Why I don\'t translate out of my native language...

However those who translate into target languages other than their native languages, do it because of necessity not because of preference.





Not at all in my case.



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Hours of proofreading may be a good measure to judge on such persons, and if they are costly, explicitly seen in their increased proofeading hours comparing with natives, agencies will certainly not prefer them.





Hours of proofreading are a good measure to judge of any translator, even native speaker. I dislike this innate superiority that consists to think that any native (and we are all natives of at least one language) is able to do it better than a non-native. There are lots of natives with weak knowledge of linguistic rules who won\'t make the same mistakes than a non-native, but will do. ▲ Collapse

On 2002-10-10 10:28, PaulaMac wrote:

I agree. For eloquent evidence, see the suggestions for a request in the French-English section for eyeglass/eyewear slogans - some people simply should NOT be allowed to post outside their language combinations. The \"suggestions\" are particularly crude given this website\'s repeated claims of professionalism. I am appalled. Anyone else out there?





Quite. But in addition, some people simply should NOT be allowed to claim the language combinations they do so claim on their page. Whenever I see someone \'working\' into 3 (or 4) languages, my b**s** antennae start twitching like billy-o. Or people who grew up and went to school in country x AND still live there, claiming active fluency in the language of country y halfway across the world. Although a quick read through their postings, or indeed their posted CV, often disabuses the reader if not the poster of this delusion. Very frequently, \'the language of country y\' is English: for some strange reason, many translators believe they can translate into English without the slightest cause for this belief, and are quite blind to this shortcoming even after it\'s pointed out to them.
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I dislike this innate superiority that consists to think that any native (and we are all natives of at least one language) is able to do it better than a non-native. There are lots of natives with weak knowledge of linguistic rules who won\'t make the same mistakes than a non-native, but will do.





I don\'t think any of us has suggested that all native speakers are by nature superior to all non-native speakers. That would be like suggesting that anyone who know a foreign language could translate, which we all know is not the case



It\'s a debate that could rage and rage. Essentially, I believe that to be capable of translating into a language, the language itself must never be an issue. If I were to attempt to translate into German, I would need the dictionary for the target language, and could therefore not guarantee that my document were written with the same nuances as a native speaker would imbue into it. There are people that can do it, I admire them, but do not claim to be one of them!



Peace



Mary



Oh, and PS: Thanks for your support, Colin

[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-10-10 15:29 ] ▲ Collapse

On 2002-10-10 10:06, Verbum Ltd. wrote:

\"I can write English without having to think about the grammer, the idioms, the style\".

Maybe you should...

Regards,

Giovanni





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On 2002-10-10 10:26, MaryR wrote:

But I think you know what I meant.

Mary





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On 2002-10-10 12:38, mckinnc wrote:

What is this - open day on Mary\'s powers of expression? Anyway, she didn\'t claim to have mastered spelling in what she said!



..., many people are incapable of writing an idiomatic sentence in English. Not exactly what you would call professional!





All too often English native speakers excuse themselves to cover up their mistakes in grammar by downplaying them as spelling mistakes, which shouldn\'t be a big deal, right? On the other hand, they make quite a few shameful real spelling mistakes, too. The attitude towards admitting this is shown in the quotes.



So sorry, but Giovanni was right and whenever you write even 1 word, you should check what you\'re writing OR slow down, which native English speakers really hate to do and be reminded of. And no, not just the subject you\'re writing about matters, but at the same time your style, too. Both do! It speaks volumes about your education, attitude, accuracy and professionalism. Real professionals are watching!



So although by and large I agree with the advantage of the majority of native speakers, I have been very often disappointed by their English, as well. Sometimes it sounds even, as if they were foreigners and this in America! What a shame, so let\'s not downplay or forget about it! And spelling is just as important, so if you can\'t do it, leave it and take spelling lessons before writing down another word, even if you\'re a native English speaker or God himself! I don\'t respect any of them just for being who they are, they both have to prove it!



My 2 cents, now attacks may roll in...

[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-10-10 15:57 ] ▲ Collapse