The Disappearing Translator

Why do you need a translation? It's a simple question with a simple answer - you've got something to say or something to ask in a language which is foreign to you. And the solution is simple too, of course: all you need do is contact your translation supplier and they will magically transform your text into whatever language you need (well, we think it is magical anyway).

So, there's nothing to worry about, right? You've got a good relationship with your translation supplier, you're confident that they know exactly what you need and you trust them to provide top quality translations. But perhaps you still have a niggling concern that something of the message you so carefully crafted will be lost. You might expect me to nip this concern in the bud right away but I must admit, it isn't completely unfounded.

Some translation purists would compound your fears by telling you that as soon as your words are translated into another language it is the translator's voice which the reader hears, not yours. I personally think this is a very defeatist view, too focussed on the limitations of translation rather than its possibilities. These are the same people who would tell you you haven't read Chekov unless you've read the original Russian. Party-poopers.

Have you ever read a translated novel? No? Chances are you have and didn't realise it and if you did realise, assuming it was a good translation, you probably forgot about the translator as soon as you started reading. The fact that you will rarely find any attribution to the translation anywhere between the two covers of a translated book is testament to the fact that it is the translator's duty to the original author to make sure their presence in the text is as undetectable as possible.

You might think that the translator would feel miffed if they are not accredited on a translation but quite the contrary. A translator's goal is to communicate what you, the author, said as well as how you said it without adding their own voice. Going unnoticed is their greatest possible achievement.

Of course, this isn't always possible and sometimes a translator must betray their own identity with the use of translator's notes to make sure that the message will be understood by readers from a different culture to that of the author. It's a balancing act as well as a disappearing act.

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