a scientific or technical text is more difficult than translating
general or everyday texts, because scientific or technical texts contain many
more unfamiliar words.
(4) It is always riskier to do a free than a literal translation because translating
freely can easily lead you away from the proper meaning of a word.
(5) Translators need a bilingual dictionary because it tells them which words to
use in the text and where to use it.
(6) It cannot be the task of the translator to make a translated text easier to
understand for the readers than the original text is for its readers.
(7) Ideally, a back translation will reproduce the original text.
(8) In every language there are some words which are untranslatable.
(9) Even if two experienced translators translate one and the same text, their
translations will be different. This shows that subjectivity and individual taste
play such an important role in translating that it is probably not possible to
explain the phenomenon on the basis of an objective model.
(10) The source text is the yardstick by which the quality of a translation is
measured.
Appendices
Student Companion Web Site
Manual of Spanish-English Translation, 6/18/09
Appendix A
_________________________________________________________________
Translation-Related Organizations
American Translators Association (ATA)
http://www.atanet.org/
ATA Spanish Language Division
http://www.ata-spd.org/
American Literary Translators Association (ALTA)
http://www.literarytranslators.org/
National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT)
http://www.najit.org/
International Federation of Translators (IFT, FIT)
http://www.fit-ift.org/en/news-en.php
The Translators and Interpreters Guild (TTIG)
http://www.ttig.org/
ProZ (Translators and Translator's Resources)
http://www.proz.com/
Translator's Cafe
http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/default.asp
Traductores Sin Fronteras
http://www.traductoressinfronteras.net/
PEN American Center
http://www.pen.org/
NOTIS Directory of Local, National and International Translator Organizations
http://www.notisnet.org/links/orgs.html#United%20States%20-%20National
Appendix B
_________________________________________________________________
Useful Resources
Real Academia Española Diccionario de la Lengua Española
www.rae.es.
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American Heritage Dictionary Online
http://www.bartleby.com/61/
Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online
http://www.m-w.com/
UNESCO Thesaurus and Glossary Database
http://databases.unesco.org/thesaurus/other.html
LANTRA-L Translators and Interpreters Language Listserv
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7110/lantra.htm
GlossPost Listserv of industry-specific glossary links for translators and interpreters
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/GlossPost/
The University of Wales Swansea Translation Links Page
http://www.swan.ac.uk/sel/tranlink.htm
Organization of American States
http://www.oas.org/main/english/
Conference/Events Diary for the Translation Scholar
http://www.monabaker.com/tsresources/cediarychronological.htm
The Translator's Home Companion
http://www.lai.com/lai/companion.html
Center for the Art of Translation
http://www.catranslation.org/
InTrans Book Service
http://intransbooks.com/
Schoenhof's Foreign Books
http://www.schoenhofs.com/
Fetchbook—New & Used Books Price Comparison
http://www.fetchbook.info/
Torre de Papel Publishing House and Translation Company
http://www.torredepapel.com.ar/
Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. Ed. Mona Baker. New York: Routledge,
2001. Much of this book's content can be found online, free, at: books.google.com.
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The Alternative Mexican Spanish Dictionary
http://www.notam02.no/~hcholm/altlang/ht/Mexican_Spanish.html
Note: Appendices A and B were researched by Paul Gren.
Appendix C
_________________________________________________________________
Use the following job-related tasks as appropriate.
Translation Task: Job Advertisement Analysis
Task: Go online and research current ads in the language industry (including EC job
profiles, international language service providers , and non-profit opportunities). Here are
some sites to start you out:








http://www.proz.com: translation job listing and exchange service
www.aquarius.net: job posting site
tr_jobs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tr_jobs/
Jobs For Translators Mailing List: http://www.jobsfortranslators.com/
Jobs-Translators Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jobs-translators/
LANTRA-L Mailing List: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7110/lantra.htm
sci.lang.translation.marketplace:
http://www.news2mail.com/sci/lang/translation/marketplace.html
www.dice.com (Techjobs, including jobs requiring language skills and localization
skills)
Consider also www.TranslationDirectory.com and www.elance.com.
Take detailed notes about common, "most wanted" features in a translator, localizer, or
project manager. What are the most desirable traits mentioned? The typical requisite
experience sought?
Now take stock: What would you most like to gain or improve between now and when
you go on the market? Identify ways that you can get that experience or refine your skills
(hints: Does the regional division of the ATA nearest you offer technical workshops?
Have you sought out internships? Have you approached working translators to ask about
opportunities or collaborations in the area? Have you considered ways to improve your
business and bookkeeping skills? Have you looked into investing in business cards, a fax
machine, a homepage or at least website creation software, or a business name? Does
your school, adviser, or career placement center refer appropriate translation "odd jobs"
to student translators? Have you looked into NGOs, relief agencies, migrant centers, and
non-profit organizations in need of volunteer translators? Have you considered a Masters
program or other continuing education in translation?)
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Draw up an ideal description of what you would like to be doing as your first in-house
translation job. Do the same for a free-lance project: What would the ideal domain,
conditions, and pay be? (within reason: remember to set your expectations on realistic,
achievable goals). See the ATA website for salary poll information.
Survey agencies, making a chart of those you find to have most affinity with your
domains of interest. Survey freelancers. What are the marketing strategies they use?
Make a list of these; rank them according to how effective these strategies seem. Can you
think of other ways that would work for you?
Your classmates can give you feedback by asking you questions about why a particular
position appeals to you, the advantages it has over other listings, or any other questions
they may have for you. Share with the class anything else you learn from your research
and compare impressions. What did you find most encouraging? What did you find most
intimidating? What hiring trends do you see? Does one’s geographical location seem to
matter as much as you thought it did before this exercise? Are you encouraged to learn
another language besides the ones in your combination?
Task (2): Write your CV (curriculum vitae) tailored to your first translation job. What
translation sample of yours would you most like to include? Optional 2: Write your
translation CV for a date ten years in the future. What would you like it to look like?
Write it, date it, and set it aside to look at in ten years' time. Optional 3: List all the
formatting changes necessary in a CV translation en>es.
Task (3) Your instructor may wish to lead a discussion comparing a well-written
translation CV and a poorly written one (examples pp. 20-1, Nov/Dec 2007 ATA
Chronicle)
Task (4): Write up 10 face-to-face interview questions that you would expect to be asked
for the job(s) you chose, and 5 you have for the interviewer.
In your pairs, role-play with your partner as the interviewer.
Task (5): Bring in to class at least three translation-related ads from a general job search
site such as www.careerbuilder.com/, www.monster.com, http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/, or
www.dice.com that most closely match what you would like to be doing in five years,
given your present interests and assuming a realistic timeline for acquiring the needed
competences for your goals. Approach this task as if it were really your preliminary factfinding stage of your future job search.
Task (6): Search a general job search site such as http://newyork.craigslist.org/ from the
point of view of a client or project initiator. Vet the translators on offer (service:
translation) as potential hires. About what percentage makes the grade? Can you devise a
foolproof “filter” for eliminating unprofessional translators from the pool of potentials?
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¿? Do you have versions of your CV in both English and Spanish? The time spent now
preparing them just might serve you well should you be asked for them on short notice.
Above all, don't despair at this exercise--all translators have to start somewhere.
Preparation is the key to avoiding amateurishness. Knowing what is prized in this field is
a good start toward getting the work you want, and toward keeping clients happy.
Judy Wakabayashi's list of links, in part reproduced above, is gratefully acknowledged.
Translation Tip: Languages on Your CV
When listing your languages on your CV, consider using the notations “native”, “nearnative”, “advanced”, “intermediate”, and “novice”. For languages you read only, rather
than speak, note the fact with “Reading knowledge” or “Some reading knowledge”.
Beware of overstating your level of proficiency—Americans tend to assume
fluency when really what they have is situational fluency (Hall’s term), familiarity with
the language in certain contexts. Don’t misrepresent your qualifications in any way on
your CV or supporting materials. If you are unsure of a credential or descriptor, ask a
mentor to advise you.
On the topic of how multilingual you are, it is far better for a translator to have
near-mastery of one foreign language than a smattering of two or three (or more). The
answer to “How many languages do you speak?” is not terribly informative if the depth
and breadth of those languages are not taken into account as well.
