Poll: What describes best what you do?
论题张贴者: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
网站工作人员
Apr 9, 2007

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What describes best what you do?".

This poll was originally submitted by Ma. Fernanda Blesa

View the poll here

A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see:
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What describes best what you do?".

This poll was originally submitted by Ma. Fernanda Blesa

View the poll here

A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629
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megane_wang
megane_wang  Identity Verified
西班牙
Local time: 03:10
正式会员 (自2007)
English英语译成Spanish西班牙语
+ ...
Not only art and business... other :) Apr 9, 2007

Let me think...

It's a sort of mixture of those:

1. The art of translation
2. Ah, yes...!! The business of translation (from time to time)
3. The art of teaching your customers that a contract will not harm their valuable health
4. The funny life of computer support for anyone who-knows-where-you-are
5. The absolutely delightful life of computer support for translation customers (nice bonus, absolutely poor investment)
6. The art of being
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Let me think...

It's a sort of mixture of those:

1. The art of translation
2. Ah, yes...!! The business of translation (from time to time)
3. The art of teaching your customers that a contract will not harm their valuable health
4. The funny life of computer support for anyone who-knows-where-you-are
5. The absolutely delightful life of computer support for translation customers (nice bonus, absolutely poor investment)
6. The art of being a freelancer and survive
7. The art of project managing your team of supporters (admin, proofing...)
8. The exhilarating art of combining 1 + 2 + ... + 7 + nappy changes and other distracting "activities"...

What did parachutists say? ... JERONIMOOOOO!!!!

Ruth @ MW


[Edited at 2007-04-09 14:39]
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Reed James
Reed James
智利
Local time: 21:10
正式会员 (自2005)
Spanish西班牙语译成English英语
Art before business Apr 9, 2007

As with most of these poll questions, the answer is usually a combination of several options. Nevertheless, for me, the art of translating is first and foremost. The techniques and qualities that a translator possesses are his or her greatest asset.

Quality and accuracy are what keep clients coming back for repeat business, which means that proper research, tools and working conditions are the best investment that a freelance translator can make.

In no way do I me
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As with most of these poll questions, the answer is usually a combination of several options. Nevertheless, for me, the art of translating is first and foremost. The techniques and qualities that a translator possesses are his or her greatest asset.

Quality and accuracy are what keep clients coming back for repeat business, which means that proper research, tools and working conditions are the best investment that a freelance translator can make.

In no way do I mean that a translator should not concern him or herself with the business side of translating such as advertising, marketing and other mundane tasks. However, I see these activities as auxiliary rather than primary.

[Edited at 2007-04-09 15:36]
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Noni Gilbert Riley
Noni Gilbert Riley
西班牙
Local time: 03:10
Spanish西班牙语译成English英语
+ ...
Art or science? Apr 9, 2007

While translation can never be called an exact science (good thing too -we might definitively be out of a job), neither is it always much of an art... Think of all those engineering process descriptions.

Business it must be though, because "el amor al arte" doesn´t pay the electricity bill.

But I still like to strive for a well-turned sentence!

[Edited at 2007-04-09 15:42]


 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
西班牙
Local time: 03:10
正式会员 (自2005)
English英语译成Spanish西班牙语
+ ...
"Industrial translation" Apr 9, 2007

I reckon what I do is what I tend to describe to my friends as "industrial translation", i.e. translation with an industrial approach: lots of words, specialisation, search for a low variability, and a quest for the highest quality possible.

It is a craft alright, but it has the scent of a well-oiled machine. That's how I like to see my daily work.


 
Béatrice Huret-Morton
Béatrice Huret-Morton  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:10
English英语译成French法语
+ ...
Translation as craftsmanship Apr 9, 2007

To me translation is of course a business. Very rarely it's an art. But it's always craftsmanship. In the end it's always you against the language, working it, moulding it and measuring yourself against it.

Cheers,

Béa


 
Kathryn Strachecky
Kathryn Strachecky  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:10
French法语译成English英语
The Pleasure of Translation Apr 10, 2007

Yes, translation is a business and I do think of myself as a professional. But for me translation is still a pleasure. I might earn my living doing it, but boy do I enjoy it!

 
John Cutler
John Cutler  Identity Verified
西班牙
Local time: 03:10
Spanish西班牙语译成English英语
+ ...
The best of both worlds Apr 10, 2007

I, like most people, voted both. Here’s why…

Art is defined as follows:

• noun: the creation of beautiful or significant things.

I think as translators we all have that “artistic” desire to create something. Even though we’re sometimes re-creating what someone has already produced, there’s an inherent sense of creativity in translating. I’m sure I’m not the only one here who has even had the feeling that what I created was somehow better
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I, like most people, voted both. Here’s why…

Art is defined as follows:

• noun: the creation of beautiful or significant things.

I think as translators we all have that “artistic” desire to create something. Even though we’re sometimes re-creating what someone has already produced, there’s an inherent sense of creativity in translating. I’m sure I’m not the only one here who has even had the feeling that what I created was somehow better than the original : )

Business is defined as:

• noun: the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money.

Forgive my slightly altered quotation but, in the end, “Man does not live by art alone”.
: (
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Poll: What describes best what you do?






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