META, March 15, 2000
The Spiritual
Translator Newsletter
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IN META TODAY
1. 35
YEARS OF TRANSLATION
2. QUOTES XXIV
3. CLIPPINGS
FROM THE NEWSPAPERS
4. A FRIEND THAT'S ALWAYS THERE
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1. 35 YEARS OF TRANSLATION
I have been in the translation business (with ups and
downs) for the past 35 years and the profession has changed dramatically. I
started to translate in 1966 in Germany on the American Base of Frankfurt/Main.
Then I came to Canada, passed the exam to enter as a translator in the Federal
Government in Ottawa and started my desk job in July 1967! Yes, this is what it
was... a desk job. We were only 300 translators in Ottawa at that time. We were alone with our typewriter, our blank
page and our English text. We had a library and the Terminology Section just
started in the Blackburn Building, 55 Sparks Street on the fifth floor, in a
room full of drawers with index cards in alphabetical order.
When I looked at the old translators, most of them were
old bachelors, they were flabby from the lack of exercise, antisocial,
introverted intellectuals. Each one had his idea of what the translation should
be, they knew a lot of things because they were always looking for references
in the library, consulting dictionaries and Encyclopedias and it could be
interesting to talk to them. Still, I was young and when I looked at them I did
not want to become like them and lead a solitary life behind my desk.
At that time the prestigious position for translators
was with the United Nations. At the beginning of the sixties, I went with my
father to Geneva to see what were the prerequisites to enter the School of
Translation and Interpretation. If you had your diploma from that school, you
were almost sure to enter the United Nations. There was also a school in Paris
and another in Brussels. I was not aware of other schools in Europe and the
translation profession was not a place to make money as my father would put it.
I left the Government after 14 months as a "civil
servant" and went back to study for my Master and Doctorate in literature
and linguistics. I started teaching translation in the Universities as,
suddenly in Canada, with the new bilingualism and biculturalism that Trudeau
started in 1968, the country needed more and more translators. When I was
teaching in Laval in 1975, the number of translators had risen from 300 to
3,000 civil servants and the Federal Government was pushing the Universities to
create new translation programs.
In the eighties, many young B.A.'s in translation wanted
to become a "civil servant" and many did. Some loved the safety and
security of the environment and stayed, moving up to administration positions
and leaving the translation behind. Others, who really enjoyed translating,
went "in the world" and started working for agencies. In Canada,
bilingualism was extended "officially" to New Brunswick, Manitoba,
Alberta but most of all to Ontario at the end of 1986. There was a rush of
translators (including myself.... now you know why I am in Toronto) towards
this golden opportunity and all this work flowing from Toronto! In Europe, the
European Community also created in Brussels, Strasbourg and La Haye (The Hague)
new positions for translators. This time, it is not just in 2 languages but in
all the languages of the EC.
In the nineties, came Internet. Well, I do not have to
elaborate on that. Half of the translators in my age group have not joined the
Internet community of translators... and will not as such, except by having an
email address, but as you know this is not enough. But to all the young and
middle-age translators who read these lines, I just wanted to tell you that our
profession has come a long way in the past 35 years in Europe as in North
America and that for the past 3 years, we have seen a proliferation of
translators all over the world because of the need for instant communication in
all languages. The result is that anybody who speaks and writes 2 languages is
trying to get a portion of it and that the old and experienced translators have
to compete price-wise with inexperienced and untrained people. The translation
market right now is a jungle and everybody is trying to step on the heads of
the others in order to get his/her piece of meat. Today those who make money in
the translation business are not the translators... they are businessmen with
little computer knowledge (mostly they know how to talk nicely to people and to
add and subtract numbers). I know translation agencies with managers who know
nothing about translation but they are making millions.
I have on my site a list of 157 languages and also in
descending order the most important languages in the world in terms of number
of people speaking them. Nothing to do with the official languages in the
United Nations or with the economic or political power of the countries where
these languages are spoken which is much more relevant for the money market! I
will tell you the type of contracts and languages I am getting from all the
over the world in my next "delirium tremens".
We are very far from the old bachelor working on his
typewriter!
AND NOW LET US LAUGH...
2. QUOTES
XXIV
"What a
life. When I was a kid I asked my dad if I could go ice skating. He told me to
wait until it gets warmer."
Rodney Dangerfield
"One
can't judge Wagner's opera Lohengrin after a first hearing, and I certainly
don't intend hearing it a second time." Gioacchino Rossini
"I've
always ordered beverages one simple way: 'A Coke, please.' Lately, though, this
hasn't seemed to work. Waitresses now often respond, 'I'm sorry, we don't have
Coke. We have Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Mr. Pibb.' Tired of listening to
the long list of soft drinks, I thought I'd make life easier. So one day I
simply asked the snackbar clerk at a movie theater for a 'dark carbonated
beverage.' The young man behind the counter chuckled and asked, 'Ma'am, would
you like a cylindrical plastic sucking device with that?'" Unknown
"I want
to die like my Grandfather, peacefully in his sleep, not screaming in terror
like the passengers in his car."
Unknown
"The
problem with the designated driver program, it's not a desirable job. But if
you ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it. At the end of the night,
drop them off at the wrong house."
