Lost (and Found) in Translation 1 - English

Translation is indeed a world apart. Different people with different backgrounds, focused on bringing diverse and disparate contents from one language to another, surpassing cultural and regional barriers, “landing” the contents in a “land” that can have distinct landscapes, fauna, and flora. The result, depending on the original content, can be a recreation of the text as a new work, preserving its context and content. A real puzzle for those who like challenges. The “tribe” of translators is also something peculiar. And within the characteristic humor of which is afflicting finding the exact word in the target language for caipirinha or miss, and those who speak their CAT tools like they were talking about a pet’s (tamed, but temperamental) mood, I like a lot this strip below (from Mox’s blog):

The translators are self-employed professionals, freelancers, and the search for jobs / projects moves us around the world, at least virtually. Something that worries me is how the translation industry will evolve in the coming years, and how I can plan to not be caught by surprise. That is, identifying markets to approach, determining how to approach them, and what to offer, so as not to lose customers. In my search for these articles, reports, and experiences of other translators, I found this article, which I found quite interesting (on the Pangeanic website): What is the Size of the Translation Industry?

One of the things that worries me is that, despite Portuguese being the 5th most spoken language in the world, the vast majority of speakers are concentrated in one country (Brazil), which is still under development, thereby restricting the size of the potential market. This concern is the engine for making decisions based on expertise in the most booming sectors of translation (location, for example), or even the study of new languages. The first decision, is to study, to specialize in most areas, beyond what I already know (engineering, marketing, statistics, mathematics, for example), and, the second, ever give my first steps in Spanish (but still has a long way to front). I say goodbye to you with a hug, until the next newsletter.

#DanielleSanchez #freelance #culturalbarriers #originalcontent #english