Interpreters and Translators:

Stories from People Whove Done It

By
Jaime Guillet
*****
PUBLISHED BY
101 Publishing

Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: A Little History
Chapter 2: The Profession Today
Chapter 3: The Businessperson
Chapter 4: The Translator
Chapter 5: The Interpreter
Chapter 6: The Literary Translator
Chapter 7: Making the Move
Resources
Footnotes
About the Author

Introduction
British author Douglas Adams introduced a legion of unique
and witty concepts in his seminal 1979 science-fiction novel,
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Adams immensely
popular book about planet-hopping intergalactic travelers,
intelligent alien life forms and the significance of the number
42 spawned a television series, radio programs, follow-up
novels and, eventually, a mildly successful 2005 film. In the
book, Adams conceptualized the existence of a universal
translator known as a babel fish, which bridged the
language gap among all communicating beings. The babel
fish is a tiny, leechlike organism that, once placed in the
listeners auditory canal, translates all unknown languages,
instantly and error-free. According to Adams, the babel fish
effectively removes all barriers of conversation between
different cultures and races. The notion is a memorable one.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, maintains Adams) this caliber
of universal translator does not exist, nor has it ever. Until
the era of the babel fish sets in, the job of decoding a certain
language and culture for people of a different language and
culture remains the purview of a core group of talented
people: professional translators and interpreters.
To distinguish between the tasks performed by a translator
and an interpreter, a translator works solely with the written
word, converting written documents from one language into

another, while an interpreter renders one spoken language

into another; in the case of the hearing impaired, interpreters
work with spoken communication and sign language.i
Although these two functions are related and some people
work as both a translator and interpreter they are different
professions requiring distinct skills and aptitudes.ii
The consensus among experts is that working as a translator
or interpreter requires an expanded skill set beyond a simple
fluency in two or more languages. To succeed as a
professional interpreter or translator, a technical
comprehension of the languages must accompany a cultural
mastery, ensuring an absolute grasp of meaning from native
idioms and references. The widely heralded method for
assuring such familiarity is daily immersion in readings from
both languages, including newspapers, fiction and nonfiction
books, and magazines. Industry experts, including those
whose stories appear in this book, agree on this point, saying
the Internet enables such facility with languages more readily
than ever before.

Chapter 1: A Little History

Tracing the precise history of translation and interpreting is a
tall order. As long as multiple languages have existed,
someone has inevitably attempted to bridge the gap between
them. Members of neighboring tribes desiring to trade
with each other, thwart hostilities or find a mate
established methods for exchanging information, likely
through people with a facility for language.
The first record of human as interpreter extends back to the
ancient Egyptians (around 3000 B.C.) who displayed a
hieroglyph that experts believe shows a person interpreting.iii
One of the earliest records of translation in the East emerges
from the Zhou dynasty in ancient China (1100 B.C.);
documents from that time indicate government clerks
regularly performed translation duties.iv Professor Weihe
Zhong, the dean of the faculty of English language and culture
at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in China, writing
on the history of Chinese translation, cites a document from
1000 B.C. written by Jia Gongyan, an imperial scholar of the
late Zhou dynasty, who defined translation this way:
Translation is to replace one written language with another,
without changing the meaning, for mutual understanding.v
Over time, religion served as a forceful catalyst for
translating and interpreting. Travelers migrating from one

region to another shared and taught the basics of their faith.vi

When ecclesiastical ideas spread across the landscape,
religious scholars and monks translated holy texts such as the
Hebrew Torah and the Indian sutras into Koine Greek and
Chinese, respectively. Trailblazers employed interpreters
talents at an increased rate as civilization expanded into
large-scale exploration and sea voyaging, particularly during
the 16th and 17th centuries. U.S. history distinguishes some
of them. One of the most celebrated is the Native American
woman Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone tribe member married
to a Quebec trapper, who assisted Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark on their expedition westward across North
America.
The rise of translation and interpreting as the professions
recognizable today emerged immediately after World War II.
The creation of the United Nations in 1945 not only
established a genuine need for interpreters and translators, it
also provided visibility for the profession. The fields
prominence escalated during the Nuremberg war crimes
trials of Nazi officials. Many of the people involved in the
trials were German speakers, and interpreters were brought
into the courtroom to translate questions and answers.vii
Employment of translators and interpreters increased through
the mid-20th century. As the need for people working in this
new occupation grew, the founding of special schools for
foreign language training, especially in the 1970s, followed.

Now, into the second decade of the 21st century, the

profession appears poised for further robust growth.
<><><><><><><>
Top Language Service Providers in 2012
Market researcher Common Sense Advisory compiled a list
of the top 25 translation and interpreter companies in North
America in 2012. Referenced from that research, here is a
list of the top five. All have their headquarters in the United
States. (You can find the expanded list at
www.commonsenseadvisory.com.)

