Ewan McGregor & Bruce Willis – Translator’s Blues
Website design By BotEap.comTime and time again, sloppy and sloppy translations, whether written or visual, print or virtual, practically scream at readers or listeners of websites, movie subtitles, marketing copy, news headlines, articles, books, or wherever. that they meet This irritates me to no end, as I am sure it does to all truly professional colleagues, because it is nothing more than a consequence, or consequences – collateral damage, so to speak – of the pursuit of the lowest price, and a devil total. – caring attitude towards quality that has become a common trait with some subcontractors or agencies.
Website design By BotEap.comI feel that little can be done against such bad business and professional practices, beyond denouncing them in the strongest possible terms, as often and by as many professionals as possible. Not only is it a discredit for translation as a serious profession, and of enormous importance, because where would we be today, in terms of knowledge, without the gigantic contribution of translators? – but also a display of total disrespect for the intended user of the end product.
Website design By BotEap.comLet me cite a few cases to illustrate this “anything goes” attitude towards translation. In “Deception” (USA, 2008), a film starring Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams, the character played by Ewan McGregor, Jonathan McQuarry, is an accountant who performs corporate audits. At one of these audits, he walks in and is greeted by a company executive, who sits him at a desk and tells him to ask the assistant controller for anything he, McQuarry, might need. All right, this is the stage. Now, how do you think “controller assistant” was translated into the Spanish subtitles? was translated as “control assistant”. Which is totally wrong. I should know, because I was an assistant controller of the Bank myself (ergo, a “control assistant“) for almost two decades… To put it in simple terms: what McQuarry was told, in the film, was audit SOP, or standard operating procedure: any documentation that he might need to see in the course of the audit, would be provided by the “financial deputy manager” or the “control deputy manager”, that is, a kind of deputy comptroller, not an assistant to the comptroller, that is, a kind of secretary to the comptroller. It could be argued that the distinction does not affect the result of the events in the film, true enough, but it could affect the translation if it were part of another context, for example, an accounting or auditing report.
Website design By BotEap.comWhich reminds me of another subtitle “gem”: on “Live Free or Die Hard”, (USA as “Fort Kong” – How ignorant can you get? I refuse to insult my readers by exposing this mistake …..
Website design By BotEap.comThere is a widespread misconception, both among self-proclaimed translators and the public, that knowing or speaking two -or more- languages is enough to be able to translate professionally. Wrong. As completely wrong as saying that knowing how to write is enough to become a writer. There is a great deal of knowledge and skills involved in being and becoming a translator, so along with experience, professional accreditation should always be required. While credentials may not, per se, be a guarantee of quality, they certainly go a long way towards assuring end customers that a well thought out and researched product will be delivered. Something worth your money.
Website design By BotEap.comSo, I stay with my case. I just had to get it off my chest and keep insisting that quality is, and must remain, paramount.