| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: After not translating for some time, do you ever forget your translation style? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "After not translating for some time, do you ever forget your translation style?".
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| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 08:41
Spanish to English
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| Say what now? | Jun 28, 2012 |
Sorry, am not familiar with the notion of "not translating for some time". The longest I ever seem to go without translating is about 2-3 days max... or maybe about a week if I'm on vacation.
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 08:41
English to French
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| How long is that? | Jun 28, 2012 |
Besides, my "style" is not the same for legal, technical, general, arts, etc. texts
And "breaks" are a good opportunity to learn more about the world at large and therefore improve or at least be more aware of my knowledge (and style)
| | | | Michael Harris 
Germany
Local time: 08:41
Member (2006)
German to English
neilmac wrote:
Sorry, am not familiar with the notion of "not translating for some time". The longest I ever seem to go without translating is about 2-3 days max... or maybe about a week if I'm on vacation.
I thought we were all doing this as a profession?
Why on earth should we "forget" the way we do our job, even if we were to take 6 weeks off?
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Susanna Martoni
Italy
Local time: 08:41
Member (2009)
Spanish to Italian
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| May happen if... | Jun 28, 2012 |
It happened to me that I had to stop my job for about one year.
And when I restarted, I was a bit out of exercise (for example: I had to "think more" before writing down simple sentences, I had to struggle more to set my working plans).
[Modificato alle 2012-06-28 08:36 GMT]
| | | | | forget my style??? | Jun 28, 2012 |
I have never been without translating for such a long time and rather than forget I would say that when I have been without working for a long time with certain types of documents (doing lots of legal document and no marketing materials or the other way around) I have to admit that the first day I am a bit rusty and eveything seems to take longer.
| | | | Suzan Hamer
Netherlands
Local time: 08:41
English
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| My "style" depends on the source text... | Jun 28, 2012 |
Interlangue wrote: Besides, my "style" is not the same for legal, technical, general, arts, etc. texts
| | | | Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 09:41
Turkish to English
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Actually, every morning when I start work, even if I have been translating the previous day, I feel a bit rusty to begin with and find that it takes an hour or so before I feel that I am really back in my stride.
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| My style is chameleon coloured anyway | Jun 28, 2012 |
I specialise in the language as much as the subject area - reflecting the roundabout way I came to translation.
I rarely take long breaks, but after a couple of weeks' holiday doing comparatively little translation, I find it refreshing. Which is why I take breaks.
I change subject area and style all the time, but I do have regular clients and styles that they like. I can normally adjust over a coffee break.
Many of my jobs are not large, so I don't get to... See more I specialise in the language as much as the subject area - reflecting the roundabout way I came to translation.
I rarely take long breaks, but after a couple of weeks' holiday doing comparatively little translation, I find it refreshing. Which is why I take breaks.
I change subject area and style all the time, but I do have regular clients and styles that they like. I can normally adjust over a coffee break.
Many of my jobs are not large, so I don't get totally immersed in them, but they are often continuing stories where I need to maintain a consistent style from month to month, or through a sequence of assignments. Definitely not a problem. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Helen Hagon
Local time: 07:41
Member (2011)
Russian to English
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| Like riding a bike... | Jun 28, 2012 |
Surely it's like riding a bike? You may be a bit wobbly after a while spent out of the saddle, but you never really forget how to ride.
I'm not sure I've been out of the saddle very much recently, though...
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For almost 40 years no interruption: read it/listen to it and write or say it in your native language as plain and clear as possible. The chief (the client) is all ears.
[Edited at 2012-06-28 10:35 GMT]
| | | | John Cutler
Spain
Local time: 08:41
Spanish to English
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| Style is like a fingerprint | Jun 28, 2012 |
I think writing style, like speaking style, is something we develop over time and which eventually becomes “set in stone”.
We obviously have to make modifications depending on the type of document we're translating, changes in register, etc., but we still consistently use the same style. We’ve learned to use punctuation in a certain way or choose our syntax in the way that feels most comfortable to us.
I not only don’t forget my style, but you could show me a d... See more I think writing style, like speaking style, is something we develop over time and which eventually becomes “set in stone”.
We obviously have to make modifications depending on the type of document we're translating, changes in register, etc., but we still consistently use the same style. We’ve learned to use punctuation in a certain way or choose our syntax in the way that feels most comfortable to us.
I not only don’t forget my style, but you could show me a document I translated several years ago and I would know whether I had translated it or not, not by the content, but simply by the style.
Along the lines of text criticism, I also find it quite easy to recognize in other people’s documents when one or more people have contributed to drafting it. Although we may all have to follow the same grammar, semantic and syntactic rules, styles are like fingerprints, each one is unique and would be hard to forget. ▲ Collapse
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Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 02:41
Spanish to English
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| Idleness leads to a certain inefficiency... | Jun 28, 2012 |
rather than to loss of skills. This is what I have found.
As Helen has indicated, it's like riding a bike....
| | | | Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:41
Portuguese to English
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Suzan Hamer wrote: My "style" depends on the source text... Interlangue wrote: Besides, my "style" is not the same for legal, technical, general, arts, etc. texts
| | | | | I have never been been "not translating for some time" | Jun 28, 2012 |
neilmac wrote:
Sorry, am not familiar with the notion of "not translating for some time". The longest I ever seem to go without translating is about 2-3 days max... or maybe about a week if I'm on vacation.
The same for me!
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