<><><><><><><>

Chapter 2: The Profession Today

Translators and interpreters share common qualities, but
make no mistake: A division exists. As experts in crosscultural communication, translators and interpreters possess
the ability of language combination, which enables them to
be fluent in at least two languages a native, or active,
language and a secondary, or passive, language.viii
Interpreters and translators both work in similar arenas:
medical offices and hospitals, corporations, courtrooms and
law firms, military groups, travel and hospitality,
immigration services, government agencies, the computer
industry and more. Cross-cultural communicators must
possess qualities such as concentration and cultural
sensitivity; they also need to stay abreast of current events
and social, artistic and entertainment trends. The best way to
do that, experts say, is to read constantly items such as
newspapers, books and magazines from their secondary
as well as native languages. As previously mentioned,
however, translators serve the written word, whereas
interpreters relay spoken conversation between speakers of
varying languages. These different objectives require
singular faculties. As such, the two divisions tend to draw
contrasting personalities.
Translators, as writers, must have excellent composition and
analytical ability as well as superlative editing skills to

ensure a flawlessly translated document.ix Translation

requires attention to detail, and translators have to get it just
right, through checking and rechecking. Because they often
work from home, being introverted is no impediment to being
a translator. Translators may use tools to assist their efforts,
such as various glossaries or memory software. Localization
translation is a newer and growing sector of the field that
includes adapting products such as software, manuals or
websites into another language or for other cultures.x
Interpreters, by virtue of their role as intermediaries
between two varying language speakers, must be able to
think quickly on their feet, maintain concentration and have
stalwart memories. Working with groups of people requires a
somewhat extroverted nature. The primary types of
interpreting are consecutive and simultaneous.
- Consecutive interpreters work one-on-one with clients,
such as in a medical office or with foreign visitors.xi
Consecutive interpreting is marked by its pattern: person
speaks, interpreter listens, interpreter translates speech to
another listener.
- Simultaneous interpreting, on the other hand, is what
people may recognize from coverage of meetings at the
United Nations. The interpreter listens to one language as it
is being spoken, instantly translates it internally, and then
repeats it aloud.xii The result is the synchronized translation

of a speakers words. Interpreters sit in booths translating for

people listening with earpieces or headsets. Conference
interpreting of this manner is the upper echelon of the field
and may prove difficult for some people. Some employers,
including the United Nations, require high-level interpreters
who have the ability to translate from at least two passive
languages into one active (native) language.xiii

The United Nations is one of the worlds most

high-stakes interpreting and translating environments.
(Photo courtesy Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images)

The Marketplace
The sweeping majority of translators and interpreters are
self-employed. Thousands work as independent contractors
with a language services company or as freelancers who
develop their own clientele. Typically, a translator applies
with a firm, whether large or boutique-sized, and once
accepted is placed in that companys stable of available
interpreters and translators. According to a 2007 survey by
the industrys member trade group, the American Translators
Association, 52 percent of its more than 11,000 members
work as full-time independent contractors. In the same
survey, only 9 percent of ATA members claim to be
employed in-house with a private firm full time. Nine percent
of ATA members work as government employees. The
freelancing and work-from-home environment may breed
erratic work schedules, irregular hours or busy workloads
followed by periods of assignment drought.xiv Conversely,
working as a freelancer can provide enhanced time
flexibility and freedom.

Income
Wages for translators and interpreters vary widely, largely
hinging on a professionals level of experience, certification
and education. The specific language plays a role as well:
Translators and interpreters of uncommon languages
command more money. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
report on the industry states that the median pay for
translators and interpreters as of May 2010 was $43,300
annually, or $20.82 per hour.xv The BLS report further states,
For those who are not salaried, earnings typically fluctuate,
depending on the availability of work. Self-employed
interpreters usually charge an hourly rate. Self-employed
translators typically charge a rate per word or per hour.xvi

Demand and Forecast

Globalization and growing worldwide Internet access have
greatly expanded the opportunities for translators and
interpreters, according to those in the industry. The demand
for professional translators and interpreters reflects as much.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the total U.S.
translator/interpreter jobs in May 2010 was 58,400. The
BLS predicts the addition of 24,600 jobs for this field by
2020 a 42 percent job growth rate, which the BLS
characterizes as much faster than average.xvii According to
the BLS outlook report:
Employment growth reflects an
increasingly diverse U.S. population,
which is expected to require more
interpreters and translators. Demand
will likely remain strong for
translators of frequently translated
languages, such as French, German,
Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Demand also should be strong for
translators of Arabic and other Middle
Eastern languages and for the
principal East Asian languages:
Chinese, Japanese and Korean.xviii

