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31st translation contest: "A translator's life" » English to Kirundi » Entry by Olivier Murindangabo


Source text in English

Translation by Olivier Murindangabo (#35297)

[...] Translators just didn't get recognition, they didn't expect to make much of a living, just get by. Very few people were actually trained as translators, but most had a solid college education and a solid knowledge of languages, at least their own language. I had a friend who fell exactly into that category and my circle of friends expanded to include other translators. I found them to be much more interesting as people, and discovered that we often had similar life experiences. I never had trouble making friends, but I always felt "different" and I'm sure they felt it too. When my friend retired, she recommended me as her replacement. I now entered the realm of Reinsurance, of which I knew nothing. I was also the only translator there, and didn't have much to fall back on. However, it was another notch up....

On my new job, I started looking through the files, asking questions and got the company to enroll me in Insurance courses. The College of Insurance was across the street, and I consulted fire codes, insurance policies and fire extinguisher catalogs in their library. I was learning what I had never had the luxury of being able to do before: research. The first time I had to translate a proposal for purposes of insurance of a nuclear plant, I got a call from the head man in that department, congratulating me on the job I had done. "Compares favorably with what we are used to," he said. What an upper! What happened was that I consulted a document in the files similar to the one I was tackling for guidance, but when I saw that my predecessor had used the word "nucleus" instead of "core", I realized that the files were useless to me. I went across the street to the library and looked up "nuclear plants." I immediately found all the terminology I needed.

It takes a great deal more than that to be a good translator these days, of course. [...]
[...] Abahindura indimi mu zindi ntibigeze bahabwa ikibanza kibereye ngo bemerwe mu buryo buboneka koko, kuko ntibigeze bagira ivyizigiro vyo kubaho uretse ubuzima bwo guhendahenda. Naho hari abakurikiranye inyigisho ku rugero rwa kaminuza bafise ubumenyi buhanitse, bazi indimi nyinshi kandi bazi kuzivuga ndetse harimwo ururimi kavukire, igitigiri c'abakurikiranye inyigisho zo guhindura indimi mu zindi cari ku rugero rwo hasi cane. Muri uwo murwi wabo, harimwo umugenzi wanje hanyuma bipfuza kuwagura mu kwinjiza abandi bakozi mu vyo guhindura indimi mu zindi. Maze kubashikamwo, nasanze ari abantu b'abagwaneza kandi nza gusanga hari ivyo duhuriyeko ku bijanye n'ubuzima twagiye turabamwo. Ku kibazo co kurndera abagenzi nta ntambamyi nimwe nigeze ngira ariko imisi yose nama ndondera kugira "ico ntandukaniyeko n'abandi" kandi ndazi ko nabo nyene niko bavyiyumvira. Aho uwo mugenzi wanje yaj mu karuhuko k'izabukuru, yaciye asaba ndetse aranshingira intahe, yipfuza ko ari jewe nomusubirira mu kibanza. Ubu rero ngaho ninjiye gukorera mu bijanye no gukinga no kuziganiriza impanuka vyari bishasha kuri jewe kandi ntawundi muntu ahindura indimi mu zindi bari bafise. Nta yandi mahitamwo nari mfise. Ariko, kuri jewe yari iyindi ntambwe y'ubuzima...

Maze gushika muri ako kazi gashasha, nataguye gusuma urusaku mu mpapuro n'ibitabu bitandukanye nongera mbaza ibibazo aho ntasobanukirwa nca nsaba ishirahamwe nkorera kunshira mu bakurikirana ivyigwa bijanye no gukinga impanuka hamwe no kwitegekaniganiriza. Ico gihe nama nagiye kw'ishure ryigisha ivy'ugukinga impanuka n'ukwitegekaniriza ryari hirya y'ibarabara, nkaja mw'isomero ry'ibitabu ryaho, nkasoma amategeko ajanye n'ivy'imiriro, amategeko agenga ukwitegekaniriza, ibitabu vyerekana ingene kizimyamoto ikora. Aho nariko ndiga ivyo ntigeze na rimwe ngira ibakwe ryo kwiga mbere y'uko ndahinjira. Aho ndavuga ubushakashatsi.Umusi mpindura ku ncuro yambere integuro y'itegeko rijanye n'ugukinga impanuka hamwe no kuzitegekaniriza mu mugambi wo gushina ihinguriro rijanye n'ivya nikreyeri, nakiriye ubutumwa bw'umuyobozi wo ku rwego rwo hejuru muri ico gisata cacu anshimira ku gikorwa nari nakoze. Yavuze muri aya majambo: "Mu vy'ukuri twihweje ibi biratandukanye n'ivyo twahora dukora". Mbega ni irihe tandukaniro? Icabaye n'uko mu gihe ndakora nisunga ivyo uwo nasubiriye yagiye arakora nsanga yakoresheje amajambo agenda arayitiranya naciye mbona ko ivyo yakoze ataco vyari kumfasha. Nico gituma naca ngenda mw'isomero ry'ibitabu kurondera ayo majambo yose yagenda aritiranya, gurtyo nkabona kuronka amajambo yose nkeneye kugira igikorwa kigende neza.

Muri iyi misi, kukaba nkako, kugira umuntu ashobore guhindura indimi mu zindi birasaba kwitanga ku rugero rudasanzwe. [...]


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