February 23, 2009
Book Translation – Keeping the Faith Part 2
As the saying goes…”Whatever happens, happens for a reason”
After I have read Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain, I continue to read his another book entitled “Like the Flowing River”. This is a collection
of reflections from Paulo Coelho. In this riveting collection of thoughts and stories, he offers his personal reflections on a wide range of subjects from archery and music to elegance, travelling and the nature of good and evil.
What actually caught my attention is when I read a particular short story on “The Other Side of the Tower of Babel”. In this story, he pays his respect to the Holy Translator, Saint Mesrob. Below is an extract of what Paulo had wrote and it best summarize the importance of a good book translator:
“Today is 9 October, 2004. The town is called Oshakan, and Armenia, as far as I know, is the only place in the world that has declared the day of the Holy Translator, St. Mesrob, a national holiday and where they celebrate it in style. As well as creating the Armenian alphabet (the language already existed, but only in spoken form). St Mesrob devoted his life to translating into his mother tongue the most important texts of the period, which were written in Greek, Persian or Cyrillic. He and his disciples devoted themselves to the enormous task of translating the Bible and the main literary classics of the time. From that moment on, the country’s culture gained its own identity, which it has maintained to this day.
The Holy Translator. I hold the flower in my hands and think of all the people I have never met, and perhaps may never have the opportunity to meet, but who, at this moment, have my books in their hands, and are doing their best tremain faithful to what I have tried to share with my readers. I think, above all, of my father-in-law, Christiano Monteiro Oiticica (profession: translator), who is today in the company of angels and of St. Mesrob, watching this scene. I remember seeing him hunched over his old typewriter, often complaining about how badly paid translation was (and, alas, still is). He would immediately go on, though, to explain that the real reason he translated was because he wanted to share a knowledge, which, but for translators, would never reach his own people.
I say a silent prayer for him, for all those who have helped me with my books, and for those who have allowed me to read books to which I would never otherwise have had access, thus helping – anonymously – to shape my life and my character. When I leave the church, I see some children writing the alphabet with sweets in the shape of letters and with flowers and more flowers.
When man grew ambitious, God destroyed the Tower of Babel, and everyone began to speak different tongues. However, in His infinite grace, he also created people to rebuild those bridges, to enable dialogue and the diffusion of human thought. This person, whose name we rarely take the trouble to notice when we open a foreign book, is the translator.”
The above extract has touched my heart when I read it. In this commercial world, some people has failed to comprehend the importance of translation. They fail to understand that a translator takes much effort and time to produce a good translation work. My kudos to those professional translators in the world. Thanks for being the Bridge Across Cultures in this world!
February 16, 2009
The Craft Of Translation
In order to be always improving ourselves, we need to read. I once heard from a friend who’s father is a translator, that they have shelves and shelves of books at home for his translation purposes. Not only do we have to be good in the source language, we also have to apt in the target language.
Thus I was actively searching throughout the internet, trying to find out what kinds of books to read, and I stumbled upon this.
It will not serve as a theoretical book to how you can translate your work, but it is a beginning to your work interest.
Of course once again not only do we need to take into account being a linguist, we also need to remember to localise the language to the specific area to which you are translating for.
A starter for your meal, I might say…
February 5, 2009
Do You Know the Difference between Translation and Interpretation?
Often, we will get client inquiring for translation service when in fact, they require interpretation service. Then we will spend the next few minutes explaining to them what is the difference between the two terms.
So why people get mix up with the 2 terms? People associate translation as “converting” from one language to another language. So anything to do with language conversion, it will mean translation whether it is for document or verbal. Interestingly, interpretation means oral translation.
I will usually explain to them that if anything that is to do with writing or brochure, it is translation. And if anything that is verbal, it is interpretation. Upon hearing this, our client is more aware of the difference. Hence they can tell their inquiry to us clearly. In this way, we can also tend to their inquiries faster.
This is what we call effective communication and good services to our clients.
So do you know the difference between translation and interpretation now?
January 21, 2009
Type of Translation Jobs in Advertising Industry
Do you think that translators only do document or manual translation? Well, think again… our job can be fun and challenging at times.
Some of our clients come from the Advertising industry. Most of the times, they do not want direct translation. They would prefer copywriting. This means that our translator would need to write in a creative style and still capture the essence of the whole copy. Yes, the skill level needed for such job is higher.
Having to say that, if you have great passion for language semantics, I believe it would not be too difficult to translate into a good copy. Moreover, it would be a great satisfaction to see your translated copy being published for the mass public. You can also keep the published copy in your portfolio and show to your future clients. This will definitely raise your profile as a translator.
So, what are the types of translation jobs that you can expect to get from a Advertising agencies?