How to Become a Translator or Interpreter

Thirty years ago, a professional translator could make a
living without ever having earned a four-year college degree;
a deep background in English and another language sufficed.
In the 2010s, however, that scenario has flipped. Seasoned
professionals stress the importance of attaining a bachelors
degree in a foreign language, or in something that assists a
translator or interpreter with having a specialty. For
example, an interpreter working in the medical field would
benefit from a degree in a biological science. Many colleges
and universities provide formal programs in interpreting and
translating, and a multitude of nonuniversity training
programs, conferences and courses are available.xix
Professional certification is an important asset in this
industry, even though, as the BLS reports, no universal
certification is now required for interpreters and translators.
Workers can, however, take a variety of tests that show
proficiency, including one from the American Translators
Association, which provides certification for its members in
24 language combinations.xx Many states judicial systems
require that translators and interpreters become certified for
work in the courts and have their own certification programs.
<><><><><><><>
Dangerous Business

Translators and interpreters, working as message bearers,

occupy what historically has been a dangerous profession.
The job may not be dangerous on a daily basis, but have no
illusions: The record chronicles many disturbing anecdotes
of translators and interpreters suffering terribly for their
work, and in some cases paying the heaviest penalty of all.
William Tyndale (1494[?]1536) translated the Bible into
Early Modern English so successfully that many portions of
the King James Bible reflect his work. Unfortunately,
Tyndales integrity as a translator resulted in his death. He
was apprehended, strangled and burned at the stake in
Antwerp, Belgium.xxi French scholar tienne Dolet published
translations of Calvinistic texts and Plato; believed to be
pushing atheism, he subsequently was jailed, tortured and
burned at the stake in Place Maubert, Paris, in 1546.
Such stories are tragic but are not relegated to the deep past,
unfortunately. The most well-known violence in recent
memory occurred in July 1991 when Islamic militants killed
Hitoshi Igarashi for translating Salman Rushdies The
Satanic Verses.xxii An assailant stabbed Igarashi, a professor
of comparative culture at Tsukuba University near Tokyo, in
the hallway of his office. The mortal hazards of translating
and interpreting depending on where you work havent
changed. Anwar Abbas Lafta, an Iraqi translator and CBS
News employee working in Baghdad, was abducted and
slain by insurgents in 2009.xxiii

<><><><><><><>

William Tyndale is burned at the stake in Belgium,

crying, Lord ope the king of Englands eies.
(Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Chapter 3: The Businessperson

Jiri Stejskal: Past president, American Translators
Association; founder and CEO, CETRA Language Solutions;
Czech translator; Philadelphia

Working as a professional translator, you never know what

will come across your desk. Youre always working on
something different. With each project, you learn something
new. Translators enjoy that; theyre like sponges, and it can
be an exciting field. Sometimes you get to interact with
people from different countries and different cultures, which
makes the work fun and interesting. Also, it is not a 9-to-5
job. Many aspects of the job inspired in me a fondness for
the translating profession.

For more than 20 years, I freelanced my services: translating

documents, primarily for international litigation clients, from
English into my native language, Czech. I arrived in the
United States in 1988 as a political refugee from the former
Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). I was going to
school and working as a freelancer, and at that time, I found
out about the American Translators Association. I joined the
ATA, which helped me to launch my career. Although I
enjoyed it enormously, after many years working on my own I
started my own language services firm. It took many years of
building it into what it is today: a company that contracts
with more than 1,000 translators and interpreters around the
world, offering services in more than 100 languages. The
work served me well during my years transitioning from a
Czechoslovak refugee to U.S. citizen, but I translate very
little now because I run my company, which keeps me busy.
In the early years, I worked for other language services
companies as an independent contractor to supplement my
income as a Czech language lecturer at the University of
Pennsylvania. At that same time, I worked busily to earn my
doctorate in Slavic languages and literatures. The last couple
of years, Ive been on sabbatical, but Ive taught the Czech
language there for almost 20 years. As a translator, you spend
so much time alone at your desk, but teaching gave me an
opportunity to be around other people. The pay is not that
great especially compared to what I could make as a
translator or owning my own company but I enjoyed it. It

was more of a hobby than a job.

