Teo Degas' Books & Decks

Have you ever watched a foreign movie with subtitles and, while watching a scene, you were a bit puzzled because there was some sort of disconnection between the action and the subtitles? 

Let's start with a personal example that links well with what this book is about. 

When Spain won the Football World Cup in 2010, one of the scorers got his shirt up to show another shirt with a text written on it. I was watching one of the most viewed morning shows in Australia at the time. The presenters and newsreader didn't know what all the fuss was about, but they wanted to know. It could have cost them nothing checking with a translator in advance or just checking foreign media in English that had bothered to do so. Two people from the audience translated the text and sent it to the program via social media. The first text was a political patriotic text, which was obviously too long for 5 Spanish words. Still, the newsreader read it and was happy to feed the masses with this crap. Another viewer sent a proper translation of the text adding the context as well. The text was a posthumous homage to a deceased friend and co-footballer not a patriotic message. The newsreader read this translation as well, and ended by saying, "now we don't know which one is right, they are so different". I was rolling my eyes in disbelief.

You might ask, who cares about football, right? Put it this way, how many times have you been or are you being mislead by the media because they rely on non-translations or bad translations of items of news on subjects that matter to you? Or on hot topics of world news we are fed by the media every single day? 

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Found in Translation is a a very entertaining unpretentious light-hearted book written by a professional translator and a professional interpreter. The authors are passionate about what they do, and are good at what they do, and their enthusiasm and expertise shows in the book. 

The book is a well-structured collection of stories that revolve about translation and interpretation coming from professionals all over the world not just the authors. We see the role of translation in   wars, politics, diplomacy, the health system, newspapers and magazines, media analysis, online network sites (Facebook, Google, Twitter, Wikipedia), History, business, multinational companies and brands, the Justice system and international courts of Justice, marketing, rescue missions overseas, International Courts and multinational institutions, sports events, stock market, Literature, the Bible and other religious texts, beauty pageants, dating sites, porn, wines descriptions. TED talks, and much more! There are many delightful bloopers and anecdotes that show the impact that a bad translation can have in our daily life and the world.

 Why we need translation or translators in the age of globalisation? Why is important having good translators? Are machines ever going to replace translators? What about Google Translate and Translating programs? Which fields require of translation and interpretation? Wouldn't it be nice if everybody spoke English so we do not need to translate? What does translators do? How do you translate Creole languages or words that do not exist in your language? Or vice versa? Does a good translator finds easy to translate everything in his language/s of expertise? The authors reply to these and other pertinent questions and offer an overall view of where translation is, whether you notice it or not, see it or not, or you think you need it or not.

The target of the book is the general public, so the language used and the approach to the subject is light and easy to understand. No jargon. Beyond the interesting anecdotes, there is the realisation that translation and interpretation are something more that a conversion of language X into language Y, and that translation pervades the world we live in. This is NOT a manual on translation or a book on translation theories, methodologies or techniques, or on the History of translation. No boring stuff!

I missed more focus on areas as translation of historical and anthropological texts, which provide the modern translator with some specific challenges. but this is just me. Yet, one of my favourite episodes, the one of the Treaty of Waitangi, which I have had the pleasure of seeing in person, is in the book.