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The Importance of Curiosity for Translators [Part 2 of 2]

2/23/2015

"Therefore, contextual understanding about what bureaucratic agencies have what jurisdictional functions under what governmental structures is critical."

[In Part 1, I have outlined two problems which bug the evaluated translation. First, the source document was not internationalized. Second, the translator lacks the curiosity, willingness and skills to conduct proper research and investigation, thus is unable to perform the localization step. ]

As we know, internationalization (I-18-N) is the process of planning and implementing products and services so that they can easily be adapted to specific local languages and cultures, another process called localization (L-10-N). Had the source document been internationalized properly prior to the translation process, the term 'State Board' would have been clarified as 'Medical State Board'. After all, a generic 'State Board' in the United States may refer to a 'State Board of Education' for example — not necessarily in charge of healthcare.
But even if the source document was not internationalized, there is still no excuse for a translator to lack curiosity, or to be lazy to do some research. Simply put, if a translator does not fully understand the meaning of the source document, then how on earth can he/she expect the target audience to understand the meaning of the final translation product? Therefore, contextual understanding about what bureaucratic agencies have what jurisdictional functions under what governmental structures is critical. Indeed jurisdictional knowledge is not only critical for legal translators working on legal documents.
To find the actual counterpart of 'State Board' in Indonesian, I had to spend time to conduct some research. After all, I don't know everything, and this phase is actually the domain of a localization process. It turns out that in Indonesia, ethical violations committed by healthcare professionals should be reported to the so-called Honorary Councils of the relevant healthcare professional associations. Violations committed by physicians, for example, are reported to two Honorary Councils of Ikatan Dokter Indonesia (the Indonesian counterpart of American Medical Association): respectively, Majelis Kehormatan Etik Kedokteran (MKEK) and Majelis Kehormatan Disiplin Kedokteran Indonesia (MKDKI). On the other hand, violations committed by nurses are reported to the Police, or (since 2014) can also be reported to a newly formed Honorary Council of Persatuan Perawat Nasional Indonesia (the Indonesian counterpart of the American Nurses Association): Majelis Kehormatan dan Etik Keperawatan (MKEK). Thus another dimension to the jurisdictional differences: whereas in the United States violations committed by both physicians and nurses are reported to a single agency (Medical State Board), in Indonesia they are reported to several agencies depending on their respective professional associations!
The aforementioned result is indeed much more complex than Google Translate's suggestion. Use judiciously, I am not against Google Translate; it can be a helpful tool for quick, comparative, searches. However, it's only a tool and not a silver bullet. Machine Translation — with all the hullabaloo about its appeal — still cannot match Human Translation for the foreseeable future. Yes, supercomputers may be programmed to memorize words, phrases, tenses, syntax, and grammatical rules, but they cannot be programmed to be curious, sensible, and have the necessary research skills to decipher cryptic phrases as well as to understand what bureaucratic agencies have what jurisdictional functions under what governmental structures in the proper context.
Truly, a human translator's overreliance on Machine Translation is a self insulting act.
Johannes Tan, English <> Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

The Importance of Curiosity for Translators [Part 1 of 2]

2/16/2015

... the translator lacks the curiosity to decipher the cryptic 'State Board', then just resort to perform literal translation, word for word, without understanding its meaning, let alone do the necessary research and proper investigation.

