| Páxinas no tema: < [1 2] | Poll: How do people typically react when you tell them you are a linguist or translator? Persoa que publicou o fío: ProZ.com Staff
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Baran Keki wrote: Edith van der Have wrote:
What languages? I bet they get even less impressed when you say English, as it's practically the second language over there?
Absolutely, and more often than not, they think I translate into English. German is also still rather mundane, but they're usually quite impressed when I add Swedish as a source language
| | | | Liena Vijupe 
Latvia
Local time: 03:59
Membro (2014)
French to Latvian
+ ...
For some reason, they often seem to think I spend my days hanging around with ministers, ambassadors and other important people, subtly pulling the strings of world politics (I wish!). They also like to ask how many languages I know and think that I translate in all possible combinations and directions.
Those who know I work from home probably think I do not do very much but consider me lucky for not having to go to an office and sit there all day.
[Edited at 2024-06-10 10:07 GMT]
| | | | Natasha Cloutier
Netherlands
Local time: 02:59
Membro (2023)
Dutch to English
+ ...
Many people ask which language pairs—I have four, and that's never an answer they expect. I'm also a native of both English and French, and even this American platform has trouble understanding that people can have more than one native language.
| | | | | Do you translate books? | Jun 10 |
I live in Denmark, and there are lots of translated books in circulation. They often assume I translate into Danish, not the other way.
They lose interest when I say I translate marketing and occasionally research! I never mention museums, because a lot of the English signing and museum guides are done by museum staff or volunteers, and OK, you can understand them, but let´s just say they are not my style.
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Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 20:59
German to English
| "How interesting!" | Jun 10 |
... then embarrassed silence and a change of subject.
Alternative: a rant about unintelligible instructions for use of household gadgets.
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I often hear "how nice, you must travel a lot" because many people do not make the difference between translator and interpreter !!!
| | | | Elías Sauza
Mexico
Local time: 18:59
Membro (2002)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I usually receive the immediate reaction: What languages? One time, when I told someone I was a translator, the reaction was: Just that? And someone else told me: And do you make a living being a translator?
[Edited at 2024-06-10 15:46 GMT]
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule |
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I have given a very brief overview of my actual training, career and the industry sectors I work for and my work processes to some friends. After I make a small effort to inform people, their reaction is more positive.
Most people assume that all translation is done automatically by software, so they think it's very easy or that it is only a menial clerical job. They think that anyone who "speaks" a language can be a translator without obtaining any credentials or competing for jobs... See more I have given a very brief overview of my actual training, career and the industry sectors I work for and my work processes to some friends. After I make a small effort to inform people, their reaction is more positive.
Most people assume that all translation is done automatically by software, so they think it's very easy or that it is only a menial clerical job. They think that anyone who "speaks" a language can be a translator without obtaining any credentials or competing for jobs. They don't think about the fact that in some technical fields (medical, aviation, nuclear engineering) the lack of expertise could have disastrous consequences. They have to be reminded that every industry uses specialized jargon and that translators have to acquire that knowledge in two languages.
People don't understand that translating 100 pages means reading 200 pages, or that it's all due "immediately", on a deadline. They don't understand agencies or clients that work around the clock. They have to be informed about the pressure.
Such people have little or no exposure to other languages or to people who speak many languages or to the business world. Some people are outright insulting. A former friend who is a physician flatly told me "that is not intellectual work", to which I responded that now even some lawyers and doctors lack prestige. Some academics lack prestige. A dentist, a car salesman and an accountant all reacted negatively based on the impression (correct or not) that translators don't make enough money to have any importance as a client. A lawyer told me that "we only want translators who live in [a certain country in Central America]."
At an on-site job, on one day, a non-translator who was not hired to translate actually had the audacity to show up at the office carrying his own huge pile of bilingual dictionaries that he placed on his desk that day! My shocked stare embarrassed him. The translators were offended. We let it go.
These negative reactions are due to lack of knowledge about 1) the millions of freelancers in every economic sector, 2) the size and importance of the market for translation and other language services (or commodities). It doesn't seem possible to change the widespread perception that language services lacks value as a profession and does not require expertise. Does it matter?
[Edited at 2024-06-11 13:59 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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