Tuesday, 23 October 2012
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So Much Talent
My job as a translator is very difficult to get. Out of a hundred who apply, only a handful pass the battery of language tests. When I took my first test back in 1998, there were 13 others in the room. Only three of us were invited to the second test a few weeks later, and I was alone for the third round.
Everyone in my office has a similar story. I'm surrounded by brilliant people. Even the ones that get on my nerves.
Today I gave a workshop on consecutive interpretation to a dozen colleagues. Most fully bilingual people can do consecutive interpretation reasonably well, if the speaker pauses every sentence or so, but occasionally a speaker will go on and on before you get a chance to interpret. So today we dealt with speeches lasting from one to three minutes.
For the first hour, I didn't allow them to take notes. They just had to listen to short speeches and repeat them back. They found it quite easy to deal with descriptions of normal life, and even when I read them a couple of paragraphs about an upcoming scientific TV show, they remembered the day, the time, the channel, the content, the description, everything important.
Beginning the second hour, notes were allowed, and we worked with information-packed paragraphs from newspapers and magazines. The linguists found that if they understood the material in the first place, they could recall most of the information, but if the language was very abstract or there were unfamiliar terms, it became harder. So we talked about getting talking points or training material before we start an interpretation assignment. That way we can become familiar with the topic and any associated jargon.
By the end of the morning, I think the participants were very impressed by what they were able to do. I certainly was! They're all good translators, and some have absolutely phenomenal talent.
Just now I signed onto Xanga and rediscovered why I keep coming back. There's brilliance all over the place here as well!
I basked in the warmth of posts by @fauquet and @WildWomanOfTheWest. I stared in wonder at @thekeepersgarden 's flowers and @plantinthewindow 's abandoned rural houses, and in morbid fascination at @slmret 's toes. I chuckled at @jsolberg 's latest batch of palindromes and the comments that followed. We've got outstanding artists like @OceanStarr and @Aloysius_son , writers like @ordinarybutloud and @gnostic1 and @doahsdeer and @TexasTidbits ...
I could go on and on. My list of subscriptions is loaded with interesting and creative people.
And on a tangentially related topic (my fiancee is brilliant, interesting, and creative), I sent off my loan application and supporting documents today.
I feel good.
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Comments (36)
Awww shucks...
Same as what you said I come here for the beauty of the people and that beauty flows out onto their blogs.
Well, aren't you nice to say so.
Hehehehe! the toes will be in hiding as soon as the foot recovers enough to walk around and shoot some more photos! Sorry -- if you'd prefer they be hidden sooner, I can put them under the covers for you
! But thanks for the mention of talent -- you are also very talented, my friend!
Your happiness shines through every word.
wow thanks. My youngest daughter was one of three selected to attend the Militay Linguistic school in Monterrey Calif after she finished AIT when she was in the Army Reserves, for 66 weks, She was 2nd in her class that learned Mandarin Chinese. After finishing and going home she was activated and had 90 days to learn Arabic, she already new Spanish, so now she is pretty good at 4 languages. Thanks for the mention
and i notice your wisdom and kindness, sir, in comments on some of said talented friend's posts :)
(fascinating to hear you talk about translation. i took ASL for a year or two at our local college, thinking i would translate for the deaf community. i never felt i was fast enough to get certified. plus it bothered me that i only had to get the gist of 80% of what was said to get certified. communication is important to me. so, at this point, i try and translate for various Muses. ;)What's good, Tim, is seeing you so happy. YAY!
So happy that your fiancee will be here soon enough. And, I am sure a lot of people think the same way about you.
Besides the bilingual aspect, verbal translators just amaze me with the ability to cram stuff into short-term memory. I can't remember my own name if something distracts me. I've been meaning to work more on breaking into written translation as an editorial subspecialty—it's definitely less demanding, and doable for the nonfluent if you stick to technical stuff that you have expertise in (and have help). There are some classics in the German university-level mathematics textbook literature that should be brought out in English, that I've been meaning to interest a publisher in, but less interesting things have always gotten in the way.
@TexasTidbits - I might be able to get her a job when she retires or quits.
You're on an enviable roll, you are. I'm mainly an amateur observer of the real-time translate process; here every speech of historic consequence is translated as it happens on the radio, and I always ask myself if I could have done it better, or half as well. A perfect synthesis of memory, understanding, and judgment.
And you are correct that Xanga is, if you look beyond then chaff, a wheatfield of creativity. We are all lucky that a site like this can even survive in the present clime. God-speed with your new house.
@Roadkill_Spatula - she's been out since 2004. She graduated from University of Texas with her BA and now after a short delay while she gave me a grandaughter she now she is working toward her Masters at UT Austin
It's understandable that being a translator is difficult therefore requires really brilliant people. I agree with you - Xanga is filled with talented, creative and brilliant people. Also really sweet, kind and funny people. It's a good place
. peace always
You are a good man Tim and I am glad we are friends!
Good job ! I hear translating is HARD work ! I have an Aunt in Spain who is multilingual and she has to travel all over the world and she says it is tough, especially when you arrive in a new country and have jet lag yet you are expected to still work as soon as you step off the plane and have your wits about you !
It's so interesting to hear about your profession. I don't even speak my parents' native language well, so I'm super impressed by people who speak two or more languages fluently.
It's always interesting evaluating others' skill sets. Always nice when they do well. I really relate to you about the whole xanga thing... Sometimes I feel really silly for still playing in blogland when I have so much bloody work to do - event tonight, commissions to paint, show to prep for, book to proof... But the people I have here cannot be replaced by anyone I know IRL. Go figure
Translating whole stories amazes me, considering I probably had trouble repeating my marriage vows, in my native tongue even.
You might have made me cry. Thank you for including me in this collection of beautiful people.
@peacenow - Yeah, actually it's the combination of sweet, kind, and funny with brilliance that is so appealing here. I know and avoid brilliant people who are obnoxious.
@SarahakaHungry - I had the advantage of growing up overseas. Most of my colleagues are immigrants. It's very hard to learn a language well without living in the culture. Most immigrants' kids prefer English and only learn enough of their parents' language to communicate with them.
@WildWomanOfTheWest - I wish I got to translate stories. My work is rarely that interesting.
I stay on Xanga for the beautiful people. I wish Facebook was as interesting, instead of screens and screens of reposted inflammatory political or "inspirational" stuff. Fortunately I'm in touch with a few Xangans over there now.
@Want2FitIn2Fat2Fit - My first big interpreting assignment was in Budapest. I discovered that it was $1000 cheaper to fly on Thursday-Friday rather than Friday-Saturday, and my agency was happy to pay for an extra night in the hotel for a net savings of $750. That way I had the whole weekend to recover from jet lag and explore the city. My colleague flew 14 hours from San Francisco and arrived Sunday night. When we started work Monday morning, she was toast! So I did nearly all the work for the first three days. It was great for me because I got tons of practice.
@jsolberg - I'll bet you would make a great translator. The biggest challenge with simultaneous interpretation is to avoid literal translation. It's better to follow about a sentence behind so that you have the chance to process the meaning instead of just translating words. With consecutive interpretation, there's much less tendency to translate literally.
@n_e_i_l - I have a friend who has done a fair amount of written German translation. He learned it in college and spent a year or two studying in Germany. I hope you can work it out.