Author: Pauline Junca

This year, whilst I was completing an internship in Mondo Agit’s Madrid offices, I came across an unexpected opportunity- but before I get ahead of myself, let me explain a bit more about it .

During the internship, as part of my responsibilities, I was in charge of delegating assignments for PerMondo, Mondo Agit’s sister company which offers free translations to NGOs. One day, an organisation wrote to us asking for help for an event in Korea… I didn’t hesitate in putting myself forward.

The NGO ICYCW (International Coordination for Young Christian Workers) was looking for voluntary interpreters for its 9th International Board in South Korea in August 2016.

Two months later I was sat on the plane, heading for Seoul. South Korea was not a country I ever thought I would visit in my lifetime, so this was literally a trip into the unknown. My time there was amazing! The NGOs’ interpreters and international delegations stayed in the same building to sleep, eat and attend the conferences. The atmosphere was very relaxed, and the Koreans seemed to be a very friendly people who took care of the wellbeing of each individual at the conference.

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Translation is the product of a series of processes; it’s not just a matter of converting something written in one language into another.

In this post, we’re going to provide you with some practical steps which will allow you to translate any document in a more methodical and professional manner.

In order to produce a high-quality translation that reads well in your target language, you have to be organised. That’s why it’s extremely useful to follow a well-structured methodology.

Read more on the Mondo Agit blog…

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We’re all interested in body language. Body language is non verbal communication and social scientists have spent a lot of time looking at the effects of our body language, or other people’s body language, on judgements. We make sweeping judgements and inferences from body language. And those judgements can predict really meaningful life outcomes like who we hire or promote, who we ask out on a date. For example, Nalini Ambady, a researcher at Tufts University, shows that when people watch 30-second soundless clips of real physician-patient interactions, their judgements of the physician’s niceness predict whether or not that physician will be sued. Body language is really important and affects how we judge others, how they judge us and what the outcomes are. We tend to forget the other audience that’s influenced by our nonverbals, and that’s ourselves.

I am especially interested in nonverbal expressions of power and dominance. In the animal kingdom non verbal expressions of power and dominance involve expanding to make yourself seem bigger and therefore more powerful, and humans do the same thing. However, when we feel powerless we do the exact opposite and close up and make ourselves small.

In the MBA classroom the students exhibit a whole range of power nonverbals.

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There are different types of translation, which can be subdivided into quite a few categories. On one hand, there is literal translation, which is the oldest type of translation and comes from the idea that every word in one language must have an equivalent in the other. This is how the Greeks and the Romans translated because it corresponded to the view of translation and to the life of philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, etc.… At the other extreme is the idea of semiotic translation. This is the type explained by Umberto Eco in his essays about translation. Semiotic translation involves communicating something using another medium, for example if a painting inspires a work of Shakespeare, or when a traffic light is red to communicate the idea ‘Stop’.

Even so, in a more modern context, translators often opt for a less extreme technique in the way they translate, and use different types according to the context or the client for whom they are working.

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The UK, with its common law system, is the odd one out; translations can be certified, notarised or legalised. This article will cover the following points: what an ‘official’ translation is; when it is necessary; and the procedure for obtaining a certified, notarised, sworn or legalised translation.

What is an ‘official’ translation?

Basically, an ‘official’ translation is one that the translator has declared to be a complete and accurate reflection of the source text.

When is an ‘official’ translation necessary?

For official documents to be legally valid in a foreign country, they must be translated, and the translation must be ‘official’. Common examples of such documents include birth, marriage, divorce and academic certificates; official transcripts; references; notarial deeds; and legal documents such as power of attorney or contracts.

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To join, you are normally required to prove your credentials as a qualified translator and agree to adhere to certain professional guidelines. This demonstrates to clients that you take pride in the high standard of your work.

Benefits for members tend to include free listing in a directory of professionals; free or discounted subscription to the association’s publications; free legal and business advice; and discounted rates for professional indemnity insurance, continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities, CAT tools etc.

This article focuses mainly on associations based in the UK, but also provides links to those based in Spain, France, Italy and Germany. Information on associations based in your particular country is easy to find through a quick Google search.

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This essay concentrates firstly on the general characteristics of translation, so that a less expert readership can also understand the meaning. It then reflects on some aspects of translation that might be interesting, since they give us a closer view of the daily life of translators; how they go about their work and the different types of translation they can be faced with. To conclude, there are some personal considerations on what makes a translation good or bad and what makes a translator good or not so good.

Definition and types

In general, translation can be defined as the transposition of a text into a different language from the one used to write the original text. We often talk about the “source text” or “original text/proto-text” and “translation/meta-text”. Translation in itself involves interpreting the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of a new text, equivalent to the original but in another language.

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