Translation myths

Let’s bring down some of the ’myths’ that regard us, translators. I hope you smile after reading.

• As much as I tried explaining to my clients that, in the absence of an editable source file, the translation would never be similar to the original, I still feel like I failed.
• Some freelancing sites and blogs are willing to convince you that it is easy to find clients online. Well, if that’s the case, how come the people in the field have the time to write these articles rather than translate for those tons of clients?
• There are days when we crave to go hill walk the cattle rather than interact with our difficult client and solve his/her absurd requests. Eventually, we are creating our reality, so paint it nicely!
• Deadlines are unrealistic most of the time. The translator is not a robot, but a human, just like you. You can’t expect him/her to translate a text in a certain time frame (even though time is an illusion, too) if you can’t type the same text in your language over the same time frame.
• There was a joke some years ago, and I liked it a lot. The translator is the person paid per hour, per word, or perhaps. J

Japanese as a foreign language

Why should you be a polyglot

Polyglots start young. This is probably one of the main ingredients to their success.

Like many children born in Transylvanian families, I began my polyglot life learning Romanian and Hungarian. I have recordings that show my mastery of these two languages at the age of two. At three, English followed, as I began studying it with my father. Four years later, my interest turned to French. Italian came next; I learned it while watching cartoons on Italian channels. Telenovelas were also part of my linguistic journey (the case of many Romanians) when my attention turned to Spanish. As I matured, I became aware of my likes and dislikes. I also realised that I could choose – and I did. I chose Japanese.

Of course, one cannot master all the languages in the portfolio at the same level and there are – like in all relationships – ups and downs, times when one loves a language more than the others, when the adoration and fascination for the vocabulary and grammar of another language go beyond the regular, earthly boundaries, or when one is sick and tired of listening to a language being spoken or of uttering even a few words in that language!

When your first profession takes you far and yet very close to where you started, the joy you feel inside has (almost) no equal. Travelling and travel writing can be an extension or another dimension of a translator. And that’s where languages step in. Experiencing a culture when you speak the language of the locals is a different story from having to rely on the translations and explanations of others. I will never forget speaking about history in Hungarian with the curator of the museum of the Battle of Mohács... starting to speak French out of nowhere on so many occasions... being able to communicate with Argentineans in their native language and build some solid friendships that have stood the test of time... (always) asking for directions and information on the wonderful food (I’m a vegetarian) when in Italy ...the big smile on my face the first time when I interacted with native Japanese speakers in the Japanese centre where I was studying.

So many good memories and times! They go beyond sitting at a desk or in an interpreting booth. A polyglot never stops; after all, there are so many languages in the world! /what a tempting thought!/ We might even claim that polyglots and travellers share this ultimate view: the tougher the challenge, the sweeter the journey.  

Language in Transylvania

Probably hard to understand by foreigners, the way in which we – Romanians – make fun of one another depending on our region of birth does hide some bitter yet funny truths. Moldavians are pictured as lazy, Oltenians – as prideful, Transylvanians – as slow. This piece of information is designed to help you connect the dots.

 So is the following: the century-long Austro-Hungarian influences made their mark on the language we currently speak. In the end, leaving aside history and – at times – tasteless humour, one must admit that Transylvania owes much of its romanticism and charm to its regional accent and slow-paced, though funny and colourful, language.    

Don’t think of yourself as Transylvanian until you’ve uttered your first ‘ioi’. Did you have a tough day at work? Did your cat suddenly drag all the clothes you’ve put out to dry all around the courtyard? Did the cake overcook? It’s time for the magic word. Plus a mandatory sigh afterwards.   

Without even thinking, you’re using it 50 times a day. At least. And it’s not even a negation, but a filler word stating the very spirit of Transylvania: ‘no’. You will even start to combine it with adverbs... and verbs are likely to follow in no time.

More dramatic than ‘ioi’, but less used, ‘tulai’ may lend different meanings to surprise, nagging, or anger. Most of them have a happy, enough-to-make-a-cat-laugh ending.

Forget ‘salut’, ‘bună’, ‘hei’! You’re in Transylvania and ‘servus’ is the greeting norm here. Pronounced in different fashions. [You’ll also get that. In time.]

You’re probably not passing your Transylvanian ‘adoption’ exam until ‘ni’ is finally synonymous in your mind and actions to ‘look’, ‘take’, and 'do it fast’, even for Transylvanian standards.

The last two are an adjective and an adverb, actually, but somehow Transylvanians made them qualify as interjections. You won’t say ‘beautiful’ or ‘nice’ anymore, you will get accustomed to labelling everything you like as ‘fain’.

Well, while you sip your cocoa by the forest one early morning, feel overpowered by the scents of the meadows one late afternoon, or simply get in the middle of the welcoming crowd one evening, you’ll know for sure that reaching this fairy tale land was written down in your destiny path, it was obligatory, it was ‘musai’.