At the beginning of September, we made a questionnaire among our translators and asked them to answer as they wished.
We’re sharing with you some of the answers from our beloved translators with their permission.
You may also join this enjoyable chat with your comments.
1. What do you like most about translation?
BUAK: Having knowledge about various topics. Since my childhood, I’ve been an enthusiastic reader and researcher. I used to love getting lost among the pages of the encyclopedias we got with newspaper coupons. I often get the same enjoyment while doing translation.
EBÖZ: The freedom to work wherever I want, without having to go to the office.
GUSA: It’s only the computer and me; I can work on my own.
NEKI: I’m constantly learning about new subjects. There is no end to learning, which I understood through translation.
NESA: The pleasure of problem solving.
PIŞE: I have loved reading & writing since my childhood, what else could it be? I can always learn new and interesting information on various topics. Especially with book translations, I can gain insight about the technologies, creative designs, plans and projects that not everyone knows about yet. For example, when Twitter (in fact, social media in general) newly emerged and had not yet been heard of in Turkey, I translated a book about the Internet and then I made a joke to my friends saying ‘I know about the birth of Twitter’.
SEAL: Although it’s against the very nature of being a translator, I have met lots of people. 🙂
2. What do you like least about translation?
BUAK: It’s perceived as an easy task that anyone who knows, or thinks he knows, the language can do.
EBÖZ: As I’m a freelancer, my workflow and therefore my income are not stable.
GUSA: Editing sloppy and imprecise word-for-word translations full of misunderstood sentences.
NESA: The challenge to find sufficient and reliable resources. The incapability of institutions such as TDK to update dictionaries by carrying out the necessary language studies. For this reason, for example, the term “Informed Consent” has many synonymous uses in Turkish including “Bilgilendirilmiş Olur”, “Bilgilendirilmiş Onam”, and “Aydınlatılmış Onam”.
PIŞE: In a nutshell: poorly written source texts.
SEAL:Although, again, it’s against the nature of being a translator, I sometimes can’t recall the simplest words.
3. If you had the chance to travel back in time to when you first started your profession, what would you advise yourself?
BUAK: Learn another language, be more patient, and know the value of time.
EBÖZ: Buy yourself a suitable chair and desk, and create an ergonomic working environment in your home. Do yoga every day. 🙂
GUSA: Don’t trouble yourself with problems caused by factors other than you; it will all work out in the end.
NEKI: Don’t waste your time with Turkey; focus on international translation