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The fear of rereading a translation after you've sent it Auteur du fil: Tom in London
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Tom in London wrote:
Do you have this fear?
Also my case. To me, delivering a translation is like crossing the Rubicon. When I reach the moment of delivery, I rest knowing that I have done everything in my power to deliver a quality translation. From that moment on, "Alea iacta est!"
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Elmachich 
Maroc
Local time: 23:30
anglais vers français
+ ...
| Nope? Yes, we all do! | May 21, 2015 |
Tom in London wrote:
After working long and hard to make a translation perfect, and sending it off to the client, I'm always frightened to read it the next day (tempting though this is) in case I find a mistake I hadn't noticed.
Do you have this fear?
Hi Tom,
It's's quite natural COS "there is no more uncertainty than in the certainty itself! "
Thank you for sharing!
At the end of our hard work, we just admire the result, COS we are proud of ourselves,
and above all: We have finished! And our translation seems to us the best production... Natural feeling
Then we send it and after that we find ourselves saying to ourselves "I have to read it again, just in case..."
However, I have another fear: starting the translation itself, it does take me some time ):
but once I have started I can assure you I just cannot stop from translating...
Do you have that feeling too? Thank you.
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Josephine Cassar
Malte
Local time: 00:30
Membre (2012)
anglais vers maltais
+ ...
But I rarely get the time to go over after I have finished and if I ever have the time, it will be long past or I am tired out or I have other things to do. But, I try to be optimistic and rely on the fact that I have done my best and not left out spaces, commas, and, hopefully, now I have trained myself to type without mistakes, but one never knows what tricks technology might wreck. Hopefully, not.
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Dan Lucas
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 23:30
Membre (2014)
japonais vers anglais
| Fellow Rubiconner | May 21, 2015 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
Also my case. To me, delivering a translation is like crossing the Rubicon.
Well put Tomás, that's exactly how I feel.
Dan
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| I reread translations in magazines or books | May 21, 2015 |
I only reread my translations if they come back in a form of a magazine or of a book or when I need to furnish links of homepages I have translated. It's then to be sure there has not been added another translation from someone else which might be of bad quality and be taken for my work.
I am not afraid of rereading what I did translate though.
[Modifié le 2015-05-21 19:13 GMT]
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Aaron Schwarz wrote: After I have sent it is when I do my best editing. 
Same with me - but why is that?
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Richard Foulkes (X)
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 23:30
allemand vers anglais
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| This is another thing that must have a name! | May 22, 2015 |
Most likely ending in -phobia. Especially when you come across your translation in its published form, it's natural to want to re-read it, but I've banned myself from doing so in case I spot an error!
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Tom in London
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 23:30
Membre (2008)
italien vers anglais
AUTEUR DU FIL | Tom Jones Syndrome | May 22, 2015 |
Richard Foulkes wrote:
Most likely ending in -phobia. Especially when you come across your translation in its published form, it's natural to want to re-read it, but I've banned myself from doing so in case I spot an error!
I had no idea this syndrome was so widespread.
It reminds me of that old punchline "It's not unusual"
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| more an aversion than a fear | May 22, 2015 |
Calling this a fear or a phobia implies that I am worried I might actually be stupid enough to look at a translation that is out of my hands. But I am completely confident that I would never do something as crazy as that. I'm also not sure whether it is a pathological or a perfectly rational aversion.
Now, if it's work - if I need to look things over at the proof stage or if a client has questions or wants changes or if I am using an old translation as reference material for a curre... See more Calling this a fear or a phobia implies that I am worried I might actually be stupid enough to look at a translation that is out of my hands. But I am completely confident that I would never do something as crazy as that. I'm also not sure whether it is a pathological or a perfectly rational aversion.
Now, if it's work - if I need to look things over at the proof stage or if a client has questions or wants changes or if I am using an old translation as reference material for a current translation or searching the concordance of my CAT - then it's absolutely no problem.