Having now worked on the other side of the fence as a
company owner who hires freelance translators and
interpreters I can tell you what businesses and clients
expect. Typically, a good translator can complete about 3,000
words per day. Tools exist now that can maximize output.
There are essentially two main tools. One is called CAT, or
computer-aided translation, which helps recycle any content
that has been translated before a kind of translation
memory. If you come across a sentence that you have
translated before, it just plugs it in for you. These tools have
evolved, so, for example, if you have a similar sentence but a
number is different, CAT will plug it in and highlight the
number for you. It can really boost your productivity. The
second tool is machine translation. The machine translation
output can be in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of
words per day, but the translation can be very substandard
quality. Sophisticated translators and companies use a
combination of translation tools and human translation.
As a company, we prefer to work with translators who are
already trained, and we do test them. In addition to checking
their work history, we require that prospective contractors
translate some small sample. One of our trusted contract
translators reviews their work and provides feedback so that
we can assess the quality of the translator. A good indicator
that the professional is serious about the industry is a

translator or interpreter who has been certified by an

acknowledged and well-respected organization. For
example, the ATAs certification test for English to Spanish is
so difficult, it has a fail rate of about 95 percent. Its a fairly
serious test. That certification gives us an indication and
security that the people who pass are competent translators.
Also, all members of ATA agree to follow the organizations
established ethics code. This is important. Discretion is a
core component of this business. And its not just about
confidentiality: as a freelancer, you agree that if you take on
the work, you will not subcontract it out to someone else.
This is a great field to enter right now. Translators and
interpreters are in demand. My company is having a very
good year, and weve been growing in the double digits for
12 consecutive years. Some years we have 80 percent
growth; some years we have 10 percent growth. On average,
its about 25 percent. My company works a lot with the
federal government on projects. For example, we were one
of the few companies that the government hired to translate
the Saddam Hussein trials. We would get the DVDs
dozens of them and we would produce transcripts of them
in both Arabic and English. That contract lasted about 18
months. We also translated reports about mass graves in Iraq
and things of that nature.
As I have said, most language service providers work for
themselves, so it is important to either have natural business

acumen or get educated in business. Some freelancers

become company owners, as I did, and make this big
transition to being a businessperson, which is different
entirely. Most translators enjoy the creative side of their
work and have no desire to employ other people.
Professional translators and interpreters who build their
niche make good money and find fulfillment in their work.
And that is not too shabby.

Chapter 4: The Translator

Dorothee Racette: Self-employed German translator,
specializing in the medical field; upstate New York

As someone who has spent her entire professional life

studying language, let me make plain the crucial and
immutable ingredient necessary for a successful translating
career: You must be passionate about language. This trait
dwells within all of the translators and interpreters I know.
Its a difficult thing to articulate why language fascinates
me. Largely, it can be distilled to my enjoying the infinite
number of rich possibilities and nuances language offers to
convey a message. The translating community often marvels
at the meticulous nature of language. For example, when
corresponding with colleagues in the field, I find we joke

about all manner of language details such as how one

letter may change a words entire meaning or context. We
find that tremendously funny. Its probably not funny at all to
other people, but we find those small aspects of language
fascinating.
Only by chance did I stumble on translating as a career. I
grew up in Ingolstadt, in Bavaria, Germany. The high school
I attended focused on foreign languages, which provided
terrific preparation, although I was unaware of this benefit at
the time. After graduating, I left Germany in search of other
opportunities. I traveled for several years, met and married
my husband, and spent some time living in Asia and Tanzania
before moving to the United States in 1991. I felt very vague
about what I wanted to do for a living, as young people
typically are.
I had an interest in language, and most of my friends
suggested teaching. Originally, I intended to teach German,
but everyone pushed me in the direction of Spanish, saying
German-language teachers were not in demand. I earned a
bachelors degree in Spanish from the State University of
New York and then began teaching SUNY undergraduates
while also looking around for other teaching jobs. I found it
unrewarding to teach students who were studying Spanish
only because it was a course requirement, which often was
the case. It was hard to deal with their lack of motivation and
passion. The experience inspired me to search for other

careers. Someone pointed me to the University of Vermont,

where I fortunately received a scholarship and eventually
earned my masters degree in German.
My first translating job arrived as a lucky coincidence. In the
mid-1990s, my brother-in-law worked in the software
industry with a startup in Boston. During this time, the
translating specialty of localization was beginning to
emerge. His company was small, and they were looking
around for someone to do localization for them, and he said,
Oh, I have this sister-in-law from Germany. ... He gave me
a number of files to work on, and I just loved it! It was a
revelation that this work even existed. I always held an
impression of translating as being only about books; my ideas
were outdated. I didnt realize there was this whole industry
out there that demanded my skills. I was very fortunate. I
completed this project, delivered it, and the company was
very pleased with my performance. This was the moment I
realized I preferred professional translation to teaching. I
kept working other jobs while I tried to set up a business for
myself. That took awhile probably the better part of four
years.
The dominant question people just entering the industry ask
me is how to build a business, which, for a self-employed
translator, generally equates to one thing: client base. First, I
realized I needed to set up my company right away because it
would be advantageous to have a name to market. I visited a

