Translating for Journalism

By Sarah-Claire Jordan

We don’t often think very much about how translation and the news are related, even though we get to hear about what is going on all over the world. More often that not, what we do hear in terms of translation is when a translation goes horribly wrong, and even then it usually isn’t a top news story. Translating for journalism is a rather niche career choice, oddly enough, for a number of reasons.

First of all, many times a journalist who is assigned to a certain country or region has to have at least some level of competence in the language spoken there, if it isn’t their native language. Some journalists have the advantage of already knowing the language quite well, be it from growing up in a family that speaks it, or from studying it or living abroad. Others, however, will need an interpreter to guide them along when interviewing locals about a topic.

In terms of research, the same journalists who are competent in whatever language is spoken where they work should be fine working with material in that language. Those who aren’t, however, sometimes rely on roughly translated summaries, which aren’t always accurate. This can lead to huge issues like misrepresentation of a story or even providing false information. If the budget allows it, these journalists should consider working with a translator who specializes in translating for journalism.

Working with a translator who specializes in journalism is a way to save time and money in the end, for journalists who need the extra help to get their work done properly. If they rely on machine translation or a translation done by an amateur, they could make big enough mistakes to lose their job. They aren’t expected to be fluent or bilingual, but they are expected to hold their work up to the same journalistic standards as someone who covers their home country.

Machine translation can not handle the complicated cultural context journalists often have to figure out, and an inexperienced translator might miss subtle things that an experienced translator would pick up on immediately and know how to handle. Sure, many journalists have to work within certain time constraints and might even work freelance, but if they want to be successful they need to look to the translation industry for help.

Journalists who are salaried should consider bringing up the issue of working with translators. Most news publication companies have the budget to fly their journalists all over the world, put them up in hotels, and even pay for taxis when needed, so for them to claim they can’t afford to work with a translation company, something practically guaranteed to improve their overseas stories, is ridiculous. Every company at this point in time, regardless of what industry they belong to, should be working with translators. If that company works with global news stories, it should be one of their top priorities to make sure their journalists are doing everything they can to cover a story accurately.

Tags: writing

Category: Business Translation