Translation Tip: Promoting Yourself
Translators may be the withdrawn, retiring sort in many cases, but professionally, they
can ill afford to be. Many translators’ gregarious side comes out at conferences or online,
and they are often eager to share their knowledge with beginners. You can learn from
them about how to attract work—ask them, and watch them. Whether online or in person,
translators must “work the room”. It is not too early to start thinking about some of the
tools one will need to compete:
business cards (even if they only include “student of translation” as your
credential)
your own web site
a profile posted on translation job search sites
a presence online—membership and participation in newsgroups
word of mouth
an up-to-date, professional CV
cover letters (customized for each potential agency or client)
translation samples (which you will accumulate)
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Do you know that old saying, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will make a beaten
path to your door”? Half true nowadays. You must focus also on the cheese. Without
marketing, no one will know you’re there.
Demand for Translators and Translator Training
Trends in demographics and industry point to a pressing need for translators and
translator training. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on the tremendous growth in
the field, from which follows a need for training at earlier stages of their careers if
students are to be prepared for the demands:
"Employment of interpreters and translators is projected to grow faster than the average
[21 to 35 percent] for all occupations over the 2002-12 period, reflecting growth in the
industries employing interpreters and translators. Higher demand for interpreters and
translators in recent years has resulted directly from the broadening of international ties
and the increase in foreign language speakers in the United States. Both of these trends
are expected to continue, contributing to relatively rapid growth in the number of jobs for
interpreters and translators. […] Job prospects for interpreters and translators vary by
specialty. In particular, there should be strong demand for specialists in localization,
driven by imports and exports, the expansion of the Internet, and demand in other
technical areas such as medicine or law. Rapid employment growth among interpreters
and translators in health services industries will be fueled by relatively recent guidelines
regarding compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which requires all healthcare
providers receiving Federal aid to provide language services to non-English speakers."
(emphasis mine; source: <http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos175.htm>, Accessed June 8, 2005)
You are also in an ideal language combination (Spanish > English, English > Spanish, or
conceivably, Spanish <> English), the prospects of which are getting better all the time.
Translation Tip: Small Jobs
In translation, the two-page assignment you do a professional job on today could lead to a
500-pp. job tomorrow—or better: a years-long, mutually profitable relationship with a
client. Small jobs are frequently the way clients minimize their risk when taking on new
talent. So treat whatever work comes your way with the utmost conscientiousness.
Don’t forget that translation can be something you do part-time or full-time. Some
translators have a successful career simultaneously as community interpreters (the
demanding but common “interpreter-translator” career path). Pursuing translating and
interpreting at the international organization level, however, is not feasible. Interpreters
and translators quite often are two distinct psychological “types”, and each with different
strengths. In most cases, you either become one or the other, not both at once, since each
profession is demanding, requiring exclusive focus and continuing education.
Also: Don’t neglect one domain of translation because you’re convinced it holds no place
in your future as a translator. Get the most out of each domain; you never know when you
may be called on to develop it quickly, or when the market may demand it.
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Tip: See NYU-SCPS’s panel of industry insiders discussing “The Business of
Translation”, on video at: http://www.scps.nyu.edu/areas-of-study/foreignlanguages/continuing-education/multimedia.html
Taking Stock of Your Informants
Reflect on who you know personally who is a native speaker of the “opposite” language
in your language pair (i.e., someone whose A language is Spanish if yours is English, or
whose A language is English if yours is Spanish). Include professors—current and
former, friends and classmates, relations, professional contacts. Include those you know
as “keypals” or penpals—long-distance acquaintances. List them here:
Name
Translation domain(s) in which
informant is potentially useful
Now, contact each of your informants and ask what contacts they have. Perhaps an
informant’s relative works in horticulture, for example. List these people above. (Listing
them does not commit anyone; this exercise is simply to show you how your circle of
contacts can reach further than you think.)
Now evaluate online newsgroups in domains of your interest. List three domains you
would like to work in: _______________________________________ ,
_________________________________________, and __________________________.
Give three web addresses of translation lists that are dedicated to each domain:
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Domain
List or Group Name
Web Address
#1
#2
#3
Now find an online bilingual glossary that potentially could be of use for each of the
three domains:
Glossary Type
Web Address
#1
#2
#3
Now reflect on your lists. They should give you a clearer sense of where you stand in
terms of some of your documentation. What domains do you have “covered”, at least
potentially? Do you have other potential assets in your stated domains, apart from
informants, newslists and glossaries?
Would you like to expand your informant list? Brainstorm ways to do this (consider, for
example, organizations in your department and campus community. Have you thought of
forming a translation club? Are you involved with your chapter of a Hispanic or Latino
student association or the like? International student unions? Have you thought of a
semester or summer abroad? Working abroad? Posting a “situation wanted” ad for a
language exchange as a way to expand your pool of contacts? What can you do to
heighten your profile online?)
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Research: Look into voice-over-Internet protocols as a means of communicating with
informants and colleagues. Describe the logistics of setting this up, and how informationseeking is currently carried out via this mode of communication.
At What Rate Are Translators Paid?
To the instructor: Students naturally are interested in this issue; a few will press you for a
hard figure. You may direct them to ATA surveys of average translator salaries. For
further reading, see Chapter 8 in Gouadec, which addresses rates and invoices.
Possible discussion topics in addition to those addressed in the Manual: how the bidding
process works; the practice of underbidding or lowballing; translators and taxes;
overhead; estimating word counts; programs for determining accurate word counts;
minimum fees; deadlines; typical payment discrepancies; unreliable payers; factors that
lead to different per-word prices from country to country; translation as an income
supplement vs. translation as a full-time career; negotiating and client relations; the costs
and benefits of joining translator organizations; and the perennial topic, breaking in.
Sound business principles that are applicable to translation--and most of them are--will
enhance these discussions.
Remember that your own translation experiences will be of great interest to your
students; draw on them frequently, and share candidly, including "learning experiences"
that didn't work out as you'd planned.
Tip: Successful translators must be successful business people. And arguably, the better
business is, the more opportunities to be a better translator present themselves.
Tip (2): Debate the pros and cons of job sites employing systems that award translation
contracts to the lowest bidder.
Tip (3): Tour http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/CommunityRates.asp, where the
baseline rates for different language combinations are surveyed.
Translators may be paid according to a number of measures:
--by the character or keystroke
--by the word (source or target; ‘¢x / per word’ or ‘$x / per 1000 words [for books])
--by the line
--by the page (source or target)
--by the job
--by the hour
--by the contract (“on retainer” or in-house)
Sophisticated electronic counters of words and characters exist—the type of software to
be used for counting, and your agreed-upon amount per unit, should be determined in
advance. Often these variables are negotiable, and you will be asked as a matter of course
what your pay schedule is. (Avoid misunderstandings: Many clients are used to rates
based on the number of source words, not target words.) That is not to say your rates will
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be accepted—some clients defend this bottom line tenaciously; others, relatively less so.
Occasionally you will be told categorically, particularly by a client quite used to working
with translators, what their pay rate is.
Discuss the pros and cons of each rate of payment. For some types of work, such as
editing, what pay rate makes the most sense to you?
Pricing
Don’t price yourself too high or too low when starting out. Too high, and you’ll lose
work; too low, and you’ll lose (self-)respect. (You can study going rates online at several
sites where such surveys are conducted.)
Communicate unequivocally about your rates; don’t be bashful—it’s business.
If you are offering a ‘get-acquainted rate’, be sure you make it clear that your regular
rates would apply for any subsequent jobs. Don’t be full of surprises.
Frequently asked question: Do some translators “pad” their translations with extra words
so they are paid more? Of course they do. But obviously it’s not best practice--if clients
become wise to this, they will use very few words to show a translator, metaphorically
speaking, the door.
Ojo: Don’t approach clients in instrumental terms, thinking what you can “get out of
them”. Think in terms of offering value—strive to set yourself apart. Think: they need a
service, you provide a service. Try to make it so everyone wins. Getting a client once is
not terribly difficult—getting repeat clients takes people skills. Money, in the end, is not
necessarily the deal-breaker or deal-maker people think it is—people want to be treated
well. On sites where translators bid for work, the low bidder may take more jobs, but he
or she won’t necessarily keep more clients.
