Anonymous Translators
This weekend, I’m planning to attend the annual New England Translator Association (NETA) conference. During a keynote last year, Chris Durban argued that translators should insist on receiving credit for the the work they do (such as a note on every final translation naming the translator).
This is an issue in both literary and commercial translation.
There is marked improvement in the literary/publishing industry, in which the name of the translator is increasingly included on the front cover.
I agree with the logic that naming the translator will help to ensure high quality
Fortunately, there is some discussion of this issue in commercial translation as well. Slator announced the results of a poll, Anonymous No More, on March 4, 2019:
“According to one language industry client, they no longer work much with anonymous translators from agencies because ‘working directly with freelance translators makes it easier for us to ensure quality.’
Most respondents to our February 8, 2019 poll concur, with 39.4% saying it is Essential that end-customers and translators communicate directly with each other, 26% thinking it is Important, and 24.4% saying it is Nice to Have. Only 10.2% think it unimportant.” Source here.
The ‘language industry client’ is SiteMinder. In the interview, SiteMinder representative Borngrebe said, “SiteMinder’s freelance translators know our products, expectations, and tone of voice very well. Some of them work for us almost every day.”
Hopefully clients (whether individuals, agencies, or publishers) will increasingly recognize the benefits of naming the translator in final, translated products.
