变化中的翻译职业

 

　　从钢笔到打字机再到语音识别工具。从索引卡到电子词典和知识高速公路。从纽伦堡审判中的首次现场同声传译到如今的电话和视频远程同传。

　　世界在变，翻译工作也随之发生诸多变化。今天的毕业生们很难相信，仅仅30年前他们的前辈们面临的是一个多么不同的工作环境！而如今，动动手指我们就可以获得海量的信息。我们可以利用诸多工具使翻译速度更快，前后更加一致。我们可以稳坐办公室与全球各地的同事对话交流。

　　对于客户而言，翻译也大不一样了。他们再也不用为找到一位符合要求的当地译者而大动干戈，因为全球各地的翻译专业协会编制的会员名录可提供众多会员供客户选择。得益于跨时区的沟通，客户晚上离开办公室前发出的文件，第二天早晨回到办公室时就可以拿到译稿。他们可以通过各种项目与全球不同地区的译员合作，找到成本和目标受众之间的平衡。他们可以通过熟练专业的电话口译员向位于另一个半球的他们自己的客户或异国的医生进行咨询。他们可以将一篇文章输入机器翻译程序，马上了解其大意。

　　诸如此类的变化构成了2015年国际翻译日的主题，即：变化中的翻译职业（The Changing Face of Translation and Interpreting）

　　这些变化呈现给我们的是新挑战和新机遇。业界经常提及速度、成本和数量，但这远远不够。对于翻译从业者来说，这种变化意味着他们需要更加智慧地开展工作，更加开放地迎接变化，适应不断变化的新角色，学习新技能，掌握新工具。

　　然而，翻译的基本规则并没有改变。 今天口笔译工作者的角色与一千年前相比没有什么变化，即：让人们更好地进行沟通； 质量仍然是每一项翻译任务的检验标准，而质量仍取决于译者的技能、经验以及与任务的匹配度。译者仍然需要根据译文的用途精心打磨每一份文稿。客户仍然需要向译者清晰准确地表达其需求。译者仍然需要通过持续不断的职业充电来保持精力充沛、更新相关知识、维持敏锐的反应。

　　翻译在未来将是何种面貌呢？几千年来，一代又一代的翻译工作者展示出了无与伦比的语言技能、专业培训、职业操守和工作热情。最好的工具可以帮助他们工作得更好，但无法深入文字的核心和灵魂，或体现出谈判过程中的细微差别。

　　因此，在2015年国际翻译日即将来临之际，我们庆贺翻译领域所取得的重大进展，但更重要的是，我们要向广大翻译工作者致敬，是他们构成了翻译事业的核心，是他们让这个世界变成了一个地球村，一个保留了人类丰富的历史、现实和未来多样性的共同家园。

英文撰写：玛丽昂•伯尔思（Marion Boers）

中文翻译：李旭

审定：黄长奇

INTERNATIONAL TRANSLATION DAY 30 September 2015

The Changing Face of Translation and Interpreting

 

　　From fountain pens to typewriters to speech recognition. From index cards to electronic dictionaries and the knowledge highway.From the Nuremberg trials to telephone and video remote interpreting.

　　As the world changes, so do many aspects of the work of translators and interpreters. Graduates today can barely believe what they hear about the working conditions of their predecessors only 30 years ago. Today a wealth of information is at our fingertips. We have a plethora of tools to enable us to translate faster and more consistently. We can consult colleagues all over the world without leaving our desks.

　　For clients, too, translation has changed. No longer do they battle to find a local translator to meet their needs – professional associations all over the world have directories of members waiting to assist. They can send out a text before leaving the office in the evening and have the translation waiting when they come in again next morning, thanks to communication over time zones. They can balance their costs and their target audiences over different projects by using translators in different parts of the world. They can consult their own clients on the other side of the world or a doctor in another country owing to the availability of expert telephone interpreters. They can run a text through a machine translation program and get an immediate idea of what it is about.

　　All these things underlie the theme for International Translation Day 2015, which is: The Changing Face of Translation and Interpreting Le nouveau visage de la traduction et l’interprétation The changes present us with both new challenges and new opportunities. Speed, cost and volume are most often cited. But it is much more than that. For the practitioners they mean working smarter and being open to change, adapting to new changing roles, learning new skills and mastering new tools. But the basics do not change.

　　The role of translators and interpreters today is the same as it was a thousand years ago: to enable people to communicate. Quality remains the touchstone in any assignment and this still depends on the skill and experience of the translator or interpreter and selecting the right person for the job. Translators still have to craft each text to fit its purpose. Clients still need to brief the translator or interpreter of their needs properly. Translators still need to keep themselves fresh, up-to-date and on the ball through continuing professional development.

　　What will the face of Translation and Interpreting be in the future? For millennia, living and breathing translators or interpreters have been the embodiment of unparalleled linguistic skills, specialised training, professional conduct and a passion for their work. The best equipment can help them do an even better job, but cannot get to the heart and soul of a text or the nuances of negotiations. On International Translation Day 2015, therefore, let us celebrate the great advances that have been made in translation and interpreting, but most importantly celebrate the individuals who are at the heart of this profession and who make it possible for the world to be a global village but at the same time a universe full of possibilities in the past, at present and in the future.

　　English text: Marion Boers