Translation works demand cultural mastery<\/p>\n
By S. Harmono<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A letter to The Jakarta Post on Jan. 25 by
\nAdrianus Hiyung Tjung declares: \"Translators deserve high pay.\"
\nTranslators deserve to be better remunerated because theirs is a
\ndemanding job, he said.<\/p>\n
It would be interesting to read the reaction of his fellow
\ncraftsmen and the public, but none was forthcoming.<\/p>\n
Translating is a craft and a good, faithful translation may be
\na work of art. It is not solely a matter of language. One may
\npossess language skills, one may labor through the texts fully
\narmed with linguistic knowledge, the question remains, will the
\nproduct in the target language be equally intelligible, provided
\nthat the original contains no ambiguities?<\/p>\n
The absence of any response to the letter is not surprising.
\nMost translators realize that the translation market is rather
\nslack in this protracted economic crisis. There are still well-
\nconnected translation services which command high fees. They fill
\nthe demand for translation by (1) businesses in international
\ntrade; (2) bilateral cooperation projects, (3) foreign companies
\nwishing to understand local government regulations and (4)
\nindividuals needing to send translated legalized diplomas for
\nschool enrollment abroad.<\/p>\n
Less lucrative is translation ordered by education-,
\npublisher- and foundation-related agencies due to their
\nshoestring budgets. However, this type of work gives some people
\nhigher satisfaction.<\/p>\n
Translation produced with craftsmanship and art does not yield
\nadequate remuneration because there is hardly any market for it.
\nSo, on the practical side, if one desires to increase one's
\nearnings, one must see translation as a trading commodity. With
\nsome business acumen one can create a rewarding clientele. One
\nwill not have to cudgel one's brains on detailed contents but one
\nmust guard against writing blunders. Some inconsistencies are all
\nright because our society is indulgent and even permissive in
\nthis respect. Quality only rarely comes first. One must be
\npunctual in delivery which is the crucial point in the business
\nbecause clients want to see their text changed into the target
\nlanguage instantly as if by magic, although it took them weeks to
\nwrite it themselves.<\/p>\n
Good pay has nothing to do with a translator deserving it or
\nnot. He may have to put up arduous and energy-absorbing labor but
\nin business one is dependent on the buyer.<\/p>\n
International organizations abroad (e.g. some agencies of the
\nUnited Nations) require a double degree from a prospective
\ntranslator. First he must have a degree in languages (not
\nnecessarily an MA or a PhD) and additionally in another
\ndiscipline, e.g. chemistry. The incumbent will be assigned the
\ntranslation of texts on chemistry only.<\/p>\n
As far as it can be ascertained none of our self-avowed
\ntranslators (\"sworn\" or otherwise) have a double degree as
\nrequired above. They are so-called generalists, which means they
\nknow something of nearly everything. It is only pure luck if a
\nlinguist is strongly interested in chemistry, for example. It
\nwould be better to find a chemist who has a knack for good
\nwriting. He would know what it is all about. The problem with a
\ngeneralist is that he may not admit his ignorance on a subject.
\nHe should actually do some research if his professional
\nconscience speaks to him.<\/p>\n
As for the quality of translations, the subtitling of films
\nseems to be afflicted with problems. One reads the weirdest
\nIndonesian subtitles of English-speaking films on TV (and in the
\ncinema). They are characterized by word-by-word transfer from
\nEnglish into Indonesian without regard for the meaning in
\ncontext.<\/p>\n
More seriously, there is an apparent lack of understanding of
\nidiomatic and colloquial language. The team in charge of
\nsubtitling at each TV station (penerjemah, penyunting, penyelaras
\n0akhir and what-have-you) should give better service to TV
\nviewers and not lead them up the garden path. It is necessary to
\nstudy in greater depth the language and the culture on both
\nsides. The problem with translation is that people are seldom
\ncompletely bilingual even if they have lived in two countries for
\na long stretch of time.<\/p>\n
Translating is risky if one does not know the other language
\nand its culture well enough, and worse if one's knowledge of
\none's own language and culture is only approximate.<\/p>\n
Another problem of translation is the faithful rendition of an
\noriginal text. A free translation has the inherent danger of
\ngoing too far afield thereby losing the original meaning of the
\ntext. The Italians, on the crossroads of many cultures for
\nmillennia, discovered that traduttore = tradittore, \"to translate
\nis to betray\". Even in closely related languages like French and
\nEnglish some mistakes have remained.<\/p>\n
It is generally accepted that Cinderella wears glass slippers.
\nWho would be comfortable in footwear made of glass? Charles
\nPerrault did not write verre (glass) but vair (furlike material).
\nPerhaps because the two words are homonyms, the meaning of \"fur\"
\ngot lost in translation, a betrayal indeed. Homonyms are the
\nAchilles' heel of many native speakers. They may speak their
\nlanguage fluently, though not necessarily in an impeccable
\nmanner, but they usually do not pay enough attention to written
\nlanguage.<\/p>\n
Another example of cross-cultural communication is the
\nfollowing; the famous versatile American conductor James Levine
\nshuttles between New York (the Metropolitan) and a number of
\ncities in Southern Germany and Austria. He is used to working
\nwith German musicians. He likes to explain the music to them.
\nConfident that he knows the German language well enough, he
\nspeaks German to them. Once, however, the musicians got lost
\nbecause they had difficulty understanding Levine's German usage.
\n\"Mr. Levine, please\" or perhaps \"Sorry, Jimmy (he is highly
\npopular in the south German state of Bavaria), could you continue
\nyour explanations in English?\" Levine did not take offense. He
\nswitched to English and everybody was happy.<\/p>\n
The two examples show how hard it is to master two languages
\nat the same level. But that is the crux for doing responsible
\ntranslation.<\/p>\n
The writer is a translator who is interested in cross-cultural
\ncross-purposes.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/translation-works-demand-cultural-mastery-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}