Small Business Administration adviser who further advised

me to separate my accounts and my home office workspace.
That was excellent advice. My children, who were very
young then, knew they could never answer the phone in my
office. So even before I had regular clients I had established
the framework of my business.
What about finding clients? I recommend you put yourself out
there in the beginning on a large scale. I volunteered almost
from the start. A very lucky decision I made, in hindsight,
was volunteering as a moderator of a Listserv. It was a
Yahoo job-posting Listserv for translators. It often allowed
me to see job postings first. That was a good move.
Sometimes I got the job and sometimes I didnt. Initially, you
are just fishing around for available work. I signed on with
several large agencies and completed their qualification
tests. I filled out many online forms so that I would be in the
databases of language firms both the large firms and the
boutiques. The boutique places can be picky and often dont
work with beginners; the larger corporations are more likely
to offer work to beginners. So when youre starting out, it
makes sense to submit applications with whomever you can:
Cast a wide net and see what happens.
Joining a professional organization also is vital for a
translator. You cant possibly overestimate the value of
networking and guidance that membership provides. Looking
back, that helped me a lot in establishing my career. I went to

my first American Translators Association conference in 99,

and I just really liked all the people. It provided confirmation
that I was headed in the right direction and that this career
was right for me. At that conference, they asked for
volunteers for the ATAs German-language division. I raised
my hand. It was a good start. Translators are generally a
friendly bunch; they are not as competitive as Ive seen in
other fields. That may be a function of an abundance of work,
so no one feels territorial.
Distinguishing good jobs from bad ones is imperative. A few
early jobs took me for a ride because I was a rookie.
Eventually, you will be able to separate the wheat from the
chaff and accept only the good projects assignments that
allow for a suitable time period; a reasonable pay rate; and
where the client is willing to provide feedback and answer
questions. There are a lot of middlemen in this business.
Beware of bottom feeders who are not interested in helping
you or improving your business; they just want to take their
cut, so you better not bother them with any questions. At the
other end of the spectrum are good agencies that truly add
value to your work with the work they do.
Agencies will be looking at your rate and considering your
background, years of experience, previous work done for
them, client evaluations, level of expertise and availability.
One good piece of advice for people who are looking to get
their foot in the door is to take weekend work. When I look at

the workweek and the number of inquiries I get, the slowest

day would be Monday and the highest day is Friday. Often,
the weekend client produces a text and they hope to get it
back for the beginning of the next day. Also, often the work is
available because many of the established translators forgo
working those hours. So for a beginning translator, a smart
thing to do is to offer services on evenings and weekends.
Thats where a less experienced translator has a chance.
Then later on, when things are going well, you can start
scaling back evening and weekend work.

Chapter 5: The Interpreter

Virginia Perez-Santalla: Spanish-language medical/legal
interpreter and translator; New Jersey

The key virtue of an interpreter the attribute to embody

is that of a machine. Clients prefer interpreters to be
unobtrusive, near-robotic presences: completely colorless.
The desire makes sense, especially in my specialized fields
of medical and legal interpreting. Putting forth an
emotionless demeanor while interpreting a pancreatic cancer
diagnosis between doctor and patient, or a brutal rape
testimony from witness to courtroom, is a vital component of
the job.
I learned this lesson in the beginning of my career. I worked

on a legal interpreting case for a local department of youth

services. I was interpreting for a young girl, a runaway who
had been suffering horrible abuse. I remember thinking, Oh,
I should tell her she is welcome to come to my home. I just
thought about it; I didnt say anything out loud. She just made
an impact on me at that moment. Thats the last time Ive
thought something like that. I learned to separate myself from
those concerns. If you are an interpreter, you are supposed to
be like a machine. It is sometimes hard. During a medical
interpreting assignment, I worked for a client who was
recovering in the hospital from a car accident. She had just
come out of a six-week coma and was experiencing memory
problems. My job entailed being there every day interpreting
for her all of her services, all her appointments with her
neuropsychologist and other doctors, and all of her therapy. It
was difficult because her memory had been affected. She
would introduce me to her husband every time he returned to
the room, having not remembered she had done so multiple
times previously. I interpreted for the woman for six months,
at the hospital and the rehab center, until she returned to her
native Dominican Republic. Although sometimes difficult,
the experience is not without reward. I received ample job
satisfaction seeing her, over those weeks, get better and
recover her memory.
As both a translator and interpreter, Im a rare species within
my industry. Another unusual ability is that I translate into
English, which isnt my first language it is usually

reversed. I work in various areas of language services:

