Finding My Voice
Even though this is my first foray into blogging, I’ve actually had quite a lot on my mind about translation from German into English. Especially, in my case, translation from German into US English. My mother will tell you that. My boyfriend will tell you that. Probably any of my friends that I’ve talked to in the last several years will tell you that… provided, of course, that they listened enough to recall how bored they were as I was going on and on.
I still remember sitting with a friend of mine catching up over dinner – she is an expert and project supervisor in a certain field of programming or some such (something very complicated and necessitating ridiculously high security clearance), so I thought at the time she would be an ideal candidate to listen to the latest topic of my ruminations with regard to some interesting German word or phrasing, and appreciate the inherent irony of the situation. Since German is such a logical language (in my opinion), I thought this particular epiphany would be interesting to her, considering programming is also highly dependent on logic. I have to admit, food and drink must dull my powers of perception (my boyfriend will also tell you, if asked, that food absolutely distracts me from most forms of rational thought), because I think I was fully 3 or 4 minutes into my exposition before I realized that her eyes had glazed over, the polite smile on her face was definitely faltering, and her gaze was generally going right past me. Ever the one to crave confirmation, I asked her point blank if anything I was saying was resonating, and received a polite, swift, and firm “No”.
Hmmm. Valuable but painful lesson: Not everyone is as interested as I am in the vagaries, intricacies, and ironies involved in the art and profession of translation.
I probably would have turned to blogging sooner to resolve this situation if it weren’t for the steadfast support of a man fervently trying to show me how interested he is in my life (even if he has to feign this), and the love of a mother so far away from me for so many months during the year that hearing of my frustrations has become a unique bonding opportunity.
But now here I am, about to have a custom-designed website launched after so many years and no blog to go along with it – until now. Hopefully the next time I have profound thoughts on the oddities of German writing, the logic of the serial comma, the frustration evoked by “imitation” English, the paucity of official German legal terminology and tenets adapted for an American audience, the aggravation of attempting to transform marketing puns, the hopelessness of dealing with clients who decide to look in dictionaries, and the many other topics on which I have held forth – either to other people or just inside my head – hopefully then I will turn to this blog, to the pages it holds, blank, eager, and waiting…
If things go according to plan (it could happen), this blog will be my new outlet. Hopefully it will find its audience: those who have an interest in this world of translation I currently inhabit, with its strange, wondrous, and infinitely varying landscape. It might one day be read by colleagues or even clients, and I hope that the thoughts I share encourage others to reflect, comment, and share as well.
Hopefully I will be able to turn to these pages regularly, sparing my family, dear friends, and acquaintances from my seemingly random ramblings. At least if the topics are not always as interesting or succinct as they could or should be, they will be spared, and my thoughts will one day reach an audience that shares my interest and passion… and if that fails, there is still one last audience that may be prepared to appreciate my efforts, trials, and tribulations: my boyfriend and my mother.