“So, who is an an Avid translator”? someone asked.
An Avid translator is a linguist who takes their job very seriously and invests a lifetime of learning and effort in fine-tuning their skills. An Avid translator is someone with an analytical and in-depth understanding of meaning and culture.
We are often asked if we can have a translator render a concise or summarized translation of a long text which is full of cultural meanings or idiomatic expressions. Our response is almost always that some things cannot be explained in ‘a short sentence or summarized’. Therefore, and in order to be accurate and faithful to the original narrative, a word for word and idea for idea translation is necessary.
Attributes of an Avid Translator
An Avid translator is not only a professional language translator who’s work is to convey meaning, but a passionate craftsman working earnestly to understand and transmit their message by utilizing their language skills and tools. An Avid translator does not compromise on the authenticity and quality of their translations. Their most important tool is their deep knowledge of their own language, history, social and cultural context and commitment to using those to convey accurate meaning. Like skilled writers, their thoughtful selection and use of words is crucial to the process of conveying meaning in language translation.
An Avid translator, like a writer, is eager to tell the full story, leaving their listener or reader with a more vivid understanding of a situation.
It is therefore, not an easy task for the translator to render full meaning while summarizing written text.
An Avid translator or interpreter is an earnest communicator, who does not stop short of fully communicating the thought or making the picture clear. He or she is a researcher of cultural meaning always looking for resources to expand their skills and fully aware of their responsibility as ‘conveyer of meaning’, ‘clarifer’ and ‘cultural broker’.
