November, 2013
VOL 6, ISSUE 8
Translation for Beginners:
From Experts to Prospects
Current Edition Edited by: Michelle Johnson
In this issue of Translation for Beginners readers will
see many important things to remember before
translation.
Table of Contents:
Things to Remember Before Translating:
As shown to the right.
Pg. 2
Common Translation Problems:
Some questions for translation
Be able to comprehend the languages that a
document needs to be translated to and from.

Understand the basic theory behind translation.

Understand the document and the meaning
behind the document to be translated.

Know the audience the document is intended for.

Interpret the meaning and purpose behind the
document to be translated.

Understand the dialect, style, tone and voice
needed for a particular document that is to be
translated.

Use a dictionary. Only use it if it is absolutely
needed, but make sure to be prepared, just in
case.
Pg. 3
Henri Gobbard’s Four Types of Language:
Vernacular, vehicular, referential, mythical

Pg. 1
Ask Sensei:
A short Q&A section with Dr. Strecher.
Things to Remember Before Translating:
Pg. 3
Ask Sensei:
Questions and Answers
For Dr. Matthew Strecher
When it comes to translation, what is the most
important thing to do?
Interpretation. Without interpretation, you can’t read,
write, or translate. Although I suppose that reading is also
an important thing to work with. After all, if you can’t
read, you can’t interpret.
What sort of training do you need in order to
translate?
You can translate if you have an understanding of more
than one language, but of course that usually isn’t enough.
It’s recommended to have a bachelor’s degree and a
master’s degree to translate professionally. Although you
can translate without a degree, previous experience is
more important than a degree to translation work.
What difficulties do you find yourself facing with
translation work?
Dr. Matthew Strecher is the lead
Japanese teacher at Winona State
University with a specialization in
Japanese literature and translation.
All language resists our efforts. There is no such thing as a
seamless or transparent gloss into language. Everything
has to be broken down and reconstructed. Writing is hard
and translating is just as hard. Working with language is
the hardest part of translating. I personally find it most
difficult to work with someone who doesn’t know what
they’re trying to say and then having to translate their
words.
What’s harder to work with - technical writing or
fictional writing?
They’re both different challenges. Tech writing is more
about terminology than about language. It’s less difficult
to me. Literary translation is more difficult because it’s
more visual and descriptive. A real literary text says things
without saying them. Capturing a writer’s style is also
difficult, it’s about how to keep it and keep it great. All in
all, both pose problems and stay difficult while also staying
good.
November, 2013
VOL 6, ISSUE 8
Common Translation
Problems
And Important Reminders in Translating
Translation Questions and Problems:
Annie Brisset, professor at the School of Translation and
Interpretation at the University of Ottawa, has noted in her
article “The Search for a Native Language” notes several
questions that must be asked before someone translates.
Some questions are:
 Translating is difficult when historical time is factored
in. How should someone translate a document from an
older form of the source language?
 Some languages have different language forms
between men and women. In that case, what gender
does a translator translate into?
These are only a few questions and problems that often
come up when a document is to be translated. It is the
translator’s job to assess and decide on these questions and
possible solutions.
Henri Gobbard’s Four Types of Language and Subcode:
What form of language to use is important to know
when translating.

A vernacular language
o A Local, spoken spontaneously language that’s
considered t native language. It is less
appropriate for communicating than for
commuting.

A vehicular language
o A National or regional language, learned out of
necessity, a “community” language.

A referential language
o Tied to cultural, oral, and written traditions that
keeps traditional works in a “common” language.

A mythical language
o
A “sacred” language that makes no sense to the
general populace, but is considered proof of the
revered.
“Even if translation is considered one of the
oldest professions pursued by mankind,
translation has only recently become a discipline
in its own right” (Snell-Hornby, 1988).
Translation for Beginners
From Experts to Prospects
A simple newsletter, giving important information for those
who wish to translate for fun, work, or any other reason.
November, 2013
VOL 6, ISSUE 8
175 W Mark St
Winona, MN 55987
Current Resident
103 W 7th St, Apt 32
“If you’re translating literature, all the great poets and
writers will tell you that in order to be a true translator,
you have to be a poet yourself. You have to be able to
push the language in the same way that the original
writer did, you have to bend the words to do what they
won’t usually do.” - Dr. Matthew Strecher
Winona, MN 55987