Professional Challenges Faced by Translators

Terminological challenges

One of the aspects that translators need to learn to deal with to fulfill their duties, is at the time they are adapting any text they must be knowledgeable about references in case of existing specialized terminology; It is often necessary to look for parallel texts which means similar texts written in the target language. Therefore, as I have inferred and experienced as well, it might become challenging to find sources and be sure of which ones are reliable.

Socio-cultural challenges

Other challenging aspects are the socio-cultural characteristics and purposes present in most texts. One clear example are comics. They are loaded with big cultural content; while translating them I have noticed the need to understand the ludic function of the language used for each culture and society. If I leave this function aside and translate word by word, I risk making a totally inaccurate translation, all elements of irony or fun are going to be erased, and nobody is going to be aware of them. Accomplishing translations can become much more complicated and complex without these aspects.

What is translation?

For me translation is an ability as well as a field of study that has to do with the complexity of communication between languages in the world; it involves not only the act of communication but the act of processing information as well. Because we are surrounded by many languages and different ways of perceiving life we cannot just consider the languages committed to be translated, it is crucial to have an integral view of the purposes when translating messages, texts, official documents or any type of sources within their own contexts. Undeniably there are vital strategies and methodologies one has to put into practice to guarantee quality and accurate responses to the specific needs of translation but, the purposes and contexts make a huge difference in what the final result of our translations will be. These elements: contexts and purposes, according to Amparo Hurtado Albir, are basic presuppositions and relevant extra linguistic knowledge needed in the process of translation, to make any kind of translation integral, proper and the most devoted one.

Work cited

Hurtado Albir,Amparo.Traducción y traductología: introducción a la traductología. Madrid: Cátedra, 2001.Impreso.