conference interpreting, legal translating and interpreting for
trials and depositions, and medical interpreting and
translating.
I presume my abilities stem from my childhood education. I
grew up in Havana, Cuba, and attended a British bilingual
school in kindergarten. The school mandated each subject be
taught in both English and Spanish simultaneously (for
example, we had world geography, world history in English
and in Spanish, and so on and so forth). I fled to the United
States as a refugee in 1960, after the revolution. I was
already married and I had a 5-month-old baby. We went first
to Miami, and then moved north, eventually settling in New
Jersey. I had more children a total of six but after they
grew older, I started working as a Berlitz Spanish teacher.
This was 30 years ago. The manager there liked my work
very much. He approached me with a test, a document to
translate. He and his colleagues evaluated my work and were
very pleased. Another day, he sent me an interpreting
assignment from a local law firm. The attorneys were very,
very happy with my work and subsequently called me every
time they needed an interpreter. The combination of my
childhood education and a serendipitous part-time job with
the Berlitz proprietor launched my interpreting and
translating career.
A college education has become almost de rigueur in

language services, but when I started 30 years ago, it wasnt.

Someone likely would have a difficult go of it today entering
the profession the way I did, with zero formal education or
certification. Certification is the most critical action you can
take to further your career, education or not.
After a few years of assignments, I discovered the American
Translators Association. I joined and also took the ATAs
certification examinations so that I would have something to
show my next clients. Not long after, New Jersey
implemented a court interpreters certification program; I
took the exam and passed it with flying colors. By then, I
qualified as a master interpreter. Subsequently, I took the
federal interpreters examination, which is a certification
every interpreter desires. I passed that exam as well. These
certifications elevated my credentials. Of course, clients
want to see a lot of experience, so I worked steadily during
the various certification acquisitions.
To work in either interpreting or translating it doesnt
matter which one I recommend a lot of reading in both
languages: newspapers, magazines and books of fiction and
nonfiction. It is an integral part of being an interpreter and
translator. It is infinitely easier with the Internet. Do not read
translated websites read in the language, from the country
in which your language is spoken so you get the original
coverage and language. This is very important so you can
keep abreast of all the changes in terminology and current

idiomatic expressions. Sometimes you will not know how to

make the words make sense in context. If you are in court
interpreting for a witness and this happens, you can address
the judge and say, Your honor, the interpreter is not able to
interpret the idiomatic expression. The judge will ask the
interpreter to describe what the expression means, more or
less, or say it doesnt matter. That is for the judge to decide.
If you are just getting started, I recommend volunteering your
services to organizations that cant afford translation. This
puts your name out there, you have something to show clients
and youre doing something charitable. For example, lets
say there is a local food bank that needs a flyer. Say, OK,
Ill do it pro bono this time, but in the future I will need you
to pay. There are valleys and hills in this field, for someone
who is self-employed, of assignments and income. You can
get nervous and feel like, Oh my God, Im never going to
work again. Or you feel swamped with a lot of work. It
fluctuates.
I have enjoyed my career so very much. The hardest aspect
some may encounter, especially the newbies, is nervousness
about new assignments. Getting over your discomfort
requires confidence. You may have butterflies in your
stomach because you dont know what is going to come up
the pike. Thats hard. You have to be confident in your ability
to store words in your memory. When you start an
assignment, you may have butterflies, but as soon as it starts,

thats it youre immersed in it, and you forget about your

nerves. If you dont if you stay nervous then your
results might not be as good.

Chapter 6: The Literary Translator

Alex Zucker: Translator of Czech literature and 2010
National Translation Award winner for Petra Hlovs All
This Belongs to Me; Brooklyn, N.Y.

Its a gratifying thing, translating a slice of Czech literature.

Ive come to view it as a type of service. My translation
helps deliver the authors work to an expanded audience,
which hopefully advances the Czech literary community to
people who might never have encountered it. The most
satisfying part of being recognized by the American Literary
Translators Association was witnessing how excited my
Czech friends were. For a Czech author to win a national
prize in the United States is huge. It was front-page news in
Czech Republic. Petra Hlov, the author, was out of her

mind she was so happy. Her elation filled me with pride.

In terms of the actual translating work, I enjoy the puzzle
aspect of it trying to figure something out and that
moment when it crystallizes in your mind. Thats a really
nice feeling. Its a satisfaction I dont experience normally
when writing a news release for a nongovernmental
organization or when Im updating the website or
summarizing a policy paper on genocide. Its a feeling
derived from doing something creative. The other thing I like
about translation is at the process end there is this physical
object, this book that I can hold, I can look at. I can show it
to other people, and I know its going into libraries and in
hands all around the world.
Translating literature demands great responsibility. It entails
more than simply deciphering prose from one language into
another. There are people within the field who believe
translation requires personal knowledge of the culture,
understanding of sound, rhythm and musicality, as well as the
authors intent. There are others who will vehemently
disagree; these folks maintain if there is not some kind of
theoretical, technical basis for making decisions, then the
process is just random and not well-informed.
The way I conceptualize translation is very much the way
Rob Wechsler does. Wechsler is the author of Performing
Without a Stage: The Art of Translation. The metaphor he

