© Lucy Brooks 25-26 June 2013

Lucy Brooks, FCIL, MITI Managing Director

UK

Quality on-line training and CPD for translators and Interpreters

Maia Figueroa BA (Hons), MA, MA Customer Relations

Director, Spain

(c) 2013

www.ecpdwebinars.co.uk

Poll/show of hands

• To translate, all you need to translate is a decent dictionary…

• True

• False

http://www.fenocchio.fr/eng_parfums.html

Tourte de Blette

Swiss Chard, Raisin, and Pine Nut Tart

Another example

This is a website for a camping site in France

• Le Soleil is a lively site set among high trees and flowering shrubs with spacious pitches. Feel like slightly hungered ? You will find a catalan restaurant with delicious regional cooking and take-away food.

• Feel like drinking something ? Three choices depending on the ambient, the hour and the spot: Bar in the swimming-pool (big wet thirsts) , bar on the beach (big relax thirsts), or bar at the Disco (big insomniac thirsts). and if you need something else, bazar shop: souvenirs, postcards, etc.

Full of weird translations, spelling mistakes and howlers.

Longest Webinar - agenda • Brief Introduction

– Me, my career, my current work

• What is translation?

• What does it involve?

• How do I find a good translator?

• How do I know if what the translator has done is any good?

• Questions

Lucy Brooks

• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists

• Qualified member of ITI

• Been in business for more than 30 years

• Many of these (22) as translator

• Since 2010 have operated eCPD Webinars

– Training for translators and interpreters

What is translation?

• The process of translating words or text from one language into another:

• A written rendering of the meaning of a word, speech, book, or other text, in another language.

• The translation of literary works is considered a literary pursuit in its own right.

• As literature is a culture-dependent subject field, the work of literary translation and its products are not necessarily linguistically transparent.

What does translation involve?

• In the commercial and technical fields, my work involves: – Very good knowledge of source

language

– Expert knowledge of target language (own native language)

– Writing ability

– Strong background knowledge of the subject

– Intuition and diplomacy

What does translation involve?

• In the literary field translation involves even more:

– A highly developed awareness and in-depth knowledge of the culture of the source language

– A talent for writing excellent prose

Why is it so important to find a qualified translator?

How do I find a good translator?

• “This cat food does not contain conservatives”

• “If the front is closed please enter through the backside”

• “Let part D screw in to the posterior of part C”

Twelve Golden rules for choosing a translator

12

1. Examine what you want translated

• Check suitability for international audience

• Rewrite if necessary

2. Study your options

• Language student ? NO

2. Study your options

• Language student ? NO

• Teacher? POSSIBLY

2. Study your options

• Language student ? NO

• Teacher? POSSIBLY

• Professional translator DEFINITELY

3. Check Qualifications

4. Native speaker • Best is a native speaker • Next best is a translator living and working in the target language (for some long time) • Avoid two-way translators • Watch for regional variations

5. Experience

6. Know (even meet) your translator

7. Purpose

8. Finalise

9. Glossaries of special terms

10. Allow time for questions

11. Ban Bing and Google!

12. Allow Translator to make a final check of typeset materials

London 2012

So where are these translators?

• http://www.iti.org.uk/component/itisearch/?view=translators - ITI

• http://www.iol.org.uk/linguist/translator1.asp?r=PCTXYL10046 – CIoL

• http://theatacompass.org/2013/06/11/looking-for-a-professional-to-handle-your-translation-or-interpreting-job/ - ATA

And how do I know if my translator has done a good job?

Poll/show of hands

• Have your thoughts about translation and translators changed after my talk?

• Yes

• No

Contacts

For translation services: (German into English)

Lucinda.brooks@btconnect.com

For webinars and training courses for linguists

lucinda@ecpdwebinars.co.uk

www.ecpdwebinars.co.uk

And finally ….

lucinda@ecpdwebinars.co.uk www.ecpdwebinars.co.uk