I would like to begin by asking you two questions.
The first one is easy and precise:
Would you know how to translate the word “ethics”into other languages?
Into Spanish – Ética
Into French – Éthique
Into German – Ethik
Into Polish – Plłatki
Into Swedish – Etik
The second question might be a little more complex:
Have you ever thought about the role played by ethics when it comes to the translation field?
Thus, I would like precisely to dedicate this entry to discuss about this topic.
I don’t know if you noticed it, but the word I used to translate “ethics” into Polish actually means “cereal”.
Now, can you imagine if we use this same trick or hoax when translating legal documents? Or what about a medical diagnosis? Or political speeches?
The result might be much more serious than in the “cereal” case we used above.
A simple mistranslated word in a document or a speech can have an enormous impact.
And even more if this is done on purpose or with malicious intent.
It is important, however, to avoid confusing lack of ethics with lack of skills.
As we have discussed in previous entries, in the translation field it is common to find documents or projects with an increased degree of complexity. If these fall into the hands of an unprofessional or unskilled translator or interpreter it may be easy to incur in common errors and change the original essence of the message. However, this goes beyond a mere lack of ethics, as it would also qualify as lack of skills. Ethics has more to do with following the original text or idea, with establishing a scope of the changes that will allow to properly transform any message into a different context (as in localization), as well as with translating with objectiveness and avoiding the intentional manipulation or travesty of texts or ideas
For further clarification regarding this issue, I hereby provide you with definitions included in the Oxford dictionary in connection with both terms.
Translation – The process of changing something that is written or spoken into another language.
Ethics – Moral principles that control or influence a person’s behaviour.
As seen above, once you clearly understand the meaning and the implications of each of these words, it may be difficult to conceive that the word “translation” might (or should) exist without the word “ethics”.
For purposes of ensuring good translation practices, it is essential to be 100% ethical ALL THE TIME.
Of course, we should never forget that translators and interpreters are ultimately human beings.
And as such, they are entitled to have their own beliefs and values. To have their own ethical standards and to be against certain texts or ideas. But although in most cases a professional translator or interpreter should be able to produce an appropriate translation, even if his/her opinion is opposed to the statements included in the specific text or idea, the translator is absolutely entitled to refuse the project if he/she feels unable to remain unbiased. In fact, in this case this would be the right decision, ethically speaking.
This leads to my following argument. One may argue that ethics is not something related to a specific profession, but with the type of person that each and every one of us truly is. However, we should be clear that there are professions in which ethics play a much more significant role, especially if we are talking about serving as a bridge to link language and cultural gaps throughout the world.
Finally, please remember the cereal case at the beginning of this entry, in the hope that beyond putting a smile on your face this could be also used to understand and size the tremendous relevance that ethics have for the translation field.
TRANSLATION AND ETHICS – AS INSEPARABLE AS MILK AND CEREAL IN A BOWL
I would like to begin by asking you two questions.
The first one is easy and precise:
Would you know how to translate the word “ethics” into other languages?
Into Spanish – Ética
Into French – Éthique
Into German – Ethik
Into Polish – Plłatki
Into Swedish – Etik
The second question might be a little more complex:
Have you ever thought about the role played by ethics when it comes to the translation field?
Thus, I would like precisely to dedicate this entry to discuss about this topic.
I don’t know if you noticed it, but the word I used to translate “ethics” into Polish actually means “cereal”.
Now, can you imagine if we use this same trick or hoax when translating legal documents? Or what about a medical diagnosis? Or political speeches?
The result might be much more serious than in the “cereal” case we used above.
A simple mistranslated word in a document or a speech can have an enormous impact.
And even more if this is done on purpose or with malicious intent.
It is important, however, to avoid confusing lack of ethics with lack of skills.
As we have discussed in previous entries, in the translation field it is common to find documents or projects with an increased degree of complexity. If these fall into the hands of an unprofessional or unskilled translator or interpreter it may be easy to incur in common errors and change the original essence of the message. However, this goes beyond a mere lack of ethics, as it would also qualify as lack of skills. Ethics has more to do with following the original text or idea, with establishing a scope of the changes that will allow to properly transform any message into a different context (as in localization), as well as with translating with objectiveness and avoiding the intentional manipulation or travesty of texts or ideas
For further clarification regarding this issue, I hereby provide you with definitions included in the Oxford dictionary in connection with both terms.
Translation – The process of changing something that is written or spoken into another language.
Ethics – Moral principles that control or influence a person’s behaviour.
As seen above, once you clearly understand the meaning and the implications of each of these words, it may be difficult to conceive that the word “translation” might (or should) exist without the word “ethics”.
For purposes of ensuring good translation practices, it is essential to be 100% ethical ALL THE TIME.
Of course, we should never forget that translators and interpreters are ultimately human beings.
And as such, they are entitled to have their own beliefs and values. To have their own ethical standards and to be against certain texts or ideas. But although in most cases a professional translator or interpreter should be able to produce an appropriate translation, even if his/her opinion is opposed to the statements included in the specific text or idea, the translator is absolutely entitled to refuse the project if he/she feels unable to remain unbiased. In fact, in this case this would be the right decision, ethically speaking.
This leads to my following argument. One may argue that ethics is not something related to a specific profession, but with the type of person that each and every one of us truly is. However, we should be clear that there are professions in which ethics play a much more significant role, especially if we are talking about serving as a bridge to link language and cultural gaps throughout the world.
Finally, please remember the cereal case at the beginning of this entry, in the hope that beyond putting a smile on your face this could be also used to understand and size the tremendous relevance that ethics have for the translation field.
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