Translate Better conference

by Kristin Fehlauer

My sandals crunch on the gravelly sand baking in the courtyard, itself ringed by brick buildings, warmly red against an achingly blue sky. Swallows swoop in and out of their condominium nests under the eaves. An unseasonably fierce sun beats down on my head. A small lake glints invitingly just off to one side, but my path leads elsewhere today.

This was my introduction to Landgut Stober, a hotel and event location some 30 kilometers west of Berlin. It was to be my home for just over two days as I attended a conference held at the end of May by the Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer e.V. (BDÜ), Germany’s association for interpreters and translators. The theme: “Translate Better.” The goal: to focus on the craft of translation. The participants: translators of several nationalities with German and English as working languages. The setting: charming. The food: delectable. The experience: overwhelming (in a good way!).

It was surprisingly reassuring to meet other translators who still wrestle with the same issues, linguistic and cultural, that I do. I don’t work in isolation—I have the good fortune to be employed at a small company where I work with colleagues every day—but even so, it did me good to connect in person with professionals from outside my company. Many work in fields or circumstances quite different from my own: a large proportion are freelancers who work from home, and many had experience in fields I had only dabbled in: art, medical manuals, technical writing, even podcasts. Their experience and insights were refreshing in their newness, while still comforting in that their questions and issues echoed my own. Having my anecdotes met with “Oh, I know” and “Me too!” was greatly encouraging.

I was especially fortunate in that I attended the conference with two of my German colleagues. By visiting the two language tracks, we were able to compare notes afterward and share ideas, making for a more complete learning experience.

My one regret: there was not enough time to sit quietly on the restaurant terrace overlooking the lake and absorb all the valuable input and advice. There was always someone else to chat with, another question to ask, another aspect to talk over—sometimes even work to do! If only I could have taken those sunset hours and stretched them, quietly mulling over the events of the conference, idly watching the light glint off the dragonflies as they go winging by…