Taking translation out of the shadows: the visibility of translators
Lately we hear a lot about visibility in our profession, and that’s a good thing. Translation has spent too much time in the shadows, which should be surprising given its significance, usefulness and widespread use. Thankfully, things appear to be changing. Translators are coming out of their cocoon and are starting to claim a well-deserved prominent position in the professional world.
We must all act to increase our profession’s visibility to the public. In this article, we suggest a few ideas to help you make your own contribution to this collective effort.
1. Talk about it
The best way to share the importance, challenges and joys of translation with the outside world is simply to talk about them. How? The easiest way is by writing articles for blogs (either your blog or blogs of professional associations or other translators).
Are you rather outgoing and daring or do you work in the academic field? You can submit proposals for presentations in conferences and other events. Besides promoting the profession, this will also help promote you personally, thereby helping you to find new clients and keep the existing ones. There are hundreds of translation-related events today, and many offer the chance to submit proposals for presentations. If you have anything interesting to say, go for it and you won’t regret it!
Apart from translation-related events, participating in sectoral conferences, expos and events is very important to increase your and the profession’s visibility. The same goes for meeting and networking with other entrepreneurs in co-working spaces, start up events and other business events.
Finally, don’t hesitate to talk about your profession with friends and acquaintances. Most people are not familiar with translation and the role of the translator and often equate it with literary translation and interpreting. Explain all the applications of translation in the modern, globalized world, from manuals to international organizations’ documents and movie subtitles. Be patient when confronted with comments such as “but why do you need to study translation? Anyone can translate using a dictionary!” and provide some examples from your own experience that will debunk this over-quoted myth. Translators everywhere will be in your debt forever!
Generally speaking, an outgoing outlook and actively participating in initiatives, groups of people or communities help. Show off the added value of translation and of your knowledge of languages and cultures in various settings.
2. Participate in translation-related events
If the idea of presenting or speaking to an audience is not your cup of tea, you can still contribute to the promotion of translation by participating in sectoral events. Don’t just passively attend them: you can also organize or help to organize them, offer to volunteer and suggest speakers or discussion topics.
3. Become a member of national and international associations
There are many benefits to participating in professional associations. First of all, these associations offer information on your rights and help you assert them. Secondly, they offer you the opportunity to socialize, connect with other professionals (even if it’s online), discuss the problems you’re facing and try to find common new solutions. In fact, some associations even help you find clients through their member lists, where clients can find you by simply searching for translators in your working languages. Finally, in many cases they provide opportunities of lifelong learning through seminars, webinars, conferences and other events. Let’s not forget that being a translator is often lonely, and any opportunity to network and interact with colleagues should be welcome.
4. Assert your rights
Always charge fair fees for your work and reject any insulting offers, even if that means you may lose the job to a competitor. By accepting an extremely low price proposed by a translation company or even a private client, you debase not only your profession and your studies, but the entire industry, and therefore jeopardize your very future. Inform yourself on how you can draw up a fair agreement with your clients. Professional associations are a valuable source of such information.
If you’re going to translate a book, demand to see your name on the cover. Translators are undoubtedly among the most important contributors to an edition, and that should be made as clear as possible in the final product. Lately, we see more and more serious publishers adopting this practice in Greece, which is a very encouraging and comforting trend. However, this doesn’t go only for literature: no matter the type of publication you’re translating (company magazine, newsletter, etc), inform your client that you would like your name to be included in the list of contributors. You certainly deserve it!