Translator
Here are a few thoughts on the role
and work of a translator. To learn more about our services, please
see Czech-English and English-Czech Translations.
By Michaela Freeman
Translating
I learned English by translating (20 years ago)
and translation stayed with me from then on. The more I knew, the
more
English
became my language
of choice. All my computer programs are in English, I read
books and magazines in English and if I need to write a shopping
list, it will likely be in English as well. Besides translating,
I write in English, both for my work as a copy writer and creatively.
Sometimes there are several days when I don't speak Czech at all
or maybe just a few words with a shop keeper. Yes, I do live in
Prague and I am Czech, but that's just the way it is.
In 1997 I started freelancing and translating was my first choice.
Since then, I've translated a movie, numerous medical and
legal documents, advertising copy, websites, an article on the
structure
of 18th
century Czech rhyming in poetry and even a Ceremonial Mass. I love
it.
With each project I learn something new about
life and maybe even a few new words.
But my translation abilities are writing skills; one
needs a different
kind of brain wiring to do interpreting and I bow to all those
who can do it.
Czech and English
The most valuable piece of advice I ever got regarding languages
was: "English isn't Czech
and Czech isn't English." It may sound obvious, but
it's so important that I want to pass it on. I'm sure you've heard
about
Eskimos
having 15 words for snow. That's true about English and Czech as
well - they are simply not equivalent, they express the
same ideas in different ways. I quickly learned this when
I was a teenager and tried to translate music lyrics which
naturally are full of slang - word to word translation
simply doesn't work.
When I tell Czechs that English consists of more words than Czech
language, most resist the idea or accuse me of low patriotism.
Yet, the biggest Czech dictionary contains 250,000 words, while
similar English dictionaries include 600,000 or more and
some approach a million. Naturally, the amount of words
used in common speech is similar everywhere, but in the case of
English, there's a lot to
learn.
Does it make a difference in daily life? You bet! There
are many times when I complain that I can't say something
in Czech, that my brain was perfectly capable of thinking in
English.
This
is mildly annoying in a conversation and very frustrating
when writing advertising copy - that's when creativity has to
step in. Those few extra thousands of words may not be used on
daily basis but people understand them. So when writing or translating,
the options
are much wider in English.
Styles and Dialects
A great "school" for me was English-language literary
evenings and authors' readings where one hears many accents,
dialects and literary styles. At a single event. I've
been exposed to everything from folk tales through rap to experimental
poetry.
I love slam-poetry, which is typically delivered from memory at
a very fast pace and requires close attention from listeners.
I have a good knowledge
of American slang and realities and am familiar with
British and Australian vernacular as well. When I speak,
I sound American, so many people assume that I lived in the U.S.
or that I learned
my English from Jim, my husband.
Not really.
I got
together
with
Jim
because I already spoke well and I spent a wonderful 3 months traveling
across the U.S. in 1999, after I had already worked as a translator.
At that time, I spoke with very little accent and experienced
lots of funny situations because of it. I remember asking a pharmacist
for a pain killer and her offering several U.S.-only brand
names. I had no idea
what they were and wondered how could someone not know Excedrin.
There was a strange silence until I explained to her that in Europe,
we call it Panadol. That's called "learning life and
institutions" - things
work
differently
in
different
countries
and
cultures.
But the trip also gave me the opportunity to experience
different dialects -
from
New
York,
to Louisiana, Texas,
California, Chicago and the North East. I might pass for
a native in the big cities, but definitely not in the South.
On a tour of a plantation house near the Mississippi river, I had
a hard time understanding the tour guide. When I asked Jim,
he whispered: "I have no idea what she says." So, I guess we weren't
the only ones. And of course in Maine, I would always be "from
away"... but so would anyone whose grandparents
weren't
born
there.
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