So what is it that you do?

by Richard Peters

Oh, you translate?

People often ask me what I do for a living. The short answer is “translation”. For people who have little or no personal experience of using a foreign language, that word conjures up an image – perhaps of a mediaeval scribe reading from a vellum scroll and furiously copying out its precious contents, adjusting his skullcap over his furrowed brow – with the words magically transforming themselves into a different language somewhere between his eye and his quill. Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth; I don’t even own a skullcap!

Choosing which words in the target language best express the ideas in the source text is a conscious process that takes time and effort. I’m lucky enough to have a bilingual family background (with an Austrian mother and an English father), so I find languages easy to master, in the same way as someone with a natural aptitude for kicking a ball will find it easier to become a professional footballer. Not having to focus consciously on the source language leaves me more space in my head to ponder exactly which words or ideas will give consumers of my English translation the most authentic rendering of the content as expressed in the source language.

 

What do you translate?

Often the second question I will hear, perhaps because foreign languages are readily visible whenever we buy a new gizmo and flick through the user manual, is: “So what is it you translate? Instruction manuals?” And the answer (at least in my head) is a resounding “No!” That’s because I’m lucky enough to work in corporate communications, which is wonderfully varied. All those companies out there, saying all those different things, to all sorts of different people!

No two companies are the same, and each often has multiple messages that need to be communicated to different target audiences on many different channels: brochures, flyers, web content or maybe magazine articles for prospective customers; financial data, market analysis and annual reports for investors; the company intranet or staff newspaper for its own workforce. A product data sheet is different from a press release is different from a blog, for example. This adds up to a huge number of combinations, each of which demands a tailored approach.

It takes more than a knowledge of a company’s “home” language and its target foreign languages to hit the right corporate tonality. Companies put an immense amount of thought into choosing their words for the content they generate. Deciding how to convey that in the target text is no less demanding. First you need to understand the message – to really get to grips with what the author is trying to say and what the target audience should glean from it. And then you need to communicate that message using words and phrases that transport the intended meaning as accurately and as faithfully as possible – including all the facts but also matching the tone of voice and delivering the same punch. A text translated from, say, English into German has to elicit the same response in a German-speaking audience as the original English text does in an English-speaking audience.

 

Isn’t there an app for that?

Upon finding out how I earn a crust, some people react with sympathy: poor Richard, he’s about to be replaced by robots! But I’m not expecting to be automated out of existence any time soon: in essence, corporate communication is all about reaching out to people – and there’s no better way to generate content for human consumption than to get humans to produce it.

That’s not to say that computers have no place in the communication industry; I’m sitting at one right now, typing these words! And I can’t imagine not having the world’s accumulated knowledge at my fingertips as I strive to convey the messages I’m writing on behalf of my corporate clients. But I do believe that the most compelling arguments and the most exciting stories will long continue to be the product of human ingenuity. So when it comes to translating those arguments or stories, I can tap into my human creativity and write a new version that does the original justice.

In the months and years to come, I look forward to applying the best of modern communication methods, harnessing the latest technology and collaborating with my fantastically talented colleagues in my new company. And because my job isn’t just about copying out someone else’s ideas, but making the world a better place by helping companies and people understand each other across borders, it pays my bills AND gives me joy!