Contracts
Get the explicit go-ahead to start or a signed contract before proceeding with a
translation. Few sights are more agonizing than a translation you’ve just done that, you
discover, had not been given final authorization.
Follow-up: Analyze the content of the vendor contract at
http://www.cityofseattle.net/purchasing/VendorContracts/Docs/0000001325v2a1.doc
ISO 639:1988 Code for the Representation of Names of Languages
You will find languages listed on job sites with the following common
abbreviations in lower case:
ca—Catalan
de—German
en—English
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es—Spanish
fr—French
pt—Portuguese
zh—Chinese
Critiquing Job Seeking Posts
Critique these posts seeking work; think of ways the writers could improve their chances
of a positive contact:
1. hi! i love languages and i’m willing to do what it takes to brake in. i’m a people
person could anyone mentor me or do you have an internship in Xlation? thanks!
;) SpanishGrrl/09
2. Hello. I am seeking any and all work Eng and Spa though my languages are PorRom-Swe-Ger-Ita-Cat-Dut and Fre too. I can pretty much handle all text
typologies. Auf Wiederson, amigos!
3. My name is Hans. I will not work for under US$0.25 per target word or the
equivalent in Euros. My minimum is 30 pages, and only in the domain of satellite
tracking or perhaps aerospace if I decide your document meets my standards. I do
not work on short notice and do not bid blind for jobs.
Now compare this post below. Discuss what this poster does that sets him apart:
4. Seeking Technical es>en Translation Internship: I am a 22-year-old biochemistry
and Spanish double major graduating in May of this year from Respectable State
U., am available for immediate relocation, and am motivated to find an internship
that engages my technical skills and my desire to refine my competencies with
computer-assisted translation tools. I have limited but successful experience with
WordTagger and some corpus-building and terminology background (under
supervision). I am hard-working, and focused on becoming an in-house technical
translator and proof-reader at an established agency on the eastern seaboard.
Dossier including academic and professional references and translation sample
portfolio available. For contact information and content and syllabi samples from
my coursework, see my home page under construction at
www.josepreparado.com. Jose Preparado
Follow-up: In small groups, try to assess the hireability of the translators bidding on
http://www.translatorplanet.com/. Separate the professionals from the not-soprofessionals.
Design Your Own Business Card / Informal Interviews
Brainstorm some mock-ups of a business card you would use in gaining contacts in the
industry at a translation conference or similar event. Use graphics; you may use your own
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design. Choose a final version and finalize your text and images. Print at least 10 and
bring them to class.
Role-play a “meet and greet” job fair event in which you exchange business cards with
classmates and in 3-minute informal conversations briefly size one another up as
potential employers/employees. Role-players rotate at three minute intervals; each
student should get a chance to play both roles an equal number of times. The interviews
can be done while standing, as if at an event set up for such meetings. Prepare for your
roles as both agency owners and freelancers vying for translation work.
Afterward, the class will hold a secret vote on which student had the best presentation,
according to the most appealing, well-prepared, and professional card and informal
interview.
The Translation Exam (Sample Test)
Translation exams are recruitment and assessment tools that agencies (vendors)
send to prospective translators who initiate contact in search of work or, perhaps better, a
working relationship. The exams, or sample tests, are short paragraphs for translation,
roughly 300-500 words (unpaid), used to evaluate a translator’s general skills and
perhaps his or her suitability for particular jobs. The texts may be general, but more
likely, they will lie in the specialized area in which the agency does the most business or
for which they have ongoing need of linguists. The translator candidate may be asked to
edit a faulty translation as well. As part of the qualifications requested, you are usually
asked for a translation sample from those you have done in the past. (In the interest of
confidentiality, identifying and proprietary information should be blackened out for all
these materials, but regrettably they are often not—birth certificates with National
Identification Numbers are other sensitive legal documents are routinely sent out without
a second thought.) You may be administered the exam regardless of your certification
status or prior experience; accept that each new client will want to get to know you (and
you them). In no case should a translator assume that he or she is above doing these
tests. On the contrary, a qualified candidate should be glad to prove that he or she is a
good “fit” for an agency. Re-qualification is a fact of our business. Some translators are
unhappy having to do them, but this may stem in part from not knowing the purpose of
the text, or its wider context, which can be disengaging, and still others are suspicious of
what use will be made of them. (Stories circulate that unscrupulous agencies have used
them to complete a job free of translation costs.) You will almost never be told why the
particular text or texts were chosen. But the hardest part of sample tests for some
professionals may be this: They do not guarantee that you will be offered work—you
may or may not be given feedback, and you may hear back in days, months, or never.
Many sample tests pay off, however, and few would argue against being open to them
when breaking in to the business.
Your instructor may bring in a sample test from an agency (preferably one that they have
rotated out or have given permission to use in the classroom) for you to get an idea of the
level. Increasingly, agencies send a flawed target text and task the applicant with editing
it as a portion of the exam.
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Translation Tip: The Qualification Process
Freelancers usually follow a qualification process similar to the one outlined here in
detail: http://partners.lionbridge.com/Qualification_Process.asp
This page covers recruitment (i.e., where the agency will look for you), qualification, the
translation test, and the process of Business Review (performance evaluation).
Translation Tip: Try Non-Profits
If you are interested in non-profit translation work--one way some translators break in
and get experience--try www.idealist.org, the web site of Action Without Borders. Enter,
for example, the keyword "translation" or "Spanish". Non-profits can offer exposure to
certain text types, and are a way to help others through translation. The site lists jobs,
internships, and volunteer opportunities.
You'll notice, too, that the Web site has been localized (French/Spanish).
The term humanitarian translation is catching on; it’s used to refer to language services
provided for relief efforts, whether donated or for a fee.
Follow-up discussion: Does the translator have a social responsibility? If so, in what
way or ways? Are there multiple ways of meeting (or not meeting) this responsibility?
Optional: Start a blog (for the class’s viewing only) called Rate My Local Translation
Agency, which will critique translation agency websites from your city (or nearest city).
Use a forum so the class can collaborate. Consider using a rating system.
ATA Certification
The ATA exam is a relatively long way off for the novice translator, but it is a good idea
to be aware of it from the outset, since to many it is an objective measure of competence.
Some facts and observations on the American Translators Association accreditation exam
(facts compiled from Novas Van Vranken, Bohannon and Hanlen, 3-12):
1. ATA certification (formerly accreditation) is awarded for passing an open-book exam
in one direction of a specific language pair. (Dictionaries are permitted but no electronic
resources are allowed). One is only certified in the direction for which the exam is
testing; for example, spa>en.
2. One must be an ATA member to take the exam, as well as proof of education and work
experience.
3. The examinee translates two passages, 225-275 words each, of typical difficulty for a
professional translator. One passage is general (expository or journalistic); the candidate
chooses between two passages in science/technology/medicine and law/business/finance.
Time limit is 3 hours.
4. a. Grading: error points are subtracted based on the seriousness of errors (1, 2, 4, 8 or
16 points apiece), with a maximum of three “quality points” awarded per passage for
individual particularly skillful solutions. 18 or more points is failing. Exams are each
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scored by two graders. You are not given feedback if you pass; if you fail, the review
process (for a fee) gives you access to your marked errors.
b. Categories of errors: Incomplete passage, illegible, misunderstanding of original text,
mistranslation into target language, addition or omission, terminology or word choice,
register, too freely translated, too literal (word-for-word translation), false cognate,
indecision—gave more than one option, inconsistency (same term translated differently),
ambiguity (meaning is clear in the source but ambiguous in the target), grammar, syntax,
punctuation, spelling, accents and other diacritical marks, case (upper/lower), word form,
usage, style.
5. ATA accreditation is not a lifelong credential—it must be maintained by continued
membership in ATA and supplemented with 20 credits of continuing education credits
every three years; these may be earned in various ways (see below).