Curiosity killed the cat, but lack of curiosity may be hazardous for a translator's career. Several months ago, I was asked (1) to evaluate an existing translation that had received negative feedback from in-country reviewers in Indonesia, (2) to analyze what went wrong, and (3) to provide solutions. The English source document is part of a continuing education (CE) program for healthcare professionals, and the target document has been tested in Indonesia. To protect confidential information, I cannot elaborate too much about the document and have to conceal some key facts. Suffice it to say that it contains several paragraphs about which authority agency a healthcare professional should contact, if he/she notices an ethical violation committed by a co-worker. One of the options is to report it to the 'State Board'.
For Americans, 'State Board' sounds simple and straightforward. As we know, it refers to 'Medical State Board', a state government agency that licenses physicians, investigates complaints, disciplines physicians who violate the medical practice act, and refers physicians for evaluation and rehabilitation when appropriate. Each state in the union has its own independent Medical State Board; for example the Medical Board of California, the Wyoming Board of Medicine, and the State of Idaho Board of Medicine. The Federation of State Medical Boards represents 70 Medical Boards of the United States and its territories and works to protect the public through licensure and regulation on a national scale. That's within the United States.
Outside the United States, it's not that simple. Authority agencies that regulate healthcare professionals varies widely from country to country, and each country has its own different governmental structures and inter-jurisdictional regulations. For example, whereas the United States is a decentralized federation of autonomous states, Indonesia is a centralized republic of semi-autonomous provinces. Whereas in the United States, seventy Medical State Boards hold jurisdiction over ethical violations committed by healthcare professionals, in Indonesia it is a completely different story. To begin with, there is not a single Medical State Board in Indonesia … simply because there are no states, only provinces. Therefore 'State Board' may be a foreign concept in other countries.
During the evaluation process, I discovered at least two problems. First, the English source document had not been internationalized properly and assigned to a seemingly inexperienced translator in a raw, American-centric, version. Had it been internationalized, the abbreviated and generic 'State Board' would have been replaced by the more descriptive 'Medical State Board'. Second, the translator lacks the curiosity to decipher the cryptic 'State Board', then just resort to perform literal translation, word for word, without understanding its meaning, let alone do the necessary research and proper investigation.
I had suspected that the translator simply used a suggestion provided Google Translate. Indeed when I put the word 'State Board' in the Google Translate box, my suspicion was confirmed. The provided Indonesian translation is — surprise! — 'Dewan Negara', the very same term used in the evaluated translation. Unfortunately, 'Dewan Negara' does not mean anything in Indonesian. Instead, it means the Upper House of the Malaysian Parliament in Malaysian (another language spoken in another country). Thus the translator's lack of curiosity, ignorance, laziness and overreliance on Google Translate had conspired to produce an Indonesian translation that says something like: "If a co-worker commits an ethical violation (In Indonesia), you have to contact the Upper House of the Malaysian Parliament." Indeed Google Translate + ignorance + laziness - curiosity = ridiculous translation.
[To be continued …]

Johannes Tan, English <> Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Exploration on Meanings and Significance

2/9/2015

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Looking up for meanings — in encyclopedias, dictionaries, glossaries, or through online searches — is a constant part in a translator's life. "What does it mean?" is certainly the most natural question for a translator or interpreter — whether "it" is a word, phrase, jargon, or acronym. Seasoned translators know too well that they actually translate meanings — not merely words — from source to target documents. Likewise, interpreters constantly grapple to unlock meanings intended by a speaker. In my journey both as an English <> Indonesian Translator and Conference Interpreter, I have always been intrigued by the expressed and implied meanings of words and phrases — with all their shades, subtleties, and nuances. This interest has driven me further to explore different levels of meanings; not only literal, semantic, idiomatic, and contextual ones — that are critical in my profession — but also etymological, conceptual, symbolical and metaphysical ones worth contemplating in depth.

Therefore this blog will not only be about translation and interpreting, but also about linguistic and cultural settings relevant to deeper meanings — from every possible angle. At least, that is Plan A. No subject is off limit, as my interest is rather eclectic. My aim is to explore everything about something, and something about everything. This is an exploration for the sake of exploration, and one could be forgiven to perceive it as a kitchen sink approach. Just as an illustration, once, for no particular reasons except to satisfy my insatiable curiosity, sometime ago I read both The Decision Book: 50 Models for Strategic Thinking by Mikael Krogerus & Roman Tschäppeler and Why Our Decisions Don't Matter by Simon Van Booy simultaneously, simply to explore the conceptual meaning and significance of "decisions" in our lives.

Welcome on a journey to explore the multi-dimensional meanings and significance of everything that catches my fancy at random: the meaning of a word or phrase, a translation issue, a Nietzsche quote, a current affair, a Zen riddle, a Sufi fable, an anthropological phenomenon, a Patanjali yoga sutra or a Tao parable in their respective contexts. Since this blog is an intellectual and spiritual inquiry, its destination is less important than the journey itself. Who am I to promise anyone definitive answers to potential questions along the way? As James Thurber once said: "It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers."

Johannes Tan
English <> Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

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The Importance of Curiosity for Translators [Part 2 of 2]

The Importance of Curiosity for Translators [Part 1 of 2]

Exploration on Meanings and Significance

Continuously exploring literal, semantic, idiomatic, contextual, metaphorical, symptomatic, conceptual and metaphysical meanings of everything worth thinking about.

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