Gerunds and translation?

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Debra Stamnitz wondered: <<I've heard gerunds are bad if you plan to  
translate the document.  Is this true? We are getting ready to do our  
first translation this summer.>>

Personally, I'd fire any translator who had difficulty with gerunds,  
contractions, and a whole range of other things that "common wisdom"  
tells us we should avoid in our writing. I'd also be sure to let my  
colleagues know that the person wasn't a pro. I don't suffer fools  
gladly when they devalue my profession*. (NOT a poke at Debra. Really.)

* 20 years hiring and evaluating the work of translators; 15 years as  
a professional translator.

The only broadly useful criterion for writing for translation is that  
the meaning must be clear in the source language. This leads to a  
whole host of subsidiary rules, such as avoiding idiom, using words  
consistently, simplifying sentence structures, shortening sentences,  
choosing simpler rather than more complex words (except where jargon  
is necessary*), and so on. But it's the clarity that is important,  
not blanket proscriptions against what you should and should not do.

* Note the difference between good and bad jargon: the good is a word  
or phrase that communicates precisely and efficiently within a  
discourse community (e.g., "help authoring tool" in this group); the  
bad is a word or phrase chosen to make the writer appear smarter than  
the audience or to exclude readers from comprehension or used without  
truly understanding the concept the jargon represents.

Bottom line: Whenever you see a rule of thumb espoused for writing  
for translation, ask a question: "How does this rule increase the  
clarity of the source text?" If it increases the clarity for native  
readers of the language, the rule is probably worth following. If  
not, exercise appropriate skepticism. At a minimum, ask an expert or  
three why the rule exists.


----------------------------------------------------
-- Geoff Hart
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
www.geoff-hart.com
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