Regaining perspective: translating for the sheer love of translating
After a BA, an MA and over a year in the translation and interpreting industry, one of the things that I loved doing the most, i.e. translating, had become an automated task: I received a file, I opened my CAT tool, I translated, and I delivered back by the set deadline. My approach to translation, possibly because of the type of content I deal with during working hours, has been quite functional and practical, and perhaps using a CAT tool has not helped this process (although I am eternally grateful to be able to work with one).
Of course, I am not remotely comparing myself to a machine: my work has never been about an input-output mechanism. However, I must admit that producing a high volume of translated words, especially if we’re talking about specialised content for a recurrent client, has somewhat turned into an automated process with TMs jumping in more and more often, taking away part of the magical side of translation. I missed being able to engage with the text, exploring its nuances and hidden meanings, incurring in tricky extracts, in a fun and exciting manner, like a challenge, rather than approaching it as problem that slowed down my daily output.
I guess I missed the freedom of translating just for the sake of it, in a virtuous exercise to challenge my abilities, and myself.
All of this dawned upon me at the first opportunity I had to approach translation in a different way. I was selected to be part of a group of volunteer Italian translators for the non-profit blog PalaSport, whose project consists in translating journalistic sports pieces from all over the world into Italian. It was born out of the dedication and passion for sports and languages, and the will to overcome language barriers to make information in this field available to all sports lovers. This gave me the chance to select pieces to translate, ranging from game and event reports, opinion pieces up to politically engaged articles on one of the subjects I am interested in and love the most.
The difference was evident from the start, but it took me a while to finally grasp it. Translating without any kind of external pressure or requirements was refreshing, allowing me to let my hair down and putting my creativity to work. Mainly co-curating the American sports section, I was confronted with American English, and what a different kettle of fish that was to the very British English I was used to! The genre of the source texts was very different to what I usually translated, and engaging with it was scary at first but once I got my bearings back and adapted to the different tone and style it quickly became fun and a welcomed change of scenario from my usual working hours.
I’d like to suggest this “exercise” to anyone in the industry: it will give you back passion for the work that we do if you’re feeling it is escaping you, and it is a great occasion to explore new subjects, genres and styles, as well as a good exercise to think about new solutions and activate vocabulary in your mother tongue. Our blog has already spoken about volunteering opportunities, and how they can be a perfect occasion to gain feedback from fellow translators or professionals with more experience than us. I believe this can also help you break through in a new field, gaining expertise in a different subject and building a marketable portfolio to present to new potential clients. I certainly feel like I have learned a lot from this “new approach” and I can’t wait to dig in into the next piece I have selected!
Have you experienced something similar?
