अनुवाद तथा शब्‍द चयन

कोई भी प्राणी किसी भी कार्य में जन्‍मजात पारंगत नहीं होता है। वह जन्‍म के बाद ही सीखना शुरू करता है तथा आजीवन सीखता ही रहता है। जब वह मृत्‍यु को प्राप्त होता है तो अपने बाद की पीढ़ी के लिए सीखने की प्रेरणा बन जाता है। ठीक इसी पद्धति पर आधारित है हमारी अनुवाद शैली। अनुवाद करना तो सभी जानते हैं और अपने आप में सर्वश्रेष्ठ अनुवाद भी करते हैं, लेकिन ऐसा अनुवादक विरला ही होगा जिसके लिए लोग कहते हों कि वह सर्वश्रेष्ठ अनुवादक है, कोई भी उससे उचित अनुवाद नहीं कर सकता है। इसका कारण उसका बौद्धिक ज्ञान अथवा कार्यकुशलता नहीं बल्‍कि शब्‍द चयन होता है।

किसी भी भाषा में एक शब्‍द के कई अर्थ अथवा पर्याय होते हैं और सभी अपने आप में तार्किक होते हैं, लेकिन अपने अनुवाद में उपयुक्त शब्‍दों का चयन कर उचित वाक्‍य संरचना करना ही अनुवाद शैली है। कोई व्‍यक्ति इस कला को जीवनपर्यन्त सीखता ही रहता है, क्योंकि यह एक आजीवन चलने वाली प्रक्रिया है। इस कला को विकसित करने के लिए पर्याप्त समय तथा कठिन परिश्रम की आवश्यकता होती है। यह सर्वविदित है कि किसी शब्‍द चयन को सही ठहराने के लिए आपके पास अधिक संख्‍या में तर्क भी होने चाहिए, क्योंकि आपके शब्‍द चयन को गलत ठहराने के लिए समीक्षक का मात्र एक अधिक तर्क भी पर्याप्त है। इसलिए किसी भी अनुवादक को सदैव प्रयासरत होना चाहिए कि वह नवीनतम तथा यथासंभव शब्‍द भिन्‍नताओं को समझे और उसे अपने अनुवाद में प्रयुक्त भी करे। इसके लिए यह आवश्यक है कि वह कभी पढ़ना न छोड़े।

Hindi Translator

Translator: A Puppet or Einstein!

Is a Translator a puppet or an einstein? As a translator do you want to be counted as a person who solely follows the glossary and terminology and give damn about the other things and make the translation dreadfully prosaic or we want to be simply like Shakespeare, The Master of Words!

In my opinion a translator should be a mixture of both Einstein and Shakespeare i.e. he should be inventive like Einstein and innovative like Shakespeare.

Since scope of Translation Services is vast and it is the requirement of almost every single sector, from business catalog, pamphlets, manuals to games guide, movie, subtitling etc., thus it is very important to maintain the rhyme and essentials of the project from beginning till the end, and still make it easy for the user to read. Most translation when taken out of context becomes more difficult to understand. It’s not the translators fault but he is certainly the one to be blamed for. It’s not his fault as he was just following the basic translation rules but his fault is that he only followed the glossary and ignored what the source is actually expressing. Sometimes some words and phrases are used as a references for which we should write appropriate word and phrases that convey the same meaning in target language. For this one has to be either sensible enough to put the suitable phrase in target language or skilled enough to play with words and form the same meaning with the same expression.

As a translator, we are bound with so many norms and rules like ‘following this and that’; which is necessary of course but the question is till what extend… Because of this incertitude, a question always come to my mind that when bounded with the rules, does a translator ever get the opportunity to open up and show his creative and ingenious professional side!

The answer is creativity can never be caged. If you have creativity and know to use it with words then one day it will surely going to get noticed. But, it’s up to you and will always be, whether you want to use it with your creativity and beautify it or let the machines overpower your sensibility.

All you need to remember is…

Never let anything prevent you from doing what is right…

This quote should not be taken as a kick against action but should be taken as a simple truth that rights can never be wrong. Of course to maintain consistency throughout the project you got to follow glossary and terminology etc. But if you feel that you can give it a better shape, even if you have to include words not present in source or exclude words from source, then why not. And, if the creativity has been used in the right manner without hindering the glossary, then Bingo!! You Got it.