1. Above-the-line advertisement.
Above-the-line is the term for mainstream paid advertising. Such advertisement is to appear in newspapers, magazines, transit ads, outdoor poster etc.
2. Commercials
Script translation for television and radio commercials
3. Sales and Merchandising Promotion
These will include brochures, leaftlets, pamphalets, posters, signage displays, window banners, floor stickers, shelf stickers etc…all these marketing collaterals would definitely need translation if the client wish to create a greater brand awareness to the public.
If you wish to know more, we welcome you to send your enquiries to us at hr@whizwordz.com.
January 19, 2009
Can Pictures Really Say a Thousand Words?
In your view, do pictures really mean a thousand words? If that is so, can we just do away with words, and just use pictures only?
Let’s try…
So what is this trying to say?
That Frosty the Snowman is celebrating Christmas on a starry December night, and he is asking for a hug from Santa?
Many a times, just purely visual ads do not really help a lot in communicating what your thoughts are to your clients. That is why, a copywriter is very important, to make the visuals stand out and attract readers, and hopefully make them your loyal customers.
To have your ad in another language, it does not just take translation to do the job. It has to be translation plus copywriting skills. You, as a renown company, would need to think twice, before you give this piece of art to your translator. A direct translation would ruin the meaning totally.
To copywrite it, the translator also need to understand the local needs of the market, whether phrasing it in this way would make it right for people reading it. And what I mean by “right” is that the phrases used are fit for the language in that country. What you use in 1 country does not necessarily be appropriate in another. That was what we talked about in the Importance of Localisation topic earlier.
So be very selective in who you choose to be your partner in your copywriting needs.
January 9, 2009
不要吵死人。。。
The message at the end of the commercial leaves its viewers to ponder over the meaning of 不要吵死人, whether it meant “do not disturb the dead (with your ringtones)” or “do not disturb people to their death”
In this context, the commercial brought the idea across with a pun.
Many times as when we say something, what we understand and put across may not be what others understand. That is where copywriting comes in. Copywriting helps to smoothen out the content without losing its original meaning that the writer is trying to put across. Some of us may thing that copywriting is not necessary, then take a look at all the books you see at bookstores – from fiction to biographies to self-help categories. Have you ever wonder what makes Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” a bestseller? This book went through more than eight times of copywriting/editing and proofreading before it was printed!
Somehow, the meaning of the content can be amplified and “beautified” just by putting the right words together, and this is the wonder that copywriters can do.
Here’s another one: what do you understand from 打死老虎 ?
December 26, 2008
Standardise My Name, Please!
I have watched many movies, and I tend to appreciate those with the availability of subtitles. However it seems there is always a chance that the names used, is sometimes different, though in English, the name is the same. What do I mean?
For example, Johnson in chinese can be written as “zhuang sheng” or “qiang sheng”. So sometimes, without listening to the voices, it is difficult to correlate the names to the English one.
I thought that for names to be translated to Chinese, it should be like those of country names. No matter where you are, be it in Taiwan, China, Singapore or Malaysia, the names remain the same, only whether it is written in the Traditional or Simplified form. You don’t have a case whereby for example in the name Korea, Singapore calls it “han guo” and another country calls it, maybe, “ke re”. It confuses everyone!
So I thought someone should come up with a list of names whereby the translation is standard for everywhere. Although I understand that sometimes the differences in the naming convention also shows the cultural aspect of different places, it does however, make our job easier as a translator, so that we don’t have to crack our brains to come up with some sound-alike chinese terms. What do you think?
December 19, 2008
Importance of Localisation
You might ask, why is it that we require localisation into the translated script. Can we do without it? For example, would it be alright if a Portugese in Portugal were to translate a script that were to be used in Brazil? The answer is “NO!”
From Wikipedia, we find the difference between just purely translation and translation with localisation included.
================================================
Translation versus localisation
Localization is often treated as a mere “high-tech translation”, but this view does not capture its importance, its complexity or what it encompasses. Though sometimes is somehow difficult to draw the limits between translation and localization, in general localisation addresses significant, non-textual components of products or services. In addition to strict translation (and, therefore, grammar and spelling issues that vary from place to place or form country to country where the same language is spoken), the localisation process might include, among other things, adaptation of graphics, adoption of local currencies, use of proper forms for dates, addresses, and phone numbers, and many other details, including rethinking the physical structure of a product. All these changes plan to avoid local sensitivities and to gain the market by merging into its needs and desires. For example, localisation is due to offer country-specific websites of the same company or different editions of a book depending on the place it is published.
================================================
Sounds a bit too complicated to understand? Simply said, we add the “salt and pepper” of the culture into the translated work so that people in those places where we use the translation for, can understand what the terms mean, and also get the gist of the message.
So it is always very important to get a native translator to do the job for you. Rest assured that we, at WhizWordz, always ensures that.
