Two conversations I had recently illustrate a problem I often see in translation. The first conversation occurred when I met with four apprentices to discuss some of their recent work. I brought with me a draft of one of my own translations that is currently being edited, just to show them what my in-progress work looks like. I printed roughly 1 page of the English text as a sample, then supplied the original Chinese text on the back of the page. Once I handed out the sample, it took only a few seconds before someone flipped to the reverse side of the page to check what the original said. Before long, most (all?) of them were flipping back and forth. I said, “Just focus on the English for now. You don’t need to worry about the original.” As they continued reading, it didn’t take long for one of them to flip to the reverse side again, an act soon followed by her peers. I finally said, “If you’re flipping back and forth between languages, you’re reading it wrong. That’s not how the readers will read it when it’s published.”
But who is it for?
But who is it for?
But who is it for?
Two conversations I had recently illustrate a problem I often see in translation. The first conversation occurred when I met with four apprentices to discuss some of their recent work. I brought with me a draft of one of my own translations that is currently being edited, just to show them what my in-progress work looks like. I printed roughly 1 page of the English text as a sample, then supplied the original Chinese text on the back of the page. Once I handed out the sample, it took only a few seconds before someone flipped to the reverse side of the page to check what the original said. Before long, most (all?) of them were flipping back and forth. I said, “Just focus on the English for now. You don’t need to worry about the original.” As they continued reading, it didn’t take long for one of them to flip to the reverse side again, an act soon followed by her peers. I finally said, “If you’re flipping back and forth between languages, you’re reading it wrong. That’s not how the readers will read it when it’s published.”