| Páginas sobre el tema: < [1 2] | Poll: Is it important to clients that a translator live in a country where the target language is spoken? Autor de la hebra: ProZ.com Staff
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Reed James
Chile
Local time: 15:23
Miembro 2005
español al inglés
I have seen a few translations produced by translators living in the target country. When I read their work, I sometimes say to myself, "But that's not what they're saying in the source text!" In other words, they are good at making the text sound like an original, but at the cost of losing some of the original meaning. If you work out of your source country, it is in your head an comes out of your mouth 24/7 and therefore, you have a more profound grasp of it.
Which flavor do you c... See more I have seen a few translations produced by translators living in the target country. When I read their work, I sometimes say to myself, "But that's not what they're saying in the source text!" In other words, they are good at making the text sound like an original, but at the cost of losing some of the original meaning. If you work out of your source country, it is in your head an comes out of your mouth 24/7 and therefore, you have a more profound grasp of it.
Which flavor do you choose? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Agree with Chris | Mar 17, 2017 |
Chris S wrote:
I'm not saying that expats necessarily lose their feel for their native tongue, especially when just talking or writing freely like on here.
What I'm saying is that they're more likely to write awkwardly when translating. They're more prone to losing their feel for what sounds wrong because of over-exposure to the source language, more likely to unwittingly adopt idioms and words and structures from the source language.
I don't think clients care, but I agree with Chris. I lived in Mexico for 2 years, speaking Portuguese at home and Spanish on the street and with friends. I did feel I was losing my edge in English, especially when I was translating. Also, even after only 2 years, when we returned to the US, I was surprised by all the new colloquialisms.
| | | | R. Alex Jenkins 
Brasil
Local time: 16:23
Miembro 2006
portugués al inglés
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| It's important to live here or there... | Mar 17, 2017 |
PT-EN translator here.
I was born and brought up in England where I lived until I was 34 years old. I have been living in Brazil on a permanent basis for the last 15 years and haven't lost an ounce of my native English fluency or understanding. Quite the opposite in fact; I have picked up all sorts of little details and idioms from the Portuguese language that I wouldn't have picked up by living in the UK.
The advantage of living in the UK to me would be living in the s... See more PT-EN translator here.
I was born and brought up in England where I lived until I was 34 years old. I have been living in Brazil on a permanent basis for the last 15 years and haven't lost an ounce of my native English fluency or understanding. Quite the opposite in fact; I have picked up all sorts of little details and idioms from the Portuguese language that I wouldn't have picked up by living in the UK.
The advantage of living in the UK to me would be living in the same time zone as my British clients, who often send me emails and requests at 05:00+ in the morning. This is a communication problem, but not the minor issue of whether I live over here or over there. In fact I often translate Spanish to English documents because Spanish is very similar to Portuguese, and I have never permanently lived in a Spanish speaking country.
Being native English is super-important if this is your target language. To expand on this, I wonder how many English target-language translators are living in the UK or US right now and have never even been to their source language countries, and have learned this language from books and studies.
My guess is that agencies don't really care where you live as long as you're good at your job. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brasil
Local time: 16:23
Miembro 2014
inglés al portugués
+ ...
| Important, preferrable, but not essential | Mar 17, 2017 |
Of course it's preferrable to use a translator who lives in the country where the target language is spoken, who lives among the speaker, who is acquainted with the current jargon, idioms, etc.
However, a native who moves to another country is not different from that, unless they have lived for many years in the other country, not speaking/practicing his native language, which is not very common.
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Yaotl Altan
México
Local time: 13:23
Miembro 2006
inglés al español
+ ...
The only important factor is quality, not the country stated in our address.
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