uses is that literary translation mirrors performing a musical

composition. For example, Beethoven wrote a symphony and
played it a certain way. Not only did it contain Beethovens
personal execution, it was contextual to the time he wrote it
and played on certain instruments built 200 years ago. Fastforward to modern times and contemporary people are still
performing the piece, but its not going to sound exactly the
same. How could it? Violins arent made the same way, and
the players bring to it their own personality. Even though the
notes are black and white on the page, theyre not going to
sound exactly the same between any two orchestras because
the personalities are different. Translation is kind of like that.
Youre performing this literary work in another language,
essentially.
The first step I take when I translate a book is to read it and
develop an understanding of the work. If you and I read the
same book were going to glean dissimilar emotions,
contrasting messages and diverse opinions. A single word in
English perhaps does not bring up the same thoughts for you
as it does for me. I say the word tree, and someone who
grew up in a pine forest is going to consider a different tree
than someone who lived in a jungle. People readily believe
the word tree simply means tree, but the truth actually is
that the word conjures a different image for different people.
So my mission when translating a novel my duty, really
is to try to create the same thoughts and images in the English

readers mind as was created in the Czech readers mind. Of

course, that is nearly impossible because I just proved youre
not going to get the same thought in even two Czechs minds.
So how does one attempt to translate? You do the best you
can. I believe one must have a clear understanding of the
culture and also speak often with the author or native
peoples. In the process of translating, I frequently discuss
with my Czech friends what particular words mean to them,
because Im never going to be Czech. So, for example, lets
say the word smrk, which in Czech means spruce tree
maybe its the first word in the first line of a famous Czech
poem that every kid learns from the time theyre 12 years
old. Im not Czech, and I wasnt there so I didnt learn it
from the time I was 12, and its not going to evoke the same
tone for me. Im never going to have the same cultural
experience. That said, time spent in the country of origin and
speaking the language is invaluable. I wouldnt advise taking
on a project without it. It was through word of mouth and
networking that I received requests to translate the projects
that I did. Pragues publishing community is a very small
world.
I can pinpoint the precise time frame that Czechoslovakia
captured my affection. It is a very strange story. Ive told it
many, many times, and it never ceases to amaze me. I had a
college girlfriend who read The Unbearable Lightness of
Being by Czech author Milan Kundera and told me about it.
I read my first Kundera novel, The Book of Laughter and

Forgetting, and loved it. This one experience I almost

would call trivial if it hadnt informed the rest of my life as it
did. In 1987, I visited Czechoslovakia for a month. Upon
returning, I entered a graduate program at the School of
International Affairs at Columbia University. I earned my
masters degree and moved to Prague in 1990. It was all so
random! Nobody I knew had ever visited Eastern Europe,
much less spoke Czech or Slovak or Polish. My paternal
grandfather originated from what is now Poland, but I didnt
have any consciousness of being Polish. The only other
Czech references in my life growing up was as a child I used
to play hockey and, for whatever reason, I noticed my pucks
were made in Czechoslovakia. Also, I watched Saturday
Night Live and enjoyed Steve Martin and Dan Ackroyd as
the wild and crazy Czech brothers.
After graduating I planned to work for the human rights group
Helsinki Watch (the predecessor to Human Rights Watch),
but when communism fell, there wasnt an attractive prospect
for me to work on human rights. So I accepted a job
translating the Czech news agency wire service into English.
I worked at the Czech news agency for two years, then took a
job with an English-language newspaper while freelance
translating. There were authors Czech nationals whom
I knew personally and in whose writing I was interested, so I
just started working on translations. Demand was high, and I
translated articles for an architecture magazine, a book about
a modernist architect, a book on the history of the koda

automobile factory, a memoir by an Australian Czech who

traveled around the world going to brothels, for art
magazines just everything.
It was in this writer community that someone passed me
Petras book. By then, I had translated several Czech novels
to English. I read it and I liked it. Unfortunately, as ardent as
my passion for translating is, there is little money in it. I
dont make my living translating, and I only ever did when I
was living in Prague. I dont know anybody who earns a
living working solely as a literary translator. I think its
impossible unless branching out into other professional
translating. I find most literary translators are academics who
work on their projects during their summer break or during
vacations, weekends, on off-days or after hours. Or they are
translators but not just literary translators. It would be a hard
way to live, especially if you live in a higher-rent area. A
person would really have to hustle.

