I have been reading J.M. Coetzee's Slow Man these last two weeks. True to the title, I read this book slowly, digesting and absorbing words and senses produced by this amazing books. Then last night I bumped into this sentence:
"Evidently she has been ferreting around in your past".
Ferreting, how clever! You know the animal and you fully understand what they do and the connection to the sentence. But it also posed me with a question, how to translate it to Indonesian? To start with I don't even know what ferret is in Indonesian! my dictionary only says 'sejenis musang'. Hey? even Musang I don't know when they do...do they snoop around? do they rummage and forage? Well, I should google this! case closed until then...
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
July 7, 2006
I am doing proofreading alias editing subtitles of VAM (value added materials...I think! in normal world we call it the extra bits in DVD) of a rubbish film called Fast Furious Tokyo Drift (their website is interesting though! check this http://www.thefastandthefurious.com/).
The word drifting itself has drifted me from one dictionary to another, from one web to another just to find a perfect translation! In the film itself, the translator (not me, not me, ! I don't want to get the blame for it!) uses 'balap cepat' for drifting; in English it will be fast racing. But man, since when racing is not fast?! I thought when you race it means you have to try to be the fastest. So Balap cepat is really a redundant. There is nothing I can do for the feature since I bet the translation has been approved. But for the VAMs, it is my territory. ! The VAM translator (different from the film's translator) used 'melayang' or literally means 'floating'.
Thus, my works start here! I did check websites to find out what they really mean with drifting, can 'melayang' really be used here? Well, well, no I don't think so, this is what the official website of the film defines it as this:
"A driving technique pioneered in Japan where the car rear tires are slipping at a greater angle then the front tires. The technique has become a sport where drivers must keep their cars sliding sideways through a course of turns while controlling their line, angle and speed..."
So it ain't fast racing Mister. And I am sorry it is not 'melayang' either. I tend to use 'meluncur' yet I don't feel that 'eureka' moment. So for the time being, I would just keep drifting as drifting, until a revealation is drifted towards my direction...(or anyone can help me?)
The word drifting itself has drifted me from one dictionary to another, from one web to another just to find a perfect translation! In the film itself, the translator (not me, not me, ! I don't want to get the blame for it!) uses 'balap cepat' for drifting; in English it will be fast racing. But man, since when racing is not fast?! I thought when you race it means you have to try to be the fastest. So Balap cepat is really a redundant. There is nothing I can do for the feature since I bet the translation has been approved. But for the VAMs, it is my territory. ! The VAM translator (different from the film's translator) used 'melayang' or literally means 'floating'.
Thus, my works start here! I did check websites to find out what they really mean with drifting, can 'melayang' really be used here? Well, well, no I don't think so, this is what the official website of the film defines it as this:
"A driving technique pioneered in Japan where the car rear tires are slipping at a greater angle then the front tires. The technique has become a sport where drivers must keep their cars sliding sideways through a course of turns while controlling their line, angle and speed..."
So it ain't fast racing Mister. And I am sorry it is not 'melayang' either. I tend to use 'meluncur' yet I don't feel that 'eureka' moment. So for the time being, I would just keep drifting as drifting, until a revealation is drifted towards my direction...(or anyone can help me?)
July 13th, 2006
I had to translate a marriage certificate two days ago. It was for an Indonesian woman who married an English man. The marriage took place in an Islamic religious affairs office (KUA) and the certificate is full with Islamic vocabs!
First, what is wali nasab? what is a wali in a wedding anyway? The guardian? and nasab? apparently it means family/relatives who become a wali for the bride. But in this case there is no wali nasab, the couple were (was?) married by the hakim or the judge who presided the solemnization. Hence come up a question: hubungan wali/sebab, which means the relation to the wali and the reason ( I think it is the reason why there is no wali nasab). The answer to this question is very economical indeed! it is only GHAIB! what? yes I did not know what Ghaib was. I knew gaib which means spirit or in ilmu gaib it refers more to magic, but not GHAIB in this context. I sent an email to Bahtera, Indonesian translator mailing list, straight away! and the answer was provided within minutes! Bless you Bahtera. It seems that GHAIB means unknown or if you cannot find anyone. So one problem was sorted!
Another one is the status before marriage. For the bridegroom it is said Jejaka and for the bride is Perawan, which both , if literally translated, mean VIRGIN. Blimey! did anyone check if they were virgins?