In summary, as of January 1, 2004, new candidates and accredited members alike are
held to the following requirements:
To be eligible for the accreditation (certification) test, candidates will
have to: a) demonstrate past experience as translators and/or postsecondary education, and b) sign a statement that they have read and
understand ATA’s Code of Professional Conduct and Business
Practices, and that they pledge to abide by it. To fulfill the requirements
for continuing education, within the first three-year period after
accreditation (certification) holders will need to complete an ethics
workshop or course. During that same three-year period, and over
successive three-year-periods, they will need to complete at least 20
hours of continuing education credits through coursework, seminars,
conferences, and other activities as evidence of involvement in translation
and/or interpreting. (“International Certification Study: ATA’s
Credential”, Jiri Stejskal, The ATA Chronicle, July 2003, p. 15)
Observations:
Many clients and people outside the field recognize the ATA certification standard.
Translators with this credential invariably list it under their names to attract work. It is
not, however, the only path to becoming an established translator.
Translators not very far along in their careers have passed it, while highly distinguished
translators have failed it. As with all exams, test-taking skills are being tested along with
competence.
Intermediate and advanced translators-in-training tend to become uneasy about this exam
long before even entering the market; there is no rule of thumb on how much experience
one should have before taking it, but if you are deeply anxious about taking it, you
probably are not ready yet. Take it when your chances are at least reasonable; experience
alone can tell you when that is.
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A candidate, theoretically, can translate brilliantly but make eighteen minor punctuation
errors, and thus, fail. A candidate can, theoretically, make a major 16-point meaning error
and pass.
Issues: Some have questioned the assessment methods of the exam itself, which involves
subtracting points from an ideal final product, an approach, like Western medicine, that
attacks “what’s wrong” instead of seeing parts and processes interdependently and
holistically; moreover, the very conception of a translation error is challenged or more
nuanced in some circles. These arguments are worth consideration. Observers have also
noted that the exam does not reproduce “real-life” conditions, in that one is confined to a
room, artificially incommunicado except for print resources, and without electronic tools.
(For security and logistical reasons, the present conditions are necessary.) Finally, a
perennial objection is voiced that the exams are graded subjectively. (Since the exams are
graded anonymously, and the examiners are themselves qualified translators and graders,
it may be hard to make the argument that they are any more—or less--biased than an
actual stakeholder, say, a client, would be. Graders should be assumed to represent
intelligent readers. Remember that language is not a bar-code algorithm that one decodes
in inescapably predictable ways. Readers aren’t robots. At least, not at this writing.)
You can warm up and develop strategies for the exam by taking a graded practice test
($40 fee). See the ATA web site, and be aware that prices quoted here are subject to
change.
A description of point deductions (0-16) based on type and severity of translation errors
may be found in Michael Scott Doyle’s article at:
http://www.languages.uncc.edu/doyle%5CDoyle%20Translation%20Pedagogy.pdf
A flowchart is available also in selected ATA publications.
Sample Job Post with Sample Text (Aquarius.Net)
Go to the aquarius.net, a virtual translation marketplace based in Amsterdam:
(http://www.aquarius.net/). Register (it’s free). You are likely to find information in the
“jobs” link along the lines of the following template:
[Domain and text type of project-general description]
Posted by:
(name)
[Number of] reviews. Average rating: [1-10]
Posted:
[date and time]
Project viewed:
[number] times
Language pairs:
English (All variants)-Spanish (All variants)
Expertise:
[text type, specialized domain]
Volume:
[number] lines, pages, hours, etc. [or “ongoing”]
Description: [e.g.:] We are seeking highly qualified translators specializing in
[domain]. Website texts (in [x format] and software localizers using [x tools]). etc.
Sample text: [lines from source text]
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Quote on this project
Unit rate (lines)
Project rate
Motivation. Why should the poster choose you?
Max 255 characters
Submit quote
Now find a project that interests you. Fill out the quote section above for this job, and
translate the sample text. Solicit feedback from your group on your quote and translation.
After integrating their feedback, meet with your instructor to discuss; after your revision,
he or she may wish to have you deliver this task for credit, even as part of the final
portfolio of your work. Variation: A lead member of a group can act as project initiator,
and other group members can bid; the lead member chooses the most appealing bid and
translation sample. Or the entire class can bid on the same job, and all class members can
vote for their top choice.
Follow-up: A freelance job may be solicited from an agency that knows you or to which
you have been referred. Usually it pays to monitor your email closely, as jobs can get
reassigned to another vendor in a matter of hours if you aren’t available. Here is a sample
offer:
“I have a Brazilian Portuguese>US English translation project of sales/accounting matter
and strings laid out in .xls files. (The files total almost 7000 words.) If you’re available,
the translation needs to start tomorrow and finish by the end of the day Thursday. Our
rate is x per word.”
Follow-up (2): Log on to www.dice.com, www.jobopenings.net (>“Translators and
Language Jobs”) or elsewhere, search for jobs in translation or project management, and
pick the job best suited to your current skills.
Follow-up: Read the comprehensive article on freelancing at
www.atanet.org/chronicle/feature-article-january2006.php
Ch. 2
6 Common Errors of the Novice Translator
1 -- Forsaking the mot juste (exact word) for a pleasant-sounding one, more apparently
learned one, or more dazzling one that causes distortion.
2 -- Sometimes as a corollary of #1, lacking the discipline to find the proper register, tone
or even meaning for a word or phrase.
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3 -- Partially understanding the work being translated, glossing over the most
troublesome parts without scrutiny; often novice translators will "bury" their misreadings
in such a way that they--dangerously--go undetected.
4 -- Translating words vs. translating ideas (this sometimes as a corollary of #3).
Seemingly a case of misplaced fidelity, it in fact often stems from failure to recast
sentences or fully process meaning.
5 -- Settling for unnatural collocations or constructions, which produce an unpolished or
unfinished final version.
6 -- Leaving unchallenged one’s first reading of a word, phrase, passage or entire text; in
other words, delivering a text before running "diagnostic checks" for potential problems.
These are general errors, and are treated here as errors in that they are decision-based, be
it with respect to procedure (choice) or quality control (thoroughness, consistency, and
accuracy of procedure).
A note on self-referential texts: Lest the self-translated text seem to you a fanciful
abstraction, consider this actual translation from an international applicant’s file:
“The attached document, presented to the Translation Office,
School of Modern Languages, U. of ___________________,
to be translated into English, reads exactly as follows”
Two misstatements of fact occur here: it already is translated, since we’re reading the
translation, and the attached document referred to does not really read ‘as follows’, since
it’s in Spanish!
Augmentatives: On the NAJIT court interpreter list, one poster queried how the headline
“Cocazo!” could be translated; it refers to a seized ton or more of cocaine. Try this one on
students, varying the type of publication the headline would appear in (New York Post,
etc.).
More about using dictionaries
Specific features of bilingual dictionaries that are good to be aware of include:
field labels: italicized, parenthetical indicators of semantic fields—e.g. "(Geol)" if the
word is used in that subject area. (More on semantic fields in Chapter 3.)
cross references: denoted by the symbol "="; an indication to see another entry, to note
alternate spellings, or to note usage in another geographical area (e.g. "rasar"= arrasar)
homographs: a word written the same but of a different part of speech and with a
different meaning. These are often given separate headwords (bold entries) marked with
superscripts (raised numbers); e.g. fuga1 nf escape; fuga2 nf (Mús) fugue
guidewords: words at the top of the dictionary page showing the alphabetical range of
words covered on that page
inflected forms: words with different syntactic functions made from the same base; e.g.,
comparatives and superlatives from adjectives, forms of the verb from an infinitive (run,
running for ran)
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Polysemy And Multilingual Virtual Libraries
Determine what the word “translation” means in each excerpt below from the LOGOS
multilingual virtual library, Wordtheque.
