Some interesting stories about languages and professional translation

You could get just as lost with a map, as without one. Whatever of your sense of direction. Without languages you are lost, and even though you’re familiar with them or can call on somebody for help, if you don’t turn to professional translation you probably won’ t get far, neither personally nor professionally. At Okodia we like to do things properly and keeping up with developments in the professional translation sector is one of them. 

Pronunciation that cost lives

Attempting to pronounce words in English, French, German, Russian and Japanese, can be horrendous! This is not our translation agency’s opinion, it’s a generalised comment among everyone who has ever tried to study these languages. It’s highly likely that, until you reach advanced level, you will go on repeating tiny mistakes which… can cost lives. Yes, that’s right. That´s exactly what you are reading, pronunciation can put your life in danger. At least that’s how it was some centuries ago. In ancient times, being unable to pronounce a Shibboleth could lead to your own death. By now you must be asking yourself what this term means. It’s a word that was used by the ancient Hebrews to differentiate themselves from enemies that infiltrated their ranks. In this way it easy to spot impostors. A translation mistake, or rather, a pronunciation mistake, would cost you your life Read this article, if you don’t believe us. 

1, 2, 3… How many languages should a child know?

The eternal question. Regardless of whether the child in question wants to pursue a career in professional translation will not, they should study a language right? Even if you were only concentrating on English, you would still need one or another language for your child to develop sufficiently. Specialists have agreed on the importance of teaching two, three and even a fourth language from a very young age, so that children can naturally and easily understand and express themselves.  Vanguardia published an article explaining which languages the child should learn. And take note, you don’t have to be a professional translator when you grow up, but if you do want to become one, it would be a very good choice: it is the best profession in the world. 

Lost in translation

We brag about improving our levels of language learning in society, but in reality, English and Spanish are still chalk and cheese in Spain. Professional translators try to eliminate gaps and barriers in social communication although not always with the desired results. As explained in El País.

Languages can help you to reflect

According to a study, knowledge of languages benefits deliberative thinking and it makes you think things over carefully before deciding on a certain course of action. If it’s for the common good, we probably should get right down to work. In this case, the information shared by El País served as our inspiration (you can read it by clicking here).

Specializing is key

We’ll never get tired of citing the advantages of specialized translation and if the one confirming our assertions is Europe, nothing’s going to wipe the smile from our faces (we assure you). A European Commission meeting reiterated what we at Okodia already knew—the world is growing ever more specialized and sworn translators, audiovisual translators, website translators, medical translators, software translators, etc. are needed. You only have to read the article in La Gaceta de Salamanca (you can read it  by clicking here) to admit that we’re right.

A language can change your personality

A 2006 study by Nairan Ramírez-Esparza, lecturer in social psychology at the University of Connecticut, demonstrated that our personality changes depending on what language we are thinking in. This is because no language can be separated from the cultural values underlying it, which means that it also changes our way of thinking. If you are interested, you can read more about the study here.

Translators and confidentiality

Many translators sign a confidentiality agreement at the start of projects to prevent leaks. Imagine if someone had leaked the long-anticipated ending of Game of Thrones, for example. In fact, the leaking of the pages of an unpublished book is the plot of a new French thriller called The Translators.

Although these measures are understandable, in some cases they can be very strict, especially in the localisation of video games. There is so much secrecy in the sector that many translators can’t even tell you what project they are working on, not even once it has finished. You might have translated Pokémon or Final Fantasy, but you won’t be able to boast about it on your CV.

If you have liked this post, we advise you to check this post about the longest words in the world and this one about the life of one of the first interpreters.