I translate books for a living. AMA + recommendations thread

[FuckRealityBringMeABook]

Hi everyone, it is the feast day of Saint Jerome, the patron saint of translation and International Translation Day. I translate books for a living. Anyone want to ask any questions or recommend a translated book they have read?

How many languages can you speak, read or write in? This sounds like a fascinating job!

Ooooh I have experience in this field too! Which languages to you translate to/from?
How much contact do you have with original authors?

Is it well paid? Do you use AI at all?

Oh I was not expecting an immediate response! I work from three obvious mainstream European languages (trying to retain a little anonymity here...).

Contact with authors: it varies. Some are dead 💀 so not much in that case... Some want to be very involved, others much less so. Some are willy-waving dicks, others are really grateful for my work.

Terribly paid, and no, I would not touch AI with a bargepole.

Oooh. What a nice idea.

Which languages do you translate @FuckRealityBringMeABook ? Do you have a relationship with the authors?

I read quite a lot of Italian fiction (learning Italian, but not good enough to read it fluently) and love a bit of Scandi Noir as well.

The most recent thing I read was originally in German though, Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck (trans Michael Hoffman).

What's your favourite book you have translated?

Interesting thread!

I have read the Harry Potters in French and I noticed they used different names for some of the characters, probably when the original name was a bit more difficult to pronounce.

Have you ever translated a book where a different character name was needed and who decides the name?

I won't name names because that would out me but in general I do enjoy working on crime novels, because I read loads myself and it's nice to know that they will end up in the hands of lots of readers, unlike some of the more, ahem, esoteric books I work on that are destined to muster on a library shelf somewhere. It's fun thinking about how to avoid giving away clues from one language to another as well, for instance making something more or less obvious depending on word choice.

Yes this comes up a lot in books for children and fantasy and sci fi. It is my job to invent the new names. I have done this a few times, though I don't work in those areas a lot.

Don't you find it hard sometimes to translate specific sayings that are typical in one language but sounds awkward in another? Like.. "more the fool you" what would that be in French or Italian? "T'es vraiment con"?

I try to translate phrases in my head sometimes while reading and I find it really hard even though I understand everything perfectly and speak 3 languages fluently. It's just hard to find the right words that not only translates (ai could do that) but also bring the right connotations.. how do you do it? Is it just practice?

Absolutely! It is so much harder than it sounds to outsiders. It is a real balancing act between staying close to the original while avoiding clunkiness in English. There is an art to it. I have always been a huge bookworm so I guess I started attuning my ear for language early. I don't know if you can learn that otherwise.

My daughter finds books translated from Japanese difficult to enjoy because she feels the translations miss the emotional mark. With that in mind, what languages in books do you find the most challenging to convey to English readers?

Gosh. I guess something like Japanese or Korean where the language is very allusive by nature and the culture very different, so it is hard for European readers to get a grip on. If I mention a baguette or Paris or something I am pretty confident most readers will be able to picture it. Tteokbokki or Jeonju less so.

How did you get into it? I studied modern languages at uni and wanted to get into this but was told it was pretty much impossible, or that you have to be a published author yourself.

I wanted to say thank you for doing this work as well. It's a very skilled job and not about vocabulary, but about meaning. Skilled translation of fiction must be so difficult.

Isn’t ai basically taking over your job?

Do commissioners usually specify whether they want a British or American English translation, or is it usually American by default?

Do you make enough money to live on purely from literary translation, or do you need to do other kinds of translation too?

Have you read the book Babel by R F Kuang, and what did you think about it? I thought it was so interesting on the subject of translation, which I know nothing about.

I have commissioned literary translations in the past (perhaps even from you op!) and to those talking about AI, honestly, it’s a LONG WAY from being able to do this, if ever. Literary translators are artists, they are also writers and there are prizes for doing it brilliantly, bringing in layered allusions, mood, historical significance etc. It’s just so skilled. In some countries (I think Japan?) where many books are translated from English into the local language, the translator’s name is much bigger than the author’s on the cover as an acknowledgement of their skill and artistry.

I’m learning Italian & I’ve read some books (My Brilliant Friend, Animal Farm, Dorian Grey) in both languages. The most interesting thing is how idioms get translated. I don’t think there’s any way AI could do that.

It is very competitive. I started out doing bits and bobs for a publisher I knew socially.

😍

You know how AI randomly gives someone three arms or five thumbs? It does that with words too. It looks convincing superficially but if you take a close look it hallucinates random stuff. Raw AI translation can be pretty dangerous, in fact, if you take it at face value. Businesses have been all over it but lots of places are beginning to row back from it now.

We usually make that clear early on in the conversation.