The Obstacles Confronting French Translators
When the translator experiences the so called double translation in his or her mind, but he does this subconsciously, the resulting interlinguistic translation loses some of its accuracy. Part of the message is most often lost in a place called the unconscious, a term invented by Freud. Psychology places great importance in the existence of an internal language, according to the translations of the works of Freud by the German to English Translation, but are mostly unaware of it. As with any other reading process, the translator’s mind is actively occupied with the interpretation of the text, which often takes place on a merely unconscious level. Thus the translator will inevitably have to remember incidents in his own life arising from personal experiences including, pains and passions, sentiments and downfalls, impressions and memories. Thus the translator has no choice but to unconsciously manipulate the text.
Theorists of translation whose occupation lies in researching the area in-between the translation and the original are interesting to observe. According to Italian Translation theorist Paolo Bartoloni this is the zone in which two languages and/or cultures clash and blend in a sort of cross-fertilization where their distinct traits are distorted and confused by the process of superimposition. It is what in other words is called the interstitial are, a place that consists of both the enigma of arrival and the memory of origin, but is actually neither arrival nor origin. As a matter of fact, a demonic place like this is not easy to live in, because it is under constant change and therefore insecure.
Yet another critical challenge which the translator faces after translating the text is to thoroughly revise his rendition. In the interstices where the translator must return in the revision stage only to find there a first draft that is no longer the source text but is not yet the translated text. Those who have ever translated a text are familiar with the feeling of uncertainty in this phase. The revision process is always dependent on the very responsible editorial policy the publishers take. There are many cases in which, for example Portuguese Translation Services editors interfere heavily with translations, rendering unproductive the translator’s methodology. Quite frequently, editors do incorrect research of the model reader and the dominant of the text, and fitfully rework the translations that are to become publications, governed only by the rules of literature for mass consumption.
Usually, translators should stay open to interventions made by other on their text, as they can be very wholesome contributions to the final product. If a translator is lucky enough to find experienced and knowledgeable editors and revisers, he/she should certainly adopt a positive attitude. It is very important to have a referee, a third party that can suggest other possible options, as quite often the translator driven by emotions considers him/herself the best possible judge. Other factors are always invited to take part in the development of translation because according to Antoine Berman, a French Translator ideologist, by translating one accepts the culture of the other. Cinema, music and theater which are performing arts also demand such support. The translator’s culture is significantly a border culture; the translator is very often abandoned with the difficult task of balancing on the thinning rope looking down to the abyss when it comes to translating authors who come from the marginalized corners of the world.