Chapter 7: Making the Move

The whole idea of studying translation is relatively new. In
recent years, various universities and colleges have
established translation and language studies programs. Some
universities offer only a masters degree or a doctorate;
others offer only graduate or professional certificates; and
still others offer all of those options.xxiv Choosing a particular
education program should follow some essential career
outlining namely, determining what specialty interests
you. Do you want to work in the medical field? Do you have
an affinity for the legal world? Only after considering the
environment and, essentially, the subject you will be
working with for years to come should you make
education choices. Remember: A degree in translating may
not be necessary; an educational background in a particular
field of study can provide a natural area of subject-matter
expertise.xxv But interpreters and translators generally need
specialized training on how to do the work, particularly in
fields that rely on jargon, such as the law or medical
interpreting or translating.

Resources
An important initial step that all of the experts advise is to
affiliate with the appropriate member organization. These
groups are invaluable for networking, resources and
mentoring.
- The American Translators Association (www.atanet.org) is
the largest professional association of translators and
interpreters in the United States, with more than 11,000
members in more than 90 countries. The ATA provides
certification in 24 language combinations involving English.
- As of 2011, the National Association of Judiciary
Interpreters and Translators (www.najit.org) touts a
membership of more than 1,200 professionals.
- The International Association of Conference Interpreters
(www.aiic-usa.com) represents professionals specializing in
simultaneous and consecutive oral interpretation services.
The AIIC the initials refer to the companys French name,
Association Internationale des Interprtes de Confrence
provides certification, and members undergo a rigorous
admissions process to join. The AIIC vouches that its
members hold the highest levels of professionalism and
ethics in the industry. Members, according to the AIIC,
typically hold professional credentials from graduate
interpreter and translator schools from all over the world and

are accredited with many international organizations such as

the Department of State, the United Nations, the European
Union, the Federal Government of Canada and many more.
- The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters
(www.healthcareinterpretercertification.org) offers two
types of certifications: the Associate Healthcare Interpreter
(AHI) for interpreters of languages other than Spanish,
Arabic and Mandarin, and the Certified Healthcare
Interpreter (CHI) for interpreters of Spanish, Arabic and
Mandarin.
- The National Board of Certification for Medical
Interpreters (www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org), an
independent division of the International Medical
Interpreters Association (IMIA), conducts the CMI
certification program.
- The Occupational Outlook Handbook from the U.S.
Department of Labors Bureau of Labor Statistics also
provides a good summary of resources for beginners
(www.bls.gov/ooh/Media-and-Communication/Interpretersand-translators.htm#tab-1).

Footnotes
i. Michael Farr, Top 100 Careers for College Graduates, 7th
ed. (JIST Publishing, 2007), 284.
ii. Ibid.
iii. Tamra Orr, Interpreter (Cherry Lake Publishing, 2010),
6.
iv. Weihe Zhong, An Overview of Translation in China,
Translation Journal 7, no. 2 (Apr. 2003),
http://translationjournal.net/journal/24china.htm.
v. Ibid.
vi. Orr, Interpreter, 6.
vii. Ibid., 8.
viii. Farr, Top 100 Careers for College Graduates, 284.
ix. Ibid.
x. Ibid., 285.
xi. Orr, Interpreter, 20.
xii. Ibid., 21.

xiii. Farr, Top 100 Careers for College Graduates, 286.

xiv. Ibid., 285.
xv. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Occupational Outlook Handbook,
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Media-andCommunication/Interpreters-and-translators.htm.
xvi. Ibid.
xvii. Ibid.
xviii. Ibid.
xix. Ibid.
xx. Ibid.
xxi. Maria Khodorkovsky, Translation: History of a
Dangerous Profession, ALTA Blog, Oct. 3, 2008,
http://www.altalang.com/beyondwords/2008/10/03/translation-history-of-a-dangerousprofession/.
xxii. Ibid.

xxiii. Alfonso Serrano, CBS News Translator Slain by

Insurgents, Feb. 11, 2009,
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/27/notebook/main32

xxiv. Jes Gearing, Top 10 U.S. Translation Schools, ALTA

Blog, Sept. 23, 2009, http://www.altalang.com/beyondwords/2009/09/23/top-10-us-translation-schools/.
xxv. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Jaime Guillet Bio

Jaime Guillet is a New Orleans-based reporter who has

covered industries such as transportation, retail and film, as
well as city and state government. She worked as a senior
staff writer for the city's premier business publication, New
Orleans City Business, and contributes to several national
trade publications. Guillet has won numerous awards from
the Louisiana Press Association and the Press Club of New
Orleans for her coverage of business and city government,
including a first-place award for her investigative series
about transparency of public contracts. In addition to the
gratification she receives from covering pre- and postHurricane Katrina New Orleans, she loves going to the
movies, writing so she can feed her animals (including two
horses, Cisco and Penny), Tina Fey, and all things comedic,

even if she is not (though she tries real hard).

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