Abstract

I have heard many experienced and highly competent translators express their frustration with the lack of freedom they are afforded in their translations, the insult of having their work pored over by individuals who cannot fully understand the source language, and the butchering of their definitively perfect and masterful renderings into the target language. As a translator who works both in house and out house (sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally), I am sensitive to these complaints. I have certainly experienced and expressed more than my share of grousing and grumbling over revisions to my 'final' copy. Nevertheless, I find these corrections and my resulting frustrations becoming less and less frequent. Why is this the case? One reason is that I no longer view myself as a professional.

Links and resources

Tags