Translation is an imaginary journey through the paths of the mind…
When I started translating professionally, I couldn’t imagine where this would take me in the long run.
At first, I saw it as a fun activity, which also helped me hone my language skills, and get paid at the same time. What a nice way to spend my time, I thought, doing something that I liked, and earning some additional income at the same time!
However, the texts that I received varied in terms of difficulty, terminology, and delivery deadline, and there were many times that the element of fun seemed to vanish, with hard work and effort, long hours, and work-related stress taking its place.
Image originally uploaded by Kent Schimke on Flickr.com and reused under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) Creative Commons License
I then realized that when the translation of a specific document required, for example, eight hours, it was like starting an imaginary journey through the exchange of words from one language to the other, which would take me eight hours (hopefully!).
You see, I didn’t have to go out or even move from my desk to embark on this imaginary journey; I only had to focus on the document at hand, and isolate myself from the real world to start traveling through the paths of the mind, recalling memories that I couldn’t believe that even existed…
Great post! We are a translation agency in Morocco and we have been identified with every one of your words! Which are you language pairs? Keep working hard!
Thank you for your comment!
I translate from English into Greek, and I believe that working as a translator is more challenging than meets the eye.
Of course, it is a great brain-stimulating activity, which is a good thing, as long as one keeps burnout at bay.
@originalworks