Dear Translators: Thoughts on Translator Anonymity?
There were some interesting responses on a recent post that I began with “Dear Translators.” So what the heck, I’ll try it again — perhaps it can become a repeat topic here.
Dear Translators,
What is your opinion on translation and anonymity?
Translators are quite often left uncredited, whereas authors almost never are. Personally, I find that weird.
I’m not a professional translator myself, but I have done enough amateur translating to know that it’s hard work. In some respects translation is harder than simply writing something — one has to juggle two languages and cultures at once, and constantly balance the demands of creating a readable translation and being faithful to the original author’s text.
So why does it seem that in many fields (quite often in journalism, for instance), it seems to be acceptable for publishers not to credit translators for their work?
Is this anonymity a remnant of the pre-internet world? Has the web made it more possible for translators to promote themselves as individuals with a (for lack of a better term) “personal brand”? Are there any benefits to this sort of anonymity?
2 comments.
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This is an interesting idea, nevertheless it seems that a) agencies or clients will do so only for absolute & best professionals (which we are, of course, but I do not know whether the others acknowledge this) b) maybe most agencies will try once more to lower our rates with this idea of a mention (interestingly, books - except bestsellers - that mention translators are paid worde than any other text, at least in Germany).
Hey there, Pat Hall. How’ve you been?
I’m a professional translator, and I can say that you do get treated pretty lowly by most publishing organizations. If you get a slice of a published work’s profit, it’s a very meager slice, and if you just get paid straight, it’s a fairly low fee.
That’s just typical, I might add. John Nathan, for instance, reaped in a pretty good deal when he translated Oe Kenzaburo’s work. He also gained notoriety and celebrity, becoming one of the more famous translators outside already-established authors who decided to translate major works themselves.
So, I don’t think it’s a completely anonymous field. In the news media and professional works outside the “published” world (i.e. contracts and such), you’re right that the translator is anonymous.
There are two schools on translations, and one would note that the translator should appear as a ghost, leaving the words and ideas of the author completely in their original form–just in the new language. In this sense, maybe a translator should be anonymous.
I used to belong to that school of thought, but I’ve come to gradually believe that a great translator should change things with signature touches to try to convey the same impact as the original author’s meaning. I might be a strange little man who doesn’t really know what he’s talking about too much, but I might note that I was always credited for my published translations.