Five ingredients to cook up a better text

Ana and Simon began their presentation by announcing their wedding, just weeks ago, on 30 September. Yes, International Translation Day! Language professionals are nothing if not dedicated to the cause: METM25 was masquerading as a honeymoon for Ana and Simon. Congratulations!

With the room suitably suffused with warm, fuzzy feelings and the gurglings of an extremely well-behaved baby, Ana and Simon explained how two translators came to write a cookery blog: they started cooking together, but apart, over video call while sustaining a long-distance relationship, before deciding it would be fun to publish their recipes in a bilingual Portuguese–English format. Their blog contains many delicious and intriguing recipes, from sopa cremosa de amêijoas to moqueca to gooseberry crumble, and the headnotes occasionally had me laughing out loud (such as the one for the aforementioned crumble).

Enough about the blog: this was not a presentation about a “nice thing” (though they are – rightfully – proud of it). What are their five ingredients to cook up a better text?

First, tone of voice. As translators and editors, our ability to convey personality in another language and hit the right register adds to our credibility. The presenters pointed out that tone of voice should be discussed with the client throughout the partnership, not just at the start. Ana explained how she initially expected Simon to sound formal in Portuguese, so her translations reflected that. But as Simon’s Portuguese improved, she realised that wasn’t the case and adapted her tone of voice to suit him.

The second ingredient was communication with the author. This is essential if we are to truly understand the finer points of their work. Track them down, make positive suggestions. Be tactful!

The third was target language adaptation. Just as some ingredients are impossible to source abroad and may have to be smuggled into the country wrapped up in your socks, some cultural references don’t travel. We must leverage our cultural knowledge and carve out a niche as cultural consultants.

Fourth on your shopping list? Editing. Not of your own work (well, that too, of course), but of the source text. It is possible to have too much respect for the source: we shouldn’t just blindly follow what is written (that’s what the machines do, after all). Not all clients are professional writers.

The fifth ingredient was, in fact, a utensil: the CAT tool. But not in the way you’d think. Ana and Simon explained how translating for the blog helped them step away from the confines of their favourite tools, with interesting results. No longer bound by the confines of the segment, they were free to be more creative. The presenters referred to this as “segment dictatorship” – a quick Google suggests they coined this fantastic description. And why stop at segments? Be brave and split up paragraphs!

Ana and Simon concluded with a sensitive look at how our work greatly influences our lives, but the reverse is rarely true. That is a shame: we should let our private lives in on our work. We have so much more to contribute than our professional skills. Ultimately, their presentation was a heartfelt message about how valuable our human experience is in the AI era. Whatever it is that makes us us is worth bringing to the table.

So, when will Ana and Simon have their own cookery show? I’d happily watch more of this engaging duo! In the meantime, I’ll be testing a few of their recipes, starting with moqueca, once I’ve sourced some dendê oil…

This METM25 presentation was chronicled by Holly Hibbert.

Featured photo by METM25 photographer Julian Mayers.