Poll: If you had to choose one, would you say translation, the way you do it, is primarily: Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "If you had to choose one, would you say translation, the way you do it, is primarily:".
This poll was originally submitted by Oliver Lawrence. View the poll results »
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 16:58
Member (2009)
English to German
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Specializing in literature and poetry translation as well as creative writing makes it an art rather than a "mere" craft.
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I’ve always approached my work as a craft (a kind of an embroidery work with words instead of needle and thread) and after so many years I can’t view my job differently...
| | | | Carol OConnor (X)
France
Local time: 16:58
French to English
+ ...
I suppose it depends on the kind of translation you do, I would say a science, trying to find exactly the right words to convey the original meaning of a text is like solving an equation.
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Translation has its fixed rules, especially in utilitarian translations for everyday purposes. You must use the right terminology, just for a start. I don't think there is the same freedom as with an art, but there is a need for skill and Fingerspitzengefühl. Each text has to be individually tailored, and language is not as logical as a science. 
Otherwise the machines would have taken over long ago...
... See more Translation has its fixed rules, especially in utilitarian translations for everyday purposes. You must use the right terminology, just for a start. I don't think there is the same freedom as with an art, but there is a need for skill and Fingerspitzengefühl. Each text has to be individually tailored, and language is not as logical as a science.
Otherwise the machines would have taken over long ago...
Translation is re-creation, not simple reproduction. I am no great artist, but I can do exactly what I like when I write to the newspapers, or write a Danish song for a birthday party, draw a picture or whatever. I do have my creative moments.
But when I translate the song for the English guests, I am suddenly far more bound by the original text, whether I wrote the original song myself, or whether someone else did! ▲ Collapse
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 16:58
Spanish to English
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Ever indecisive, I'm reluctant to rule out any of the suggested epithets. I like to think of my approach to translation as an eclectic amalgamation, a combination, a hodge-podge if you like, of concepts rolled into one.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 12:58
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
It's a profession like any other. There will always be people who believe what they do is an art, in any area, and they are not wrong. But it's sill just one more profession among hundreds of others. Full of art, indeed, but a craft above all.
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A combination of art, craft and a bit of magic.
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DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
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The CAT-craft and MT trade or the MT-craft and CAT-trade? Considering the terms, the pricing, and the supply, the modern translation in the era of crowdsourcing and PEMT globalization is but a minor--an optional feature for any 'real' profession; a semi-skilled trifle sometimes better than MT.
It seems they are not very far off the mark, yet hopefully one day the market will come to "self-regulation"... if I live that long)
| | | | Nikolay Novitskiy
Russian Federation
Local time: 20:58
Member (2018)
English to Russian
| More like a grind. | Feb 20, 2019 |
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a snail! Cheaper, faster, easier! Just MT all this stuff and edit a bit - and here you are! Next one please!
It's like grinding in a silly RPG - you kill the same monsters again and again untill you are exhausted, untill blood drips from your nose and your keyboard breaks down. Then you get you hard-earned money, sleep a bit, and return to the job.
No time to think. More grind to the God of grinding!
| | | | EvaVer (X)
Local time: 16:58
Czech to French
+ ...
| Never a science | Feb 20, 2019 |
Craft or art depends on the kind of text.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:58
French to English
| Thank you for an interesting question! | Feb 20, 2019 |
And I see there are some interesting answers already, and what is very interesting is that none of us agree exactly yet I kind of agree with everyone
I would say it's mostly a craft. There are creative elements but you have rules to follow so it's not pure art. There are rules to follow but it's not all clinical like science. But definitely, the more artistic the domain, the more scope there is for creative flair, ... See more And I see there are some interesting answers already, and what is very interesting is that none of us agree exactly yet I kind of agree with everyone
I would say it's mostly a craft. There are creative elements but you have rules to follow so it's not pure art. There are rules to follow but it's not all clinical like science. But definitely, the more artistic the domain, the more scope there is for creative flair, and the more scientific the domain, the more you have to be precise and clinical.
Elizabeth even calls on a little bit of magic... yes, that's the inexplicable part where you go to bed thinking you have your work cut out proofreading the rubbish draft you've just finished, then solutions just plop into your head even for things that looked untranslateable, or where you happen upon a word that works just perfectly even though there isn't a single published dictionary that would have given you that word.
Some texts, catalogues for me, may seem like a grind but if that's how you feel day in day out, it's time for a career change! ▲ Collapse
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| art(s) include craftmanship and science | Feb 20, 2019 |
at least at a professional level. It is a profession, requiring knowledge, skill, approaches, judgment and a certain degree of instinct.
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