I've been talking to some folks about my obsession with translating tweets. One person said they can translate anything online via Google. Yes, that's true. We can plug in words or entire websites, which can then be instantly translated. That's the biggest change since I started this blog, and since I got paid for translating many years ago.
But the difference is the cultural translation and grasping the sense of words and phrases. If I want a quick translation of a block of text to get the gist or more information, then I can do it. But if I want to think about what a word would mean in American English, then I would think about how American writers would phrase it.
I don't just look up words, but I also think about our culture. Would we passively back into a description if we wanted to convey strength, ingenuity, independence, even if the source language is not as direct? And why would we avoid contractions?
For instance, I would say 体調管理大丈夫かな is "How've you been feeling?" instead of "Are you managing your health well?" because かな implies a casual wondering, including using a contraction.
There's also the use of katakana instead of kanji or hiragana, which makes the words sound more emphatic or casual or current, depending on the context.
And for "Virologe warnt wegen Vogelgrippe vor möglicher neuer Pandemie," I would say, "Virologist warns of a possible new bird flu pandemic" instead of "Virologist warns of possible new pandemic due to bird flu," because while the translation is technically correct, an English headline would be more pithy.
If someone wants to just get info and move on, great. But if someone wants to communicate the essence or localize the meaning, then a human matters.
p.s. the e-book version of my debut novel is still at Amazon, and the price for the print version has been reduced: buy at the Eckhartz Press site.