Bahtera was one more time very helpful in this case. Many of the members suggested using Bachelor for the man and Spinster for the woman. I haven't had any problem with bachelor, but spinster? ! Here in London, if I said someone was a spinster I would surely got a kick in my face, or to copy what Zidane did, I would get a headbutt! The Oxford dictionary says that this spiteful word shall be avoided since it has negative connotation of someone old, childless, prissy and repressed. Yet, in the world of law and religion this word is stil preserved!
A friend whose marriage certificate has been translated into English by someone else said to me : "Yes, I know when I got married I was not young anymore, but surely I was not that old either!" She was disappointed by the usage of spinster in her certificate. I had to use the word too unfortunately ! since it is still the proper word employed in the world of judges! I just hope that poor woman whose certificate I translated did not notice that!
First, what is wali nasab? what is a wali in a wedding anyway? The guardian? and nasab? apparently it means family/relatives who become a wali for the bride. But in this case there is no wali nasab, the couple were (was?) married by the hakim or the judge who presided the solemnization. Hence come up a question: hubungan wali/sebab, which means the relation to the wali and the reason ( I think it is the reason why there is no wali nasab). The answer to this question is very economical indeed! it is only GHAIB! what? yes I did not know what Ghaib was. I knew gaib which means spirit or in ilmu gaib it refers more to magic, but not GHAIB in this context. I sent an email to Bahtera, Indonesian translator mailing list, straight away! and the answer was provided within minutes! Bless you Bahtera. It seems that GHAIB means unknown or if you cannot find anyone. So one problem was sorted!
Another one is the status before marriage. For the bridegroom it is said Jejaka and for the bride is Perawan, which both , if literally translated, mean VIRGIN. Blimey! did anyone check if they were virgins?
Bahtera was one more time very helpful in this case. Many of the members suggested using Bachelor for the man and Spinster for the woman. I haven't had any problem with bachelor, but spinster? ! Here in London, if I said someone was a spinster I would surely got a kick in my face, or to copy what Zidane did, I would get a headbutt! The Oxford dictionary says that this spiteful word shall be avoided since it has negative connotation of someone old, childless, prissy and repressed. Yet, in the world of law and religion this word is stil preserved!
A friend whose marriage certificate has been translated into English by someone else said to me : "Yes, I know when I got married I was not young anymore, but surely I was not that old either!" She was disappointed by the usage of spinster in her certificate. I had to use the word too unfortunately ! since it is still the proper word employed in the world of judges! I just hope that poor woman whose certificate I translated did not notice that!
Friends, Lovers and Chocolate
School holiday has started. I've decided to work less since the children are around all the time and I have to entertain them too (yes, cinemas! parks, lots of ice cream and lots of arguments!). So I am treating myself to a new book by Alexander McCall Smith's Friends, Lovers and Chocolate. I like the Isabel Dalhousie (Sunday Philosophy Club) series, I think Dalhousie is very witty, prissy, clever and amusing at the same time. McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series are interesting too, but I found Dalhousie is more for me than Mma Ratmoswe. Dalhousie in my opinion has more depth than her Botswanan counterpart.
Mma Ratmoswe is entertaning, simple, but for me her character is more fragmented. I can see her action and her wit, but I can't really get into her thoughts. Dalhousie on the other hand is generous with her thoughts, she shares her opinion with anyone anytime and indeed she is a very opinionated person. However I feel she is more relevant with my current environment.
In general McCall Smith's book are really readable. But my favorite is still 44 Scotland Street!
Check McCall Smith's official website at http://www.randomhouse.com/features/mccallsmith/
Last week I did translation for the BBC. It was for their coming programme on the Equator. Basically what I did is to translate what people said on the video/dvd they made when the BBC's reporter -- I think his name is Simon-- when to Kalimantan and Sulawesi interviewing people there. This Simon had fixers/in-situ interpreters actually but since the BBC needs everything precisely so they had to hire me to translate those videos.
The fixer in Sulawesi is ok, but the one in Kalimantan did get to my nerve. She did not translate in my opinion, but more gave her interpretation. So, when someone said A, she did not translate it as A to Simon, but it could be be A plus, A minus or even B. Simon apparently has been adopted as a son by a Dayak family, in the adoption ceremony he was given a kind of Dayak traditional machete/sword (the mandau). The adopted father said 'this is for you so you can remember us here in central Kalimantan'. Simple. The translation provided by this woman was very elaborate though! she said to Simon that the man said 'the mandau has been passed from one generation to another and now by having this mandau now you are also considered as a Dayak protector...bla..bla..bla...!'. Hearing that, I bet Simon was not only impressed but suddenly also faced with a big burden on his shooulder! so he kept saying 'oh my God, I cannot receive this heirloom...'
