The Perfect Translator

In the popular mind, a translator is someone who has a good knowledge of both the language he/she translates from and the language he/she translates into. In other words, as long as a translator knows all the equivalents for the words in the text to be translated, there is no question about the ability of said person to produce a good, reliable translation. Nothing is farther from the truth. There is a great deal more going into translation than words, just as there is much more going into a musical performance than sounds.

To begin with, there are feelings, both in music and in translation. The most perfect rendition of a musical composition done without feeling remains flat and hollow. The same is true about translation. One could be technically correct in the way one translates a text, but may fail to convey the feel and spirit of the text. Take, for example, a business letter translated from English into Spanish. A thorough knowledge of both languages may well yield a correct rendition, which will give the Spanish-reading businessman an accurate picture of what the English-speaking colleague is saying. But there is more to business than information. There are feelings in business just as there are in anything else in life, and when it comes to feelings, the Hispanic world, perhaps even more than the Anglo-Saxon world, is the leader. A Hispanic businessman expects more than cold information in a business letter. He/she expects courtesy, sensitivity, friendliness, proper form, and a proof of one's willingness to stand behind one's commitments. English-language business letters are generally not known to convey much beyond the bare facts, but Spanish business letters do. The task of a truly accomplished translator of English-into-Spanish business letters is to go a step further than merely render what's in the original. After all, the English-speaking client may count on him/her to make a good impression on the prospective business contact, and much can ride on how things come across in the other language.

Looking at the foregoing in a broader context, a truly accomplished translator of any text or subject does not simply transform words from one language into another. What he/she must do, is develop a deliberate split personality. In other words, become two persons in one while engaging in the art of translation. In the case of English and Spanish, one half of the split personality pretends to live in Chicago and the other half in Caracas, Venezuela. The half in Chicago interacts with other people in English, and the half in Caracas in Spanish. The Chicago half must be able to visualize Caracas and put him/herself into that Spanish-speaking environment, trying to figure out how the same thing could be said most effectively in that particular cultural context. To do this, of course, one has to be equally at home in both cultures. This is usually the case only with people who have actually lived in both cultures, which is entirely different from knowing two languages. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, but very few in this case.

And then there is something else most people are not aware of. Language is a living organism which, like any other organism, grows and decays. Some cells die, and new cells are born all the time. You cannot learn a language, either in school or in your youth, and then claim to know it for the rest of your life. A truly accomplished linguist is a life-long student of the language, closely following its growth and changes, dedicated to its many nuances, checking and rechecking his/her utilization of the language. A U.S. president several years ago made the mistake of taking a linguist to Europe with him who had been out of touch with his native European language for many years. The results were disastrous. The president was not reelected.

One more thing. Almost every profession, social class, region and so on has its own way of using language. U.S. Air Force personnel, for instance, talk about "cannibalizing" an aircraft, which means taking a part from one aircraft and installing it in another. This is a purely technical term without any pejorative connotations. A police report, on the other hand, which refers to an act of cannibalism, is another matter altogether, with serious legal implications. Therefore, it is not enough to know the root meaning of the word "cannibal." One also has to learn how to use it in different contexts if one is to become a credible translator.

There is more to be said about the attributes of the "perfect translator," but the point has been made. There are, of course, always intangibles, as there are in any other form of art. Some translators are born great, some become great, and some have greatness thrust upon them, to paraphrase the Bard. But, to paraphrase Thomas Edison, the art of translation is still one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.