Translation = …?

Words with Friends was a popular game a few years’ time ago. I enjoy experimenting with words. And by a few years’ time, I don’t know the exact figure, but it’s probably in the tens of years, most likely, to be precise (or not). Perhaps a valuable metaphor (or analogy, however you choose to look at it), is that Translation = Words without Friends. Now, before you get on my case because I’m being morose, look at it.

Translation is an utterly solitary practice. There are ways to make it less solitary. I mean, machines aren’t getting any more social, I don’t think. That is, the machine is never going to replace other people’s company. So, please, don’t get all down about machine translation. There is something really interesting out there called, drum roll, please . . . collaboration. I don’t even know if I used the elipses right there, and I don’t want to get out my usage dictionary, thank you very much.

So please consider working with a friend or something like that. Maybe collaborate on a project or two. I don’t know, make things INTERESTING. Because if they are not, you will drop out of the profession like a fly. I am not trying to intimidate, or maybe I am, because there are fewer people interested in translation these days, or at least so I hope. Not. I apologize for the lame attempt at a joke. But never trust anyone who says that work can’t be fun.

I enjoyed writing these prior posts on translation at about enjoyment level = 0. If there is a such thing as enjoyment level. I am in to psychology and stuff, so please bear with me. The past doesn’t really matter, as it doesn’t define us. The past, okay, I won’t get into a philosophical digression, but suffice it to say that (what? You stopped reading).

All I do know is that if you increase your enjoyment level, (whether that’s a real thing or not), you will have more fun on the job, and that is what we’re looking for. I.e. now we’re getting somewhere. Radical deductive thinking going on here.