And now, me who had to translate what the Dayak man said, of course was in dilemma! The interpreter has translated the Dayak man's sentences as such (she is in the film too, so I could hear what she said clearly!), while me I, as usual, as a professional translator has to be faithful to whatever the man really said. My translation was of course shorter than what the interpreter said and I decided to write notes here and then to the BBC about this problem.
I wrote for example in one part :
or this one:
Honestly, I am just amazed that a translator would so such a thing. When I attended courses of interpreting (and translation) my teacher always said 'when you do an interpreting basically you become an alter-ego of the person you translate'. So when the person says A you have to translate A, b should be b. A professional translator would not allow his/herself to add his/her own interpretation, opinion, judgement and others. When one translates/does interpreting in the court or police station this basic requirement is a must, otherwise one might unintentionally harm, hurt someone else or prevent justice to be done.
In this case, the translator has obviously broken all the rules. Luckily, if the BBC questioned me about this, I have a friend who also translated the same programme (different dvd) and who has complained about this fixer/interpreter in Kalimantan. We both agreed that she did not do her job properly and professionally! If you read this, you can send me an email and I will show you how wrong you have been!
Mma Ratmoswe is entertaning, simple, but for me her character is more fragmented. I can see her action and her wit, but I can't really get into her thoughts. Dalhousie on the other hand is generous with her thoughts, she shares her opinion with anyone anytime and indeed she is a very opinionated person. However I feel she is more relevant with my current environment.
In general McCall Smith's book are really readable. But my favorite is still 44 Scotland Street!
Check McCall Smith's official website at http://www.randomhouse.com/features/mccallsmith/
Last week I did translation for the BBC. It was for their coming programme on the Equator. Basically what I did is to translate what people said on the video/dvd they made when the BBC's reporter -- I think his name is Simon-- when to Kalimantan and Sulawesi interviewing people there. This Simon had fixers/in-situ interpreters actually but since the BBC needs everything precisely so they had to hire me to translate those videos.
The fixer in Sulawesi is ok, but the one in Kalimantan did get to my nerve. She did not translate in my opinion, but more gave her interpretation. So, when someone said A, she did not translate it as A to Simon, but it could be be A plus, A minus or even B. Simon apparently has been adopted as a son by a Dayak family, in the adoption ceremony he was given a kind of Dayak traditional machete/sword (the mandau). The adopted father said 'this is for you so you can remember us here in central Kalimantan'. Simple. The translation provided by this woman was very elaborate though! she said to Simon that the man said 'the mandau has been passed from one generation to another and now by having this mandau now you are also considered as a Dayak protector...bla..bla..bla...!'. Hearing that, I bet Simon was not only impressed but suddenly also faced with a big burden on his shooulder! so he kept saying 'oh my God, I cannot receive this heirloom...'
And now, me who had to translate what the Dayak man said, of course was in dilemma! The interpreter has translated the Dayak man's sentences as such (she is in the film too, so I could hear what she said clearly!), while me I, as usual, as a professional translator has to be faithful to whatever the man really said. My translation was of course shorter than what the interpreter said and I decided to write notes here and then to the BBC about this problem.
I wrote for example in one part :
(I am sorry to say but the interpreter did not translate per se but also put her own knowledge and opinion. Translator)
or this one:
(PS: there is no reference whatsoever that if the enemy was not beheaded then he/she would be still alive till the next day, The men did not say that --translator)
Honestly, I am just amazed that a translator would so such a thing. When I attended courses of interpreting (and translation) my teacher always said 'when you do an interpreting basically you become an alter-ego of the person you translate'. So when the person says A you have to translate A, b should be b. A professional translator would not allow his/herself to add his/her own interpretation, opinion, judgement and others. When one translates/does interpreting in the court or police station this basic requirement is a must, otherwise one might unintentionally harm, hurt someone else or prevent justice to be done.
In this case, the translator has obviously broken all the rules. Luckily, if the BBC questioned me about this, I have a friend who also translated the same programme (different dvd) and who has complained about this fixer/interpreter in Kalimantan. We both agreed that she did not do her job properly and professionally! If you read this, you can send me an email and I will show you how wrong you have been!
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