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This past week, I had the great pleasure of participating both as a
speaker and listener in the online BP Winter Translation Forum. With more than
50 lectures in several languages over three days, there was plenty of food for
thought for any translator. If one definition of success of a conference is that
the participant leaves with one new perspective and one concrete tehcnique to
apply, this event far exceeded expectations. Among the various themes, one of the most interesting ones was the active choice to follow
one’s passion and choose small niches. The speakers showed that it is possible
to combine work and pleasure.
Examples of passion motivating translator choices were Gabriela Kouahla
and Jennifer Case. Ms. Kouahla identified and focuses on aspiring academics in
North Africa that require assistance in preparing articles for publication. Correspondingly,
she actively caters to their needs and payment conditions. She feels part of
their long-term success while ensuring her own long term financial stability. In
her case, social activism and making a living go hand in hand. Likewise, Ms.
Case, an Arabic to English translator, relishes to go where most translators
fear to tread, political and social causes. She attempts to fully express the idea,
no matter how uncomfortable it may be for some parties in the translation
cycle, while challenging public stereotypes. She does not fear criticism
and, thus, channels her personal passion into her professional work. For these
translators, their belief system fuels their work.
Two of the speakers dissected two large markets and showed the various
submarkets that exist. Eman Abdu showed the fascinating and diverse world of
Arabic from Morocco to Iraq, highlighting the other languages that influence
its modern vocabulary, including Amazigh (Berber), French, English and Italian. She noted that, given the wide range of forms of spoken Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, a
constructed language, serves as a bridge between cultures, a bit like English
in India. Also breaking monolithic myths was Heddwan Newton, who illustrated
how many types of English exist. These forms include UK and US English but also
Australian aborigine and Italian, to name just a few. She highlighted the
importance of being aware of the local variances by noting several terms that
have rather different meanings depending on the culture, such as tabling a
motion and root. From these lecturers, it became clear that each of
these language subgroups are potential niches for qualified translators.
Of course, the conference treated many other translation-related topics,
including, but fortunately not focusing on, AI. The more “practical lectures”
included Chris Durbin’s advice to new translators (once in English and once in
French, WOW!), Uri Bruck’s explanation of TM matches and my lecture on email communication
when translators make errors. See the program for a complete list of all the lectures. To
those whose names I did not mention, it is because I was unable to either attend the presentation or ran out of room in this post. Please do not be offended. I
wish to thank Csaba Bán and his staff for
an amazingly smooth experience.
Overall, the BP Winter Translation Forum was well organized, informative
and wide-ranging. Almost without exception, the lecturers were organized and
knowledgeable (the first is not a given taking into the account the introverted
nature of many translators). There was a plenty of food for thought for one and
all. I look forward to attending more such conferences.
* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.
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