Context information for: translation
Match N. 1
Author: Twain Mark
Title: Life On The Mississippi
Source: http://www.selfknowledge.com/lmiss11.htm
Subject: Fiction (813)
... violent spasmodic jerkings of his head and body, for some little time. Finally,
explanation to the effect that spirits often forget dates, such things being without
importance to them.) Q. Then this one has actually forgotten the date of its translation to
the spirit land? This was granted to be the case. Q. This is very curious. Well, then, what
year was it? (More fumbling, jerking, idiotic spasms, on the part of the medium. Finally,
explanation to the effect that the
Match N. 4
Author: Cunninghame Graham Robert Bontine
Title: A Vanished Arcadia
Source: http://promo.net/pg/_authors/i-_graham_r_b_cunning
Subject: English Fiction (823)
... suspension from all his functions. This the Jesuit who translated the documents into
Spanish for the purpose of publication drew his attention to. However, Cardenas was not
a man to be intimidated by so small a matter, but read the translation to the people in the
Cathedral, and intimated to them that the Pope had given him unlimited power in
Paraguay, both in matters spiritual and temporal. Though Don Gregorio, the Governor,
was present at the ceremony, he made no protest
Match N. 5
Author: Freud Sigmund
Title: The Interpretation Of Dreams
Source: http://www.ul.cs.cmu.edu/books/FreudDream/interpre
Subject: Paranormal Phenomena & Arts (130)
... dream-symbolism, but also how in many cases it is imperatively forced upon one. At
the same time, I must expressly warn the investigator against overestimating the
importance of symbols in the interpretation of dreams, restricting the work of dreamtranslation to the translation of symbols, and neglecting the technique of utilizing the
associations of the dreamer. The two techniques of dream-interpretation must supplement
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one another; practically, however, as well as theoretically, precedence is retained by the
latter process, which
Match N. 27
Author: Hardy Thomas
Title: Jude The Obscure
Source: http://www.mk.net/~dt/Bibliomania/Fiction/hardy/Ju
Subject: English Fiction (823)
... who called Jude `Father,'' and Sue `Mother,'' and a hitch in a marriage ceremony
intended for quietness to be performed at a registrar's office, together with rumours of the
undefended cases in the law-courts, bore only one translation to plain minds. Little Time
- for though he was formally turned into `Jude,'' the apt nickname stuck to him - would
come home from school in the evening, and repeat inquiries and remarks that had been
made to him by
Match N. 65
Author: Dyer Frank Lewis - Commerford Martin Thomas
Title: Edison, His Life And Inventions
Source: http://promo.net/pg/_titles/i-_e1.html#edisonhisli
Subject: Miscellaneous Writings (818)
... is true that in an electric-lighting system there is also a fall or loss of electrical pressure
which occurs in overcoming the much greater resistance of the filament in an
incandescent lamp. In this case there is also a translation of the energy, but here it
accomplishes a USEFUL purpose, as the energy is converted into the form of light
through the incandescence of the filament. Such a conversion is called "work" as
distinguished from "drop," although a fall of
Note: “The Wordtheque is a powerful interface with a massive database (currently
707.737.941 words) containing multilingual novels, technical literature
and translated texts. Hits are highlighted in context windows that can be
expanded up or down. To go to the source web pages (novels, etc.) click
on the title - to run a dictionary search click on the highlighted word or
phrase.”
http://www.logosfreebooks.org/pls/wordtc/new_wordtheque.main?lang=e
n&source=search, Output is from English >word = “translation”.
Polysemy: Bilingual Word Search (ES>EN)
Find a conceivable translation (es>en) for each bold word in context. Find the English
vertically, horizontally, diagonally, backwards or forwards in the sopa de letras (word
search) and write in each solution on the proper line. Ojo: some false solutions have been
worked into the puzzle--be sure your solutions fit the context.
____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
1. En esta coyuntura, no tengo nada que comentar. __________________________
2. Esa canción fue el éxito del año.
__________________________
3. La oración es parte de muchas religiones.
__________________________
4. Las cimas de las olas se ponen blancas en alta mar.
____________________
5. El profesor es un pozo de ciencia.
__________________________
6. Se fue al monte a vivir de forma natural.
__________________________
7. Mi formación fue en informática.
__________________________
8. El diamante tiene una mancha nada pequeña.
__________________________
9. Hago encargos por la tarde.
__________________________
10. Ese cantante interpreta mal mi canción.
__________________________
Linguistic Note
Spanish/English Interjections, Onomatopoeias, Echoics And Phatics
¡Puah!/Puoj!
Yuck!/Ugh!
¡Fo!/Fuchi!
Blech!/Pew!
¡Ñam, ñam, ñam!
Yum, yum, yum (sound of contented eating)
¡Puf!
Phew!
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¡Hala!
¡Eh!
¡Uf!/ ¡Ay!
¡Chas!
¡Clac!
¡Talán talán!
¡Tan tan!
¡Bú!
¡Uy!
¡Huy!
¡Ta!
¡Tus!
¡Tururús!
¡Uf!
¡Jo!
¡Jo, jo!
¡Ja ja!
¡Je, je!
¡Ah!
¡Ah!/Ay!
¡Ha!
¡Oh!
¡Ria!
¡So!
¡Eco! ¡Ecole!
¡Hurra!
¡Chitón!/¡Chis!
¡Yuju!/ ¡Eh!
¡Aúpa!
¡Rin rin!
¡Vaya!
¡Ca!
¡Brrum, brrum!
¡Zas!
Este...
¡Ox!/Os!/Zape!
¡Bah!/¡Pche!
¡ñeeec, ñeeec!
¡Sus!
¿Eh?
¡Achís!
¡Tsst!
¡Miércoles!
¡Carape!
¡Tintín!/¡Chin-chin!
¡Caray!
Get on with it!/So there!
Hey!/Huh!
Ouch!/Ow!/Oo!/Ugh!
Splat!/Crack!/Thud!/Bam!
Crack!
Ding dong! (doorbell)
Knock knock! (also Wham, wham, as against metal)
Boo!
Oops!
Whoops!
Rat-tat-tat!
Good dog! / Here boy!
So says you! / That’s what you think!
Whew!/Wow!
Jeez!/Yeesh!
Ho, ho! (mocking laughter)
Ha ha (laughter)
Hee hee (snickering)
Aw!
Ooh!
Aha!/Ah!
Oh!
Haw!/Hup! (both to a horse)
Whoa!
Exactly! (Mex.)
Huzza!/Hoorah!
Hush!
Yoo-hoo!
Upsy-daisy!
Ring, ring! (doorbell)
Whew!
Not at all!/Never! (negation)
Vroom, vroom! (motorcycle accelerating)
Zap!/Wham!/Pow!/(resonant blows only: Whang!)
Um.../Hmm...
Shoo!
Pshaw!/Bah!
Squeak, squeak (mattress springs)
Buck up! Keep going!
Huh?/Hunh?
Achoo! (sneeze)
Psst!
Fudge!/Crud!
Damn it!/Oh my!
Clink (of glasses)
Good Lord!/Damn! (admiration)
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¡Meca!
¡Mecachis!
¡Glu, glu, glu!
¡Tilín!
¡Hip!
¡No!
¡Plach!
Che!
¡Piiii!, piiii!
¡Cataplum!
¡Pum, pum!
¡Híjole! (Méx.)
¡Ni hablar!
¡Triquitraque!
¡Tris!
¡Rataplán!
¡Anda(le)!
¡Olé!
¡Bravo!
Holy smokes!/Wow!
Darn it!
Glug glug glug (water pouring)
Ding-a-ling (phone ringing)
Hic! (hiccough)
No!/Nope!/Nah!/Nuh-uh!
Splash!
Oh dear! / Hey! / Who cares?
Honk, honk! (horn)/Beep, beep!
Bang!/Boom!/(for things falling only: Thud!)
Pow pow!/Bang bang!/Rat-tat-tat (machine gun)
Wow!/Man!/Dang!/Dude! (admiration; surprise)
Nix!
Clackety-clack (train)
Crack! /Rip!
Bata-boom/Rub-a-dub (of drums)
So there!/What! (surprise)/Hurry up!/Come on now! (Mex.)
Bravo!/Well done!/ Yee-haw! (Chiefly
Southern)/Whoo-hoo! (cry of the spectator)
Well done! (not as good as bravísimo)
Ch. 3
Tools
A bit of folk wisdom for your consideration:
There is a proverb that goes “A poor craftsman always blames his tools.” Consider what
attitudes and motivational discipline are involved in being a good craftsperson. What is
your relationship with computer hardware and software, and the inevitable
troubleshooting involved? (Not your skill level, your openness to learning.)
