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T R A N S L A T I O N Roger Chriss, a professional translator, describes the role of the translator: Translators are language professionals. They are applied linguists, competent writers,
diplomats, and educated amateurs. Like linguists, translators have to be capable of
discerning subtleties and nuances in their languages, researching terminology and
colloquialisms, and handling new developments in their languages. Like writers, translators
have to be accustomed to working long hours alone on a subject which interests few people
and with a language that few people around them know. Like diplomats, translators have to
be sensitive to the cultural and social differences which exist in their languages and be
capable of addressing these issues when translating. And like educated amateurs,
translators have to know the basics and some of the details about the subjects they deal with.
("Translation as a
Profession,"
on Roger Chriss’s website The Language Realm – a Website In diplomacy one of the main drawbacks of the growing need for translation is cost. Nick points out that although most organisations and conferences try to limit the number of languages used by selecting several official or working languages, the cost of interpretation and translation is astronomical. “Several years ago it was calculated that the translation of one single page to all official languages of the UN amounted to the value necessary to cover the cost of living for one person in India for a whole year! When one takes into account the number of international organisations, and the thousands of pages translated almost daily it is easy to subscribe to the proposal of introducing Esperanto as the language for international communication.” ("Use
of Language in Diplomacy," Language and Diplomacy,
Malta: DiploProjects, 2001) Versions in working languages are based on the records of simultaneous interpretation. Versions in other languages have to be prepared separately. All have to go before the drafting committee which therefore needs at least one member for each language. Preferably however members of a drafting committee should master two or more of the languages used so as to ensure proper concordance of texts. The drafts submitted to the committee are prepared by the secretariat of the negotiating body, which must check recordings of simultaneous interpretation and produce versions in languages which were not used as working languages. The complexity of the task of a drafting committee explains why, in some cases, it will re-convene after the treaty has already been authenticated, with the express competence of making linguistic adjustments between the various versions.
("Texts
in Diplomacy," Language and Diplomacy, Malta: DiploProjects, 2001) |
