On becoming something else

Due to a number of reasons too dull to be worth mentioning here I 've recently found myself pondering on my future. Particularly my future as a translator. To make my ponderings somewhat organized, I've prepared a list. Here goes:

Why continue translating:

1. I'm not good at anything else. Actually, I'm not very good at that too but at least it's familiar.
2. The crisis is still out there which means that drastic career changes are probably not a very good idea at the moment.
3. Despite all the nights and weekends lost to the job, it still feels pretty cool to see your translation on a bookshelf.
4. I don't think I would be able to become a regular nine-to-five-behind-the-desk kind of employee.

Why abandon translation and pursue something else:

1. Money.
2. Having nights and weekends off.
3. Money.
4. Leaving work at 5 PM on Friday and starting to think about it again on my way back on Monday morning. Yes, I know this is redundant to item 2. Still, it's important.
5. Having some firm ground beneath my feet, understood as permanent employment.
6. Have I already mentioned money?

I'll have to think about it.

On translator's integrity

A few posts ago I made a declaration that if somebody was ever to ask me to translate one more Footprint guide, I would tear their heart out and eat it.

Well, I didn't.

Circumstances aside, I once again proved to myself that integrity is not a preferable trait of character in this profession. Even though I still consider translating Footprint guides as a premature damnation for the sins of my youth, I realized that a good translator (understood as a translator able to make a living off translation without the need of taking side jobs such as distributing leaflets or robbing liquor stores) cannot afford too much integrity. In other words, the sole principle a translator should abide by is the lack thereof. You are offered a text to translate, you accept it. And any time you feel like making statements about what you will and will not translate in the future, remember this simple truth: there are dozens of people who would love to take over your job. Their quality may be lower, their efficiency not even close to yours... but they don't bitch about the job. So this is my message to myself: shut up and do your work. And stop deluding yourself that you're something more than a muscle (or head) for hire.

Here's a little something to illustrate the point:

On CAT Tools

Recently I've been forced to learn the use of a certain CAT tool, namely Wordfast. Reason: all the competition is already using CATs, so we must catch up. Right. So I got properly (snigger) trained in the ways of the Wordfast and told to immediately commence aligning Translation Memories, compiling glossaries, etc.

And you know what? I actually enjoy it.

I've always been rather sceptical about translation-facilitating tools, seeing them as yet another obstacle to overcome. I thought to myself, what the fuck do I need Trados or Wordfast for? I'm perfectly fit with my C-workset: coffee, computer, cigarettes. I don't need any software. Software is for loosers. Real men use nothing but word processors.

So my point is, I've been proven wrong. Again. Working with a CAT that automatically translates all the iterative vocabulary and phrases, even whole paragraphs (and trust me, you learn to appreciate that when you translate agreements and contracts) greatly improves your efficiency. So you can work faster and process more text. Much more text. In fact, whole tons of text. Which basically returns you to the starting point, i.e. considering rest as a rare privilege.

Still, I enjoy it. For now.

Currently on my working playlist:
The Stills "Oceans Will Rise"
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness "Fear Is On Our Side"
N.E.R.D. "Seeing Sounds"
The Subways "Young For Eternity"

Update

Nothing new to report. Apart maybe from marriage, landing a permanent job and becoming a respectable, responsible member of society.

Phew.

Currently translating: Robin Gauldie "Amsterdam: History, Mystery, Walks". It's short, it's well-written, it's not all about coffee shops and Red Light District. I am a happy, happy translator, yes I am.

How it feels to have a weekend off :)

It would be nice to find out some day :). For now, weekends are workdays, the main difference from regular Mondays or Wednesdays being the attire, i.e. lack of it. Absurd as it may sound, I actually like translating on weekends. Probably because if I work on something on weekends, this something is actually the whole thing. In other words: on weekends I don't get urgent calls at home/messages at the office that something has popped up and needs to be done pronto. Much as I like the adrenaline of an express translation of a confidential contract between major businesses, with this sweet knowledge that if I screw up, we're all screwed up, it nevertheless is a distraction. And on weekends such distractions are nonexistent, which is good. However, working on weekends means that instead of relaxing and fooling around, I'm, in fact, at work, which is bad. Oh well, that's the beauty of it all.

Currently translating: a HUGE manual for a major international shipping company, whose name I am not to disclose :)

How to efficiently organize your working time

Yeah. I wish I knew that. Initially I thought about this one as another Law of Translation, but then I realized that it's not the job, it's just me, wasting time over "Medieval II" and "Jedi Outcast", instead of working. And I know I'm going to pay for it, because the deadline approaches with the speed of a running train and I'm still somewhere around page 15. Of 122. Deary, deary me. Oh well, sooner or later every translator learns that at times sleeping is a luxury you can't afford. This, in fact, is a Law of Translation. May the Force be with me on this one. Goodnight.

Laws of translation - continued

Law of translation: a layman in translation hardly ever acknowledges the effort required from a translator to deliver an acceptable rendition.

Banality? Indeed. But a painfully true banality all the same. The most widespread approach to translation, presented by laymen, might be summarized as follows:

'You know the language so, like, you can translate. What's the difficulty in that?'

Well, you can't. Just like having a driver's license does not automatically make you eligible for WRC. I wish that some day people would acknowledge the simple fact that translation IS a hard and demanding job that not everyone can do. But I guess that I might as well wish for a universal peace on Earth.