Measurement conversions
One skill you should work on developing during and after this chapter is that of
converting units of measure, temperatures, etc. between different systems. Find a reliable
resource or two and learn to have a general idea of common conversions and when to use
them.
Localization (defined): "The term 'localisation' [localization] has become a commonly
used label to denote the process of adapting a product (and subsequently the
accompanying product documentation) to the specific requirements and conventions of
the target culture (primarily for marketing purposes, i.e. in order to sell a product in
another culture). In the literature, 'localisation' is predominantly used with reference to
the adaptation of computer hardware and software, concerning the layout of the
keyboard, the layout of the user information on the monitor, the structure of help menus,
etc…. In a wider sense, localisation also applies to providing relevant contact addresses
for after-sale service and/or maintenance and repair (see also Snell-Hornby, 1999: 112ff).
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These aspects need to be taken into account when translating the accompanying
documentation as well." (Nord 1997 53)
Follow-up: What does multilingual search engine optimization have to do with
Web site localization?
More with collocations. Discuss the validity of synonymous collocates (“frutas y
vegetales”, “frutas y hortalizas”, “frutas y legumbres”)—what factors account for these
differences? Introduce yourself to phraseologisms, described at the Pavel Terminology
Tutorial at http://www.termiumplus.gc.ca/didacticiel_tutorial/english/contributions_sp/
guide_phra_rech_lang_e.htm.
Ch. 4
Tip: Investigate volunteer translation of blogs (e.g. Project Lingua, which seeks to
expand Global Voices to a worldwide community of bloggers).
Search Tip: In this chapter, be sure to not only review but demonstrate for yourself some
of the more basic search techniques, such as using common keywords from both
English and Spanish to try to “trap” Rosetta stones: e.g., <“telepago”+
“payment”> might also yield information in English about what telepago is, what
has been translated about it, and any bilingual pages that feature it. For contentrich information about telepagos, try <”telepago es”> and similar strings to yield
definitions. Try for keywords you are reasonably certain of in both languages; this
kind of approach is invaluable in the documentation phase of pre-translation. You
may wish to document what, in order, the most efficient search engine queries
might be in order to find needed information for starting a given translation.
Follow up with classmates and see how they are researching.
Try out these two other basic problem-solving “moves”: 1) to determine a
translation candidate for the phrase “untoward reaction to bee stings”, use a
synonym of “untoward” (e.g. “adverse”); then try the cognates: <reacción
adversa>. This is a basic strategy. If your are not certain of what “untoward”
means, you can 2) try <untoward or * reaction>. This will produce a selftranslated phrase with a “definition” in bold. For this example in Google
(searched 12/14/08), the words given included toxic, adverse, unexpected, undue,
unwanted unusual, and destructive, more than enough to gain a reliable sense of
the meaning in context.
Translationese (examples)
See “Guidelines for the Translation of Social Science Texts” by the American Council of
Learned Societies, Appendix F: Examples of Literal Translations
(http://www.acls.org/sstp_guidelines.pdf). These texts make a good handout to illustrate
literal translation and translationese; they are paired with improved versions.
Audience Activity: "Prince Hamlet In Africa"
One of the greatest essays about audience in translation was actually not written in the
context of translation as such, but cultural anthropology. A classic study from 1966,
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Laura Bohannan's "Prince Hamlet in Africa" (also known as "Shakespeare in the Bush")
details the cross-cultural adventure of an oral storytelling session and what happens to
Hamlet during the negotiations of meaning between an American field worker and the
Tiv tribespeople of West Africa. For many students, this is one of their most memorable
readings from their education, and it bears perennial re-reading for its affectionate humor
and wisdom. Bohannan gives revealing lessons in how what we assume to be universal
frequently is culturally specific, and how the making of meaning truly depends upon a
shared understanding between sender and receiver of a message. Read the piece in
Natural History (Aug-Sep. 1966 v. LXXV #7) or it can be found in several anthologies
(e.g. Philip K. Bock, ed., Culture Shock: A Reader in Modern Cultural Anthropology,
New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc., 1970).
Register
Graph the registers from the following quote from As You Like It, Act V, scene I:
Touchstone: “Therefore, you clown, abandon,--which is the vulgar, leave—the society—
which in the boorish is company,—of this female,—which in the common is woman;
which together is, abandon the society of this female, or clown, thou perishest; or, to thy
better understanding, diest; or, to wit, I kill thee, make thee away, translate thy life into
death.” (William Shakespeare, qtd. In Ullmann, The Principles of Semantics, 109)
Discuss how Shakespeare “self-translated” for audiences of different educational
levels; e.g. “No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making
the green one red.” (Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2, lines 54-61).
Linguistic Note
El Subjuntivo Está Muerto —¡Viva El Subjuntivo!
The death of the subjunctive mood, as Mark Twain responded to reports of his own
demise, is greatly exaggerated. Which of the following expresses the Spanish adequately?
ST: Lo importante es que estés feliz.
TT1: The important thing is that you're happy.
TT2: The important thing is that you be happy.
If you chose TT1, how would someone know that the person is not actually happy (in the
ST, the person is not declared to be happy--or unhappy, for that matter; what is conveyed is
that it's important for the person to be happy).
The fact is we use the subjunctive with "should", "could", "might" and other words,
and fail to recognize it as such. Hence many speakers drift into saying "If I was rich" and
then deny the subjunctive. Sometimes we express the subjunctive with "may be"
("…though he may be unavailable"), since "be" alone in a relative clause can sound
antiquated, on the order of "Be this madness?" Other examples of "may be" in subjunctive
roles:
Puede que esté contaminada It may be contaminated.
Quienquiera que seas Whoever you may be ('Whoever you are' works too, since 'ever' conveys subjunctivity)
The subjunctive in natural roles (examples from modern English):
If I were you (the 'hypothetical' usage)
May you live to one hundred
It is required that all translators be competent
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Lest you forget
Let it rain
Be that as it may
I insist she give of her time
Be they Democrat or Republican
If need be
They requested he take his business elsewhere
Be it ever so humble
The idea is for you to become fluent
Have a nice day (not a command! It's short for "I hope you have a nice day."
Need proof? Here's the Spanish: Que pases un buen día.)
Realizing the subjunctivity of an English phrase can help capture a feasible Spanish:
No Child Left BehindLey Que Ningún Niño Se Quede Atrás
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! ®Aunque Ud. No Lo Crea
Get well soon! ¡Que se mejore!
Tough luck! ¡Que se aguante!
Any dateless girls may call Joe SchmoeToda chica que no tenga pareja, que llame a
Fulano.
Translation Traps
Common Strategic and Theoretical Pitfalls
1. “I don’t know ‘x’ word; I don’t use ‘x’ word; it must be the wrong word.” Your
translation vocabulary must exceed your own working vocabulary. Fallacious corollary: “I
know ‘x’ word; I use ‘x’ word; it must be the right word.”
2. “The original writer would have written 'hogar', not 'casa' had she meant 'home', since
she had both words available in Spanish, so I can only render 'casa' as 'house'.” This
assumes that words are equivalencies (they are not), that cognates are the translator’s first
obligation (not necessarily), and that writers are writing for translators, “telegraphing” their
target language choices (absurd).
Overwhelmingly, writers write for readers, more rarely for translators. A translator cannot
ever simply assume a writer is using the most common sense for any given word.
3. “Had the original writer been writing in English, he or she would have used ‘x’ here.”
Theorist André Lefevre cautioned against this train of thought, reasoning that this kind of
subjunctive daydreaming can lead into a blind alley, namely because had the original
writer been writing in English, they wouldn’t be the same writer. In other words, the
translator should recognize this game as speculation, nothing more. Once you assume a
non-existent quality for the original, you cannot then take it as a given. An unfortunate
corollary to this is: “That’s just how we say ‘x’ in English.” Arguably, this is a semifallacy. Quite often this thinking will yield a valid translation. But what if you’re
translating not from the stock of existent locutions but from radically new utterances?
Remember that not every text is written to appear familiar to the reader. (Take these lines
from Julio Herrera y Reissig’s poem, “Solo verde-amarillo para flauta, llave de U”, for
example: “la lujuria perfuma con su fruta / la púbera frescura de la ruta / por donde ondula
la venusa junta.” Let’s see… how do we say that in English again?
