Today I want to make a short analysis of translators from Japanese to non English languages, like Spanish, French and some other minority languages like Basque, Catalan, Galego, etc. Translators working in non English languages have some advantages and some disadvantages. Advantages are that the number of translators is not as large as in Japanese-English and pay tends to be a bit higher. The disadvantages are that there are not good neither as many dictionaries as in English. Not only that, the Japanese language is permeated by English especially when it comes to technical translations and vocabulary. English words such as computer, tool, motor, engine, machining centre, etc. are widely used words in Katakana alphabet in Japanese.
So the Japanese-English translator doing the translation finds the vocabulary very much straight forward, and some times does not even know the meaning of that technical word, but it is not strictly necessary either since it is a matter of changing the Katakana for the correct Romaji spelling.
What happens when we want to translate the same Japanese document into Spanish or other languages? We need to know not only Japanese, but also English and therefore we will have to double check the technical terminology. First from Japanese into English and then from English into Spanish. Consequently the Japanese Spanish translation is more time consuming and knowledge demanding since a bigger dedication is required. The Spanish translator is obliged to learn English if he/she wants to be a good translator.
So when we weigh up the pros and cons of translating English against non English languages everything comes down to supply and demand, which at the end regulates the market situation, fluctuating the price and bringing more or less actors (translators) to the work arena.
This is when we talk about economic conditions, but there is a lot more in life than money; there is also happiness and the personal satisfaction of translating to one's own native language, the language with loving words that has been heard as a child from your own mother. That is why many translators find joy and pleasure when translating to Spanish or even more so when doing it to more minority languages like Basque, which is spoken by less than one million people for example.
Life is a lot more enjoyable when money is not the first priority. Do translations and be happy!!!
The author is a
professional translator and
technical interpreter of different languages, specialized in English-Spanish-Japanese
language translations at Goihata.com. Visit him and his excellent team of in-house Japanese English Spanish translators at:
http://www.goihata.com.
