Comments on: Paths to Success in Translation: Interview with Translator Mary Maloof-Fleck http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2009/06/25/paths-to-success-in-translation-interview-with-translator-mary-maloof-fleck/ Beyond Words explores our experiences with language, culture, and the world through our day-to-day interactions. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:59:04 +0000 hourly 1 By: Donnica Dunlap http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2009/06/25/paths-to-success-in-translation-interview-with-translator-mary-maloof-fleck/comment-page-1/#comment-2053 Donnica Dunlap Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:57:39 +0000 http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/?p=2745#comment-2053 This article was a good reference for those up and coming in the field. This article was a good reference for those up and coming in the field.

]]> By: Katerina http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2009/06/25/paths-to-success-in-translation-interview-with-translator-mary-maloof-fleck/comment-page-1/#comment-1365 Katerina Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:24:01 +0000 http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/?p=2745#comment-1365 "Knowing that I'm actually changing people's lives by helping them break through communication barriers" This is really true. Last year there was a staff reduction in my company and I started freelancing as a translator and I can tell for sure that it is really great, and the idea of helping people break through communication barriers is very important for me. I can also add, that only when you are an interpreter you can be in the middle of any event and at the same time you will be invisible. “Knowing that I’m actually changing people’s lives by helping them break through communication barriers”
This is really true. Last year there was a staff reduction in my company and I started freelancing as a translator and I can tell for sure that it is really great, and the idea of helping people break through communication barriers is very important for me. I can also add, that only when you are an interpreter you can be in the middle of any event and at the same time you will be invisible.

]]> By: Roman Mironov http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2009/06/25/paths-to-success-in-translation-interview-with-translator-mary-maloof-fleck/comment-page-1/#comment-1176 Roman Mironov Sun, 11 Apr 2010 11:17:57 +0000 http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/?p=2745#comment-1176 "No two documents are alike, so every single one that comes across my desk presents a new little puzzle to unlock, and presents at least one new thing for me to learn." I completely agree with this thought. To me this has always had two sides. On the bright side, the challenge helps prevent repetitiveness that is a common problem with other professions. Constant switching between a variety of content types and subject mater areas does not let you get bored. However, this same challenge sometimes makes me feel frustrated because of the reduced ability to leverage the acquired knowledge in the future. Since many translation projects are very specific and unique, what you learn from them often cannot be applied to other jobs. Because the context is never the same, you often spend much time on researching and carefully arranging the words that you translated hundreds of times in the past. This sometimes makes me in fact wish that my job was more repetitive. “No two documents are alike, so every single one that comes across my desk presents a new little puzzle to unlock, and presents at least one new thing for me to learn.”

I completely agree with this thought. To me this has always had two sides. On the bright side, the challenge helps prevent repetitiveness that is a common problem with other professions. Constant switching between a variety of content types and subject mater areas does not let you get bored.

However, this same challenge sometimes makes me feel frustrated because of the reduced ability to leverage the acquired knowledge in the future. Since many translation projects are very specific and unique, what you learn from them often cannot be applied to other jobs. Because the context is never the same, you often spend much time on researching and carefully arranging the words that you translated hundreds of times in the past. This sometimes makes me in fact wish that my job was more repetitive.

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