Regionalisms: search tip
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(See #8 of the regionalisms task, for example):
1) go to "Google Venezuela": http://www.google.co.ve/
2) click Buscar en: páginas en Venezuela and enter "rubber" in the search
box
3) click on the first hit of the directory page, "Goodyear Tyre and Rubber"
4) click on "Catálogo de productos"
5) click on "Navigator" under the first tire icon
6) what are tires called here? >>cauchos
7) verify by running "caucho" in Google Venezuela (the ".ve" hits are Venezuelan pages)
and examining—actually opening—several pages
Ch. 5
Proper names and translation
Read this tongue-in-cheek article on proper names and translation: http://wwwrcf.usc.edu/~cmmr/L.A.Times_June10.html
Here is a list of some common place names and toponyms and their standard
translations:
City Names with Commonly Used Equivalents (Spanish<>English)
Nueva York: New York
Amberes: Antwerp
Filadelfia: Philadelphia
Estocolmo: Stockholm
Londres: London
Varsovia: Warsaw
Ginebra: Geneva
Pekín: Beijing
Belén: Bethleham
Estambul: Istanbul
Lisboa: Lisbon
Francfort: Frankfurt
Niza: Nice
Bruselas: Brussels
Sevilla: Seville
Puerto Príncipe: Port-au-Prince
What about U.S. state names? Is “Misuri” or “Missouri” correct? “New Jersey” or
“Nueva Jersey”? “Tejas” or “Texas”? If the answer is “It depends”, then on what? Can
you determine a pattern or a rule for the translation of cities, states, rivers, and mountain
ranges? Is it the same for country names? In what environments (for what text types) do
your rules hold? Check translations. What determines “Nuevo” or “Nueva” for state
names?
What Dutch city do the Spanish call “Brujas”? What German city is called
“Maguncia” in Spanish? Is Cambridge (UK) called “Cantabria” in Spanish, or is that a
different place? Considering the spelling of “Zaragoza”, what would you guess its
frequent English spelling would be? Is “St. Petersburg” the same as the Spanish
“Leningrado”? What do we call “Santiago de Compostela” in English texts?
Can you name a toponym of Spanish origin but that is pronounced with Englishlanguage phonetics, and in Spanish is called by a totally different Spanish name? (Hint:
It’s a river.)
Rules Of Thumb for Translating Names
 Use your judgment on translating names of establishments and services; a rule of thumb
is that if they are not transparent or need to come across semantically, then err on the side
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of surplus information; e.g., the Museu Picasso de Barcelona can usually remain in
Catalan or be glossed with a parenthetical doublet: (Picasso Museum); the Procuraduría
General del Estado should be translated; Corte Inglés [the retail store] should not. These
decisions will be affected by whether or not the text type conventions call for a
documental translation.
 Proper names are not translated as a matter of course unless they have a known
corresponding name in the target (José< >Joseph in the Bible). Sometimes this practice is
ambiguous, unilateral or unevenly applied (Some Spanish speakers are happy to
domesticate “Guillermo Shakespeare” but conversely would be appalled at “Michael
Cervantes”). Some names are virtually always translated (Charlie Chaplin < > Charlot).
 Names of fictional characters (e.g., la Celestina) can, where needed, be glossed
parenthetically to show function ('matchmaker'), or, where appropriate, called by their
conventionalized name in Spanish (e.g. el Hombre de Hojalata [The Tin Man] or la Masa
[The Incredible Hulk]). When a name has already been established in translation, it should
be used, unless there are strategic reasons for not using it.
Gender and Proper Names
When working into Spanish and translating names borrowed from English, use the article
that would correspond were you using the Spanish common noun instead of the proper
noun.
E.g. La Ford Foundation (because of fundación)
La Web (because of red)
El Institute for Knowledge Management (because of instituto)
What article would you expect “Internet” to take in Spanish?
"Internet" in Spanish, one would expect, takes "la"; but it also takes "el".
Ch. 6
Tips and tasks:
Tip (1): Check out world stats (internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm) to see relative
percentages of language communities on the Internet.
Tip (2): Consider the connection between “creative” language—the focus of chapter 5—
and the applications to business and business translation, our focus here. This continuity
can be reinforced with activities featuring rewritings of business correspondence, for
example, to adjust for flatness of tone. Research white papers, which are classic hybrids
in that they combine persuasive prose with technical detail and marketing content.
Tip (3): Use the U.S. Department of Labor’s Hispanic Outreach Quick Start page
(navigate there via http://www.osha.gov/). There you will find materials for the Spanishspeaking workforce. Alternate task: Open the OSHA dictionary of construction terms.
Give five scenarios (text types, users) where this glossary would be useful.
Tip (4): Propose a translation project (en>es) for your school’s financial aid website.
Produce a needs analysis, establishing scope, timeline, audience served, and funding.
Consider a glossary, the need for term standardization, options for video, etc. Brainstorm
by considering existing pages similar to what you wish to propose.
Tip (5): Here is an example of how corpora analysis software can help elucidate
tendencies in a given text type across languages: In the article, “A Comparative Study of
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Metaphor in Spanish and English Financial Reporting” (Jonathan Charteris-Black and
Timothy Ennis, English for Specific Purposes, Volume 20, Issue 3, 2001, Pages 249-266,
2001, published by Elsevier Science Ltd.) the authors compare the use of metaphor in a
corpus of English and Spanish financial reports published in newspapers during the stock
market crash in October 1997. They find that “both languages share conceptualisations
of the economy as an organism, of market movements as physical movements and of
sharp downward market movements as natural disasters. These conceptualisations show
in a number of similar lexical metaphors relating to, for example, physical conflict,
physical and mental health, mood, extreme weather conditions and earthquakes.
However, while in Spanish reporting there is a preference for metaphors based on
psychological mood and personality, in English reporting there is a higher frequency of
nautically based metaphors.” (emphasis mine) Can you find examples that support or
contradict this tendency? What other cross-cultural considerations in translating
economic and financial texts might be relevant? What intuitions could be tested
empirically?
Tip (6): Guard against the following common pitfalls:
advertising <> propaganda (propaganda in the political sense=propaganda política)
billion <> mil millones (≠ “billón”)
Tip (7): A good overview of some website localizations (MySpace en español, etc.) and
other issues related specifically to Spanish<>English can be found at
https://www.multilingual.com/downloads/printSupp89.pdf. Summarize 2-3 articles of
interest there.
Localizing Ads
Watch these pairs of ads to students several times each, and notice all the differences you
can. The spots are from the “Get a Mac” series; on YouTube, they are listed as the
“cajas” ad and “ven a mac (español latino)”;
caja:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfSBsdcnRc8&NR=1 (Spain)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ5jxm9QFdk&feature=related (Lat. Amer.)
surgery:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekBJoZtfVu0 (Lat. Amer.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ETA7oFtM9w&NR=1 (Spain)
Follow-up: Now watch this ad from Spain and localize with U.S. Spanish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDaJ7FcrhEM&feature=related
Market Research Translation Agencies
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Explore the services provided by this market research translation agency, iC Language
Consulting (http://iclanguageconsulting.com/market_research.html), which performs the
niche service of brand name checking. Can you find other agencies that verify whether
brand names are not offensive in other languages? Search the term “global naming +
translation”.
See also http://aguamarketing.blogspot.com/, “Choosing a Hispanic URL”, where
the strategies of adding “/espanol” versus using the translated name of the product as part
of the address are discussed.
Task: business loans
Read and answer questions in groups:
Catálogo de Servicios de la S. I. -» Solicitantes -» Empresas -» Fomento Empresas TIC
EBT/Capitalización de Empresas de Base Tecnológica
Web: Ayudas a Base Tecnológica
Los beneficiarios de este programa serán las empresas financieras.
Este programa tiene por objetivo la concesión de préstamos a entidades financieras de
capital-riesgo para su participación temporal en el capital de Empresas de Base
Tecnológica no financieras, que comiencen su actividad o que lleven menos de dos años
de funcionamiento.
