As is known, there is no such a thing as a perfect version of translation regardless of the translator’s experience, seniority, talent and so forth because translation, both in the form of interpreting and translating, is a kind of devocalization and regeneration of the original work. Especially in the term of interpreting, the interpreter won’t even have a second chance to revise or modify his or her translation on the spot to a large extent (maybe he or she can supplement and save a bit later in the second round during the consecutive interpreting, however, the chances are vanishingly rare as the burden of interpreting would be too much to bear in most cases). Therefore, one has to be thoroughly armed before going for the battle. One weapon of mass destruction for interpreters is called “thinking along with the speaker” which means one have to know the inside and out of the topic-related materials and equip a as temporary likewise mindset as the speaker. That’s how interpreters could possibly and finitely reach the perfect version of translation.
However, when I was thinking about this, another idea just popped out of my mind. By the same token here, if I could marry a writer in the future, then is it possible that I can be a perfect interpreter for her? Our minds are in sync, we know the words and patterns of each other, we could not only finish each other’s sentence in the daily life, but also could get professional added-bonus from our relationship here. Quirk as it may sound like, but the chances are real.
Life’s intriguing as long as you have the right choices of lens and right dose of curiosities.
