Value-added translation series talks (02) - "degree" grasp
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1 What is the difference between value-added translation and recreation?
A: This question has asked many friends.
Mr. Zhang Wu Chang, who was studying at the university, and heard a famous professor for several years. That professor asked him, I am talking about this class, you have listened to each semester. I will talk about it. Why do you want to listen? Mr. Zhang Wu often replied is that I have to learn about the idea of thinking about the problem. Now, whether it is an English essay, or TOEFL, IELTS and other abroad English exam compositions, the test method is the framework of some common discussion before the exam. When the exam is taken, the content is filled in the frame according to the specific topic. . The so-called "ten composition law", "Filling Equity Law", "Template Equity Law", etc., is only the name difference, and the substance is not different. A book, from the overall perspective, the most essential and critical is the textual structure of the book, narrative ideas.
Understand this, we can distinguish between value-added translation and re-creation. (1) Traditional translation is in units of "sentence", within 30-50 words in English. . (2) Value-added translation is in units of "Section of the Section", which is approximately within 300-500 words. (3) Re-establishment is at least significant breakthrough chapter structure of the original book. Therefore, if the translator has some significant differences in a significant difference from the original author, then the value-added translation should be performed at this time; in turn, it can be re-created.
Taking the book "Software Reconstruction" as an example, the original author's idea is to give a specific example, let readers have inductive understanding, then schematically discusses the principles of reconstruction, when refactoring, etc., most of the space is for heavy The classification of specific methods, and finally discussed some relevant topics. The translator's understanding of this topic understanding and the original author has no significant difference, and the value-added translation should be performed. For example, you can add more content in unit testing before the reconstruction.
Another example, such as the "analysis model" book, the book is related to the financial example, may be familiar with foreign society. Because foreign individual financial management awareness, the relationship between daily life and credit card is closely related, housing loans, car loans almost everyone must encounter. When translating this book (I don't know if this book is translated), according to the point of view of the value-added translation, you should appropriately convert the example background in the book, add a large amount of background comments. It is best to translate some of the relevant parties involved in the development of banking systems, securities, insurance and other systems.
2 application fields and ranges for value-added translation
Answer: There are two applications for value-added translation: (1) Science and technology books rather than humanistic social science books. (2) The original author's writing is not characterized, but there is a matter of grasp of the elaboration of technical content and the technical topic.
As far as I know, most foreign computer books belong to such, after all, Stroustrup is not Shakespeare. Some scholars can do culture, whether natural science is still a deep attainment, such as Cartesi, Da Vinci and Russell. But this kind of person is a phoenix river, and there are fewer and fewer authors' specialties are only in terms of technology rather than text.
We do anything, know "putting good steel on the blade". For technology books, in accordance with traditional translation practices, most of the translator's time and energy flowers over the dredge. I have never ordered Mr. Pan Aimin, and a book is mainly translated by others, and then Mr. Pan is hanging on his name. But after you personally send a pen, you can understand Mr. Pan's hard work. According to traditional practices, the work of translation is very boring, nothing more than text conversion, moving through the paper, most of the time translators are "physical activity", only relatively small part of the time translator Energy is used in the difficulty of analyzing the technology. It is no wonder that Mr. Pan is not willing to relative. Mr. Zhang Hui, translator of "Extreme Programming Research" once discussed with me, lamented in a letter, unless it is needed in his work and research, or it will not go to translate, because according to traditional translation practice, translation The job is really trivial, lacking attractive to people. I think, today's book translation, except for the low payment, whether the traditional translation theory is also difficult to blame? In fact, if a work is, it is very attractive to people, even if the compensation is very low, no more compensation, no one is involved. For example, an open source software movement is an evidence. Our company has passed a software localized list, recruited some students at a university computer, the compensation is relatively high (much higher than the translation of the same type of book translation), but the first reaction of the students always said: "Is there any Programming live? Don't do money. "
Moreover, traditional translation practices have already come to death, even if they do some changes and improvements, they cannot change their destiny. For example, the three C books, "ATL Analysis", "COM Nature" and "C Primer Chinese", how the translation quality is reviewed by Mr. Pan Aimin At least compared with Mr. Pan, it is a lot more than that of the past.
Therefore, the proposal of value-added translation is to make the translation work itself make people have fun, passion, motivation, and people can be happy, attractive to join them. Moreover, value-added translation can improve the "production" of excellent translators, so that excellent translators such as Mr. Hou, Mr. Pan, Mr. Yu, etc. can be liberated from the cumbersome Routine class.
3 attitude towards the original work
A: Value-added translation makes the original text as a blueprint, provides the translator with a narrative framework and the necessary detail material.
For example, people with experience in writing books know that if they are not a value-added translation, they are re-created, they think of the right example of the program is a quite feet. Most programmers also have such experiences. What procedures are to be edited, even if the principles and the API functions that need to be used on MSDN have explained very clear, the first idea is also searching for a small example source code from the Internet, download Come and then change it on this basis. Because, even if you already know how the working principle and related functions are used, you must completely write a program or a trouble.
4 How do readers see value-added translation?
A: From the response from netizens, everyone's attitude is still conservative and cautious.
The reason for the one hand is the binding of traditional translation concepts, and the reason is "not trust". The reason is not trustworthy, is worried that the translator has too many "freely created freedom", and the final value of the final value may have major access to the original.
In the first aspect, it is actually mainly "character barrier", a legal name, a semantic game. In this way, the translation is not as translated, and the boundary of one translation and creation is really not big.
In the second aspect, it can also be subdivided into four main concerns:
(1) The translator must be very familiar with the translated content. This is the code requirements for translation work! Don't be familiar with a technical topic, how can you translate books in this field?
(2) The translator must bear a lot of responsibility If the translator only needs to translate in paragraph one byword, there is no need to explain, and there is no need to interpret, pay, change, I can only say that this attitude is really true. Not responsible.
(3) The translator has too much "free" free "will be casual as a person is an animal that is easy to abuse" freedom ", but if you don't trust someone's self-determination, let him exercise independent choice, he will never mature. The translation work is also the same. If everyone does not trust the translator, the translator always does not believe that his judgment is not worth trustworthy. This is a malignant cycle. Why do you give your own life to a bus driver, a taxi driver, not trusting the translator?
(4) Time spent more seriously responsible translation work involves a large number of background investigations and details of the ponderful kung fu, the time is not less than the re-creation. Top-by-words and twentiege, most energy into the so-called text "cut combination", Mr. Houjie, is this energy worth it?
In addition, "C Primer" and "The C Programming Language" have been introduced, but the initiator even moderate readers are difficult to read. Of course, we can also say that it is to be drilled. I think this kind of saying is not responsible, that is, don't use your heart. Mr. Hou said that the translation book is mainly for teaching, not for scientific research. Since it is for teaching and popular purposes, we must try to reduce the difficulty of learners. These two books translate into this look, beginners, even the general horizontal readers are either being "this book is not suitable for you", the result is still No books can be read; either by the "old bird heroes", "I don't accept it, I read English!" "Good to bish." Then, although Mr. Pan, Mr. Yu spent a lot of energy, respectfully granting, and of course there is certain significance, but the general level of our general level still does not reduce the C learning curve and learning threshold!
I think that like this translation, the translator's time is also spent, and the energy is also expensive, and it is still a sense of hardness. At least, I can surely say that the two books will be added together in the next 10 years, and it is impossible to exceed Tan Haqiang's "C language programming" (4 million copies). K & R's "The C Programming Language" is called "C Language Bible", but the Chinese translation is coming, but how is the sales performance? I am afraid that 40,000 books have not reached it?