Las condiciones financieras de las ayudas son:
* Los préstamos se concederán a interés cero, sin avales ni garantías adicionales a la
viabilidad del proyecto.
* El plazo máximo de amortización será de siete años a contar desde la fecha de
formalización de la toma de participación en el capital de la Empresa de Base
Tecnológica.
* La cuantía máxima del préstamo será el 50% de la participación de la entidad inversora
en la Empresa de Base Tecnológica, que no podrá exceder de 500.000 euros.
* La liquidación se realizará en función de las plusvalías/minusvalías conseguidas en el
momento de la desinversión.
(Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio)
http://www.mityc.es/DGDSI/Secciones/PorSolicitante/Empresas/FomentoEmpresasTIC/
Questions:
1. What does “base tecnológica” refer to?
2. What does “amortización” refer to?
3. What does “toma de participación” refer to?
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4. What does “entidad inversora” refer to?
5. What does “liquidación” refer to?
6. What does “desinversión” refer to?
7. What does “minusvalía” refer to?
Ch. 7
Translation and School Administration
Here are a couple of sites you’ll want to look at for help in answering the question about
T&I for schools:
MIT Open Courseware >Translated Courses
(http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/lang/index.htm).
K12Translate (http://www.k12translate.com/index.php). This site specializes in just this
area.
Ch. 8
More on medical genres
See Montalt and González Davies (2007), 61-92: “2.5 Some common medical genres”.
Collect Rosetta stones or STs with parallel texts to pass around, or you can focus on
cross-cultural differences in content or format:
Fact Sheets for Patients (FSP)
Informed Consent (IC)
Patient Information Leaflet (PIL)
Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC)
Case Report (CR)
Clinical Guidelines (CG)
Clinical Trial Protocol (CTP)
Review Article (RA)
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
Drug Advertisement (DA)
Activities
1. Look at translated/localized hospital homepages, as well as partially
translated/localized ones (www.childrensmemorial.org). Search <páginas en español> +
<hospital>.
2. Find the 14 CLAS standards for cultural and linguistically appropriate services.
Ch. 9
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Linguistic Note: Technology Neologisms
Many neologisms are from the business and technical arenas (e.g. cybersquatting <>
ciberocupación; ciberokupación [Spain]). Note that explicitation is often a strategy by
means of which neologisms are explained: webcasting > difusión en Internet; to
spellcheck > pasar el corrector ortográfico a un documento. Modulation may shift
emphasis: paperless [emphasis: no paper] <> informatizado [emphasis: shift to digital]
Internet Neologisms EN<>ES
English
Spanish
weblog (blog)
bitácora
internet
la red, Internet
web site, site
sitio web, sitio
link
enlace
folder
carpeta
password
contraseña
click (imperative)
haga clic (Ud.); haz clic (tú); pinche (Ud.)
mouse
ratón
download
descargar; bajar; capturar
upload
cargar; subir
run (execute)
ejecutar
user name
nombre de usuario
inbox
bandeja de entrada
outbox
bandeja de salida
@ (at)
arroba
dot com
punto com
browser
navegador, explorador de Web; oteador
attached files
archivos adjuntos
surf
navegar
search engine
motor de búsqueda; buscador
bandwidth
ancho de banda
drop-down menu
menú desplegable
keyword
palabra clave
lurker
mirón
newsgroup
grupo de noticias
to manage
gestionar
bold
negrita
netiquette
la ética de la red; normas de buen comportamiento;
la ‘netiqueta’
to support
ser compatible; soportar
pop-up window
ventana emergente
(Primary source for Internet neologisms: http://www.lingolex.com/internet.htm)
See also Belda Medina, José R., El lenguaje de la informática e Internet y su traducción,
Alicante: Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alicante, 2003 and Kaplan, Stephan M.,
Wiley’s English-Spanish, Spanish-English Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dictionary, Wiley, April 1996 (a bit older but still useful). Online you can also find
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Rafael Fernández Calvo’s Glosario básico inglés-español para usuarios de internet for
downloading.
Types of translation
There are types of translation for different sci-tech purposes. In technical translation the
following five general types can be distinguished (paraphrased from Mengzhi, Meta,
XLIV, 1, 1999):
a. Complete Translation: the entire SL text is translated, usually sentence by sentence,
and with no omissions.
b. Selective Translation: only part of the SL text is translated. For example, for an
original research paper, only the description of the experiment process and the results
may be translated.
c. Condensed Translation: the TL text systematically abridges an SL text, retaining
basic information, perhaps rearranging it, but deleting what may not be of use to
scientists.
d. Summary Translation: a summary of the SL text, retaining the key words,
preserving the main points of the SL text, and reorganizing information.
e. Composite Translation: an amalgam of two or more SL texts in the same subject
area. Two or more translators may contribute to it if the sources are written in multiple
languages. The purpose of this type of translation is to know about current methods in the
chosen field; a composite translation forms part of such feasibility studies.
Ch. 10
Understanding Translation Rights And Translation’s Role in the Book Publishing
Industry
1) Start by determining what translation rights and permission to translate are,
what you need them for, who grants them, and how you get them. If you are serious about
translating literature, know the basics of these legal realities now.
Task: Draw a concept map or flowchart of the steps involved in submitting a work
for publication.
2) Go to http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/search.html. Search
“translation”. Infer how the logistics and negotations of subsidiary rights (including
foreign rights) work. How does the system of subagency work? Do some detective work,
piecing together the different players in the game.
3) Keep abreast of Spanish-language literary awards (e.g. Casa de las Américas,
Biblioteca Breve, Premio Xavier Villaurrutia, etc.) for the most heralded recent works.
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For the truly serious, a long-term strategy is to travel to book fairs such as the large
events in Buenos Aires, Guadalajara, and Madrid to find books and make contacts.
Children’s Literature in Translation
Tip: A good database of children’s literature in Spanish (original or translation) may be
found at http://csbs.csusm.edu/csbs/www.book.book_home?lang=SP
Harry Potter
In the not-too-distant future, whole books will be written about Harry Potter’s fate
outside of English. See what issues have arisen thus far. (One is surely the incredible
speed, propelled by demand, with which these works have to be completed. Pirate
editions appeared online and on the black market before the authorized translations—
readers are rarely translation initiators! Allegedly, in the Chilean fan translation, the
translator simply gives up on certain passages and writes: "Here comes something that
I'm unable to translate, sorry.") Are translators in on the royalties? Are there different
Harry Potters for Spain, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Spanish-speaking U.S.? Consider:
Would a Mexican child embrace characters speaking River Plate Spanish the same way
as if they spoke a Mexican variant? Does the author collaborate on or authorize
translations? Can you find glossaries of terms that translators have used for the various
invented names and creatures in the series (e.g. los Mortífagos = Death-Eaters)? What
cultural challenges do these books pose for the translator into Spanish? Find examples, or
bring in translations for comparison of passages. Experiment: Translate a particularly
British passage of Harry Potter into American English, or translate marked regional
Spanish versions into another regional Spanish. Follow-up: As a group, come to a
consensus about what authorized translation means in all its possible contexts.
Translation Term: “Trot”
A literal version of a source text sometimes is an intermediate stage in the translation
chain. A trot is one such practice—a literal gloss that another writer uses to either gain a
sense of the original or to produce a more polished target text. By this means, some
translators are even able to translate from many languages they don’t know! Not
everyone, however, is convinced that, as a rule, this method produces better translations
than translations directly from lived experience with the language.
Task: Ask a friend who knows an L3 you are not at all familiar with to produce a
trot of a favorite work. Translate, consulting with your friend.
Ch. 11
Task: Go to Variety.com > Charts >> Foreign Film Box Office >>> Mexico and translate
the titles of the week’s top 10 films.
Ch. 12
Workflow
Follow-Up: What is the TEP model? What updates to this methodology are currently
being implemented?
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Quality Expectations
In Chapter 7, your instructor may have asssigned this grid for your perusal:
http://accurapid.com/journal/grid.htm. Read it (or r-read it). Although the source text is
French, you will be able to recognize the hallmarks of translationese in the supplier 1 & 2
version. Focus your attention on the supplier 3 translation and the qualities that make it
superior. What specific things can you do to move your skills toward this level of
quality?
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