Translation is just as creative as writing a film script, rather than making it complicated for us, all we need to do is to play with words rather than becoming a puppet of glossaries. Remember we created the glossaries and we can always make it work our way.

Importance of Reputation for Freelance Translators

Your personal reputation is one of the most valuable things that we will own regardless of where we are of what we do. It is something that is with you always, affects parts of your daily life and is very difficult to change.

A good Freelance Translator provides good quality of work and they work to mutually agreed deadlines. The saying goes ‘a salesman is only as good as his last sale’. A similar saying could also be applied to translators. ‘A translator is only as good as their last translation’. In both circumstances there is the detail to consider.

A Freelance Translator generally seeks a situation where they have a regular client base who considers them first. Ideally, if they are too busy the client will still come to them first for the next project and the next project. Reputation for a freelancer allows them to earn better rates even though there will always be someone else offering to do the same job for less money. It allows the freelance translator to discuss the issues of a project openly with the client or Translation Project Manager and have them work with them to complete their service.

The reputation of a freelance translator can be most easily maintained by:

1.Staying within their capabilities: - It is not advisable to take on highly complicated specialised texts that you have no experience with unless you have discussed this with your client and have a clear plan how you will complete the project. Otherwise you might perform below what is reasonable.

2.Work to deadlines: - Ensure that you assess the deadline and only agree to what is achievable. If you are upfront and say when the translation can be achievable this may well turnout fine and avoid loss of your personal standards for quality.

3.Check your work: - It is advisable to take a short break and then review your translation before you send. You may have made some simple error or missed something that this last scan can pick up. This will also avoid you sending the wrong file. Checking you own work is not proofreading. Proofreading in my opinion involves a 2nd independent translator.

4.Problems: – If you have a problem or require extra time it is important to tell the client ASAP. This allows the issue to be addressed as soon as possible and a solution found. The problem might be legibility of part of the source text or you might be delayed due to a personal problem. If possible, the more warning notice the better for everybody.

Meaning of Translation

Translation is, above all, an activity that aims at conveying meaning or meanings of a given-linguistic discourse from one language to another, rather than the words or grammatical structures of the original. The meaning of a given word or set of words is best understood as the contribution that word or phrase can make to the meaning or function of the whole sentence or linguistic utterance where that word or phrase occurs. The meaning of a given word is governed not only by the external object or idea that particular word is supposed to refer to, but also by the use of that particular word or phrase in a particular way, in a particular context, and to a particular effect.

Translation requires a high standard of knowledge of a language and a meticulous approach to words and processing text. Many specialise in specific fields such as legal or medical texts. Translators also usually only translate into their native language. A translator would need a high degree of fluency to translate out of their native language, as no matter how long you’ve lived in a country, there will always be forms of the language you don’t know.

Use of Dictionary

As a language learner you should never be far from a good dictionary. Learn how to use it properly and you will enrich your language skills. Besides using your dictionary as a quick reference book for words you’re not sure about, use it as a source of increasing your knowledge of how your new language works. This doesn’t mean you need to read it from cover to cover. However you should understand how your bi-lingual dictionary works.

Familiarise yourself with the list of abbreviations usually found at the front of the dictionary. You should also find grammar tips, verb tables, cultural notes, pronunciation tips, numbers, weights and measures and times and dates. Knowing how to find these quickly can be very useful to the language learner.

In the middle of a good language dictionary there is often a section on common language phrases. This will be split into categories such as: job applications, commercial correspondence, opinions, likes and dislikes, the telephone and e-mail. Use this section to improve your language skills. Many people don’t even know it’s there!

Difficulties with translation

Despite having the support of a good dictionary, it’s always a good idea to try and ‘stretch’ your language skills. When you come across a word you don’t know don’t automatically turn to the dictionary. By all means use it as a back up to check words, but first of all try and get the meaning of the word.

Look at the whole context of the paragraph and see if it gives you any clues. Consider the tense of the word. It may be a familiar verb in a tense you don’t recognise. Try and take a step back and look at the meaning of the text you are trying to translate, to see if the unfamiliar words fall into place. This method doesn’t always work, but when it does it’s much more satisfying then turning the pages of a dictionary.

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