Jeff Foxworthy
"I'm
very, very jealous. Sometimes I walk down the street and I see a beautiful
woman and I think to myself: "I'll bet my boyfriend would like to sleep
with her" and I get SO ANGRY. I run right home and smack him, and say
"How much more of this do you think I can take?" Denise Munro
"It's
good to be back in New York but the crime situation has gotten bad. When I was getting off the plane the pilot
was putting the 'club' on the sheering wheel." John Mendoza
"Do you
remember those people who said that movie theater popcorn is bad for you,
Chinese food is bad for you? These
people are from the Center of Science in the Public Interest. They now say that sandwiches are bad for you
because of the high fat content.
Anything with mayo, cheese or meat is bad for you. Do you realize that
all those years when you were a kid and you carried your lunch to school, the
Twinkie was probably the healthiest thing in there?" Jay Leno
"The
last time I tried to get into the normal work force the guy told me I had to
wear high heels. I'll wear the high
heels but I am going to need a handicapped parking space." Margaret Smith
"About
the only people who listen to both sides of an argument are the next door
neighbors." Unknown
"I was
an ugly kid, too. I was so ugly that my mother breast fed me through a
straw." Rodney Dangerfield
"The
secret of success is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake those, you've
got it made." Groucho Marx
"I asked
my wife the other day, 'Will you love me when I'm old and senile?' She said,
'Of course I do.'"
Unknown
"I spent
more than two hours in the beauty shop getting my hair permed, cut and
styled. Relieved to be done, I went up
to the receptionist to pay. "Good
afternoon!" she said cheerfully.
"And who's your appointment with today?" Kenna Latwesen
"Did you
hear about the new teenage Barbie? You
wind it up, and it resents you."
Jay Trachman
"Expecting
the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like
expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." Dennis Wholey
"I say,
why pay outrageous prices for ski trips when I can just stick my face in the
freezer and fall down on the kitchen floor?" John Wagner
"I'm a
godmother, that's a great thing to be, a godmother. She calls me god for short,
that's cute, I taught her that."
Ellen DeGeneres
"I was
walking down the street and saw a sign on a post. It said: 'Lost $50. If found, just keep it.'"
Steven Wright
3. CLIPPINGS
FROM THE NEWSPAPERS
Who Was That Masked Man
BILLINGS, Montana A man after spending two years in prison for bank robbery filed an appeal for wrongful imprisonment. He claimed innocence even though his partner in crime clearly identified him. He had a unique defense which proved fatal to his cause. Transcripts of the appeal revealed a clever, if unconvincing argument. He thought that the tellers could not have possibly identified him correctly. Among his more unforgettable quotes were, "How could the people in the bank have identified me? I had a mask on when I did the job." His appeal was denied. [In America a man is innocent until proven to be a complete idiot.]
Man Gets Ticket For Eating A Peanut
LINCOLN, Nebraska A truck driver who cracked opened a one cent peanut at a grocery store and ate it has been ticketed for theft. Xavier Ocampo admitted to eating the peanut and offered to pay the store the penny. But employees refused payment and called police instead. [The last time I drove through Nebraska I took some little jelly tubs from a roadside dinner. I wonder what the locals would have done if they found that out?]
Once Is Not Enough
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be shot? Well Phil Horner did and wanted to do something about it, so he took a gun and shot himself in the shoulder. While this may sound bizarre, it gets even more weird. Recently a 911 call came in to dispatch and an ambulance was once again sent to the Horner residence. It seems that he shot himself one more time. The reason? In
his own words, "I wanted to see if it hurt as much as it did the first time."
Junior Entrepreneur Nabbed In Prostitution Ring
LONDON, England A 13yearold boy has been convicted of operating a prostitution ring at his local school. He recruited seven girls from the school and explained what he wanted them to do. After recruiting his "ladies", this enterprising little pimp recruited the little "Johns," also from his school. He charged them 10 pounds ($25) each for an hour. [If this had happened in Nevada the local Chamber of Commerce would have given him a citation.]
Man Pays $67,000 For Shave
BEIRUT, Lebanon Sami Shour may have been looking to get a free shave when he traded a half share of his $3.30 lottery ticket to his barber, but when the ticket won $134,000 Shour was as good as his word. The construction worker and his barber, Abu Fares Tafla, split the prize money for $67,000 each.
...AND LET US
OPEN OUR HEART.
4. A
FRIEND THAT'S ALWAYS THERE
IF I COULD CATCH A RAINBOW
I WOULD DO IT JUST FOR YOU
AND SHARE WITH YOU ITS BEAUTY
ON THE DAYS YOU'RE FEELING BLUE
IF I COULD BUILD A MOUNTAIN
YOU COULD CALL YOUR VERY OWN
A PLACE TO FIND SERENITY
A PLACE TO BE ALONE
IF I COULD TAKE YOUR TROUBLES
I WOULD TOSS THEM IN THE SEA
BUT ALL THESE THINGS I'M FINDING
ARE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME
I CANNOT BUILD A MOUNTAIN
OR CATCH A RAINBOW FAIR
BUT LET ME BE WHAT I KNOW BEST
A FRIEND THAT'S ALWAYS THERE.
Contribution Maria Eugenia Olivares
(Peru)
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"At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by "I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in."
Hungry not only for bread but hungry for love.
Naked not only for clothing but naked for human dignity and respect.
Homeless not only for want of a room of bricks but homeless because of rejection.
Mother Teresa, 1910-1997
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