The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2017 - 18

TRANSLATION: AN INTELLECTUAL PURSUIT continued

THE IMPORTANCE OF OBJECTIVITY

The core processes of translation operate in the mind of the translator,
not in the bowels of a machine.
U.S., the word came into mainstream
use after 9/11 with the creation of the
Department of Homeland Security-a
powerful government organization
charged with protecting the country from
terrorist threats. "Homeland" was once a
word used by the Zionist movement in
the 1920s and 1930s to refer to a Jewish
"homeland" in the Middle East.3 Later,
Hitler expanded its interpretation to
advance the idea that people needed a
tribal-like devotion to land and country to
create a sense of racial superiority.
Josh Marshall, editor and publisher
of talkingpointsmemo.com, notes,
"The phrase really got into the
public vocabulary with the release of
Transforming Defense: National Security in
the 21st Century, a report on the future of
the U.S. military by something called the
National Defense Panel."4 "Homeland"
became related to "homeland defense,"
which was inherently related to National
Missile Defense.5
This word from worlds away would not
be my choice in reference to Mexico. It
simply doesn't fit the history and context
of the Spanish word patria. This patria
refers to Mexican history; to mestizaje,
the blending of Spanish and indigenous
18

The ATA Chronicle | September/October 2017

peoples; to two revolutions; to the
intrigue and trickery of Mexican history;
and to the blood spilled on Mexico's earth.
Even in this sense, the boundaries are
blurred, because America was Mexico,
Mexico is America, and borders change.
The Mexican Cession of 1848 ceded
the territories comprising present-day
California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona,
half of New Mexico, and part of Wyoming
and Colorado.6 Most Mexicans living in
these areas decided to stay and become
Americans. But Mexicans are Americans
in the same way everyone living on the
continent of America is American.
So, how will a machine translate patria?
As it's been translated before or as it's
been translated most frequently? The
machine uses what it knows, and what it
knows are words and word combinations
that have been published previously or
uploaded to the internet, or that are in
machine-translation databases. But will
those translations even be relevant to the
Mexican concept of patria? And what
about when the translation database
software comprises texts from Spain? Or
Cuba? Or Argentina? Will it translate the
idea of patria as it is uniquely felt in each
of these countries?

Translators obsess over what is behind and
within words when they use them. A text's
flavor is soaked in associations attached to
styles of writing, vocabulary selection, and
collocation use. Translators must consider
historical implications inherent in words
while also being objective in their work.
A product description, for example, might
say a product is "the best." But in English,
that kind of language is subjective. It's
someone's opinion, not a proven fact.
Using this kind of language could give
your text an unwanted or unwarranted
commercial or advertising slant.
Barry Ritholtz, an American author,
newspaper columnist, and equities
analyst, in an article entitled "Two Rules
Underpinning Intellectual Pursuits,"
wrote that people need to "[g]et intimately
acquainted with all doctrine, theory,
ideology, and dogma, but refuse to
allow these ideas to govern and shape
your thinking."7 Translators need this
objectivity to translate well.
Literary translators might feel like
the opinions of the authors they are
translating are the translator's own
views, but they are not. The translator
is a chronicler, a participant-observer
who rarely "steps into" the text, and
does so almost exclusively to address
concerns of word order and logic in the
target language.
But what do I mean by classifying
translation as an intellectual pursuit?
Let's take a look at the essence of the
translation process to clarify this idea.

TRANSLATION AS RESEARCH
Translators are researchers. For each new
document, translators create glossaries
of words, concepts, and ideas to become
familiar with the topic and as a reference.
Translators become experts in general and
in specific fields.
Translators have to keep up
with translation. Being current and
knowledgeable in the profession involves
dedicating time to learning more about
translation and areas of specialty. New
word usage and vocabulary, new ways of
translating, current events that change
perspectives and ways of understanding
the world-translators must study
constantly to improve their craft.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2017

Contents
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