But rubbing my nose in my own lack of infallibility and omniscience without any ulterior motive - no thanks! And that is doubly true of books: Although I always take a good look at the pictures, I'm very careful to keep my eyes from straying to the text.
PS: Obviously, it would be perfectly rational and reasonable for anyone who does not share my clearly irrational belief in their own infallibility and omniscience to look at their old translations out of curiostiy or to learn or to pass the time. ▲ Collapse
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Anna Sarah Krämer
Allemagne
Local time: 00:30
Membre (2011)
anglais vers allemand
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| Ohrwurm and some kitchen sink psychology | May 22, 2015 |
A catchy tune from Tom Jones was really all I needed for this already really slow and difficult morning of translation. I really need to make sure NOT to reread the translation I am doing today.
It is very rare that I find and take the time to reread any translations later, but I am convinced that there must be a proper name for the aversion of rubbing one's nose into one's own mistakes - linguistic or others. It took ... See more A catchy tune from Tom Jones was really all I needed for this already really slow and difficult morning of translation. I really need to make sure NOT to reread the translation I am doing today.
It is very rare that I find and take the time to reread any translations later, but I am convinced that there must be a proper name for the aversion of rubbing one's nose into one's own mistakes - linguistic or others. It took me years to be able just to look at things I did earlier without being utterly embarrassed and beating myself up about them. Today I am able to apply a normal, healthy self-criticism. It is so much easier and more efficient to just look and say "This could have been done better. Now how can I go about it next time?"
I always thought the reason was in my education during the 80s - we were praised for everything and nothing during that period. I guess many parents truly believed that criticism would discourage children. And so I was encouraged to get away with average results and never got used to criticism. Meditation practice got me over that - it helps to get unhelpful emotions out of the way. But the force isn't yet strong enough with me to get rid of Tom Jones... ▲ Collapse
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Tom in London
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 23:30
Membre (2008)
italien vers anglais
AUTEUR DU FIL
Anna Sarah Krämer Fazendeiro wrote:
A catchy tune from Tom Jones...
Patient: Doctor, I wonder if you can help me?
Doctor: What seems to be the trouble?
Patient: I've got this song running through my head…
Doctor: And?
Patient: I can't get it to stop! It's driving me mad!
Doctor: Hmm. What's the song?
Patient: "Green green grass of home"
Doctor: Hmmmmm. Just the one song, or are there others?
Patient: Well now that you come to mention it...
Doctor: Yes?
Patient: There are others.
Doctor: What are they?
Patient: Well, there's "Delilah"...
Doctor: Let me stop you there. I'm afraid you seem to be suffering from a severe case of TJS.
Patient: ?
Doctor: TJS. Tom Jones Syndrome.
Patient: Oh! I didn't know it was a syndrome. Do a lot of people get it?
Doctor: it's not unusual.
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Anna Sarah Krämer
Allemagne
Local time: 00:30
Membre (2011)
anglais vers allemand
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Patient: But can it be cured?
Doctor: Well, a revolutionary new treatment has recently been tested. But it is not without risks!
Patient: I don't care! It's just a matter of time until I will lose my mind! I wake up crying every day! How does this treatment work?
Doctor: We use a very strong CTI (Catchy Tune Inducer) to counteract the symptoms of the original disorder. Some patients reported an improvement of their condition after the treatment. You will have to take this medication before meals during the next two weeks. But make sure to return immediately if you experience any side effects! ▲ Collapse
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Tom in London
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 23:30
Membre (2008)
italien vers anglais
AUTEUR DU FIL
So it's true what they say about the German sense of humour.
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Anna Sarah Krämer
Allemagne
Local time: 00:30
Membre (2011)
anglais vers allemand
+ ...
| As far as rumours go we don't have any... | May 22, 2015 |
...because we are always too busy working.
Happy weekend!
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Daryo
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 23:30
serbe vers anglais
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| no fear, more curiosity | May 22, 2015 |
I would not reread my own translation the next day - not because of any kind of fear, but because there would be no point as I would have reread it at least twice before sending it.
But rereading it days, months or even years later can be very interesting/instructive.
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