The internal workings of the professional native translator’s mind are a thing of wonder…
The mind of a BigTranslator is an intricate maze, but it is an organised maze, and the intricacies of this mental labyrinth allow the native professional translator to hit on the central nerve and true meaning of a text to be translated. The mental switch made by a native professional translator is something incredible, like the work of the synapses, passing small electrical impulses from one to the other. Translation, in the mind of a native translator, is exactly like this: an electrical storm.
Among the interesting facts that, perhaps, you didn’t know about native translators:
1. A translator never stops translating. Their brain is in translation mode continuously. A translator translates EVERYTHING around them, everything they hear in another language, they translate. A continual ‘hearing-mental translation-understanding-reworking-final translation’ circuit without an off switch.
2. A native professional translator counts in their own language, regardless of where they are in the world. Counting literally anything usually takes place in their native language. 1,2,3…
3. The organisation of their life plans is done strictly an ‘according to future translations’ basis.
4. A native professional translator can find the right nuance for every word or cultural expression, so that the message is passed from one language to another without losing ‘too much’ of its true meaning.
5. Each piece of information that a translator’s brain processes is dissected piece by piece. No part of the information is left un-interpreted in the translator’s mind. And if they don’t understand the exact meaning of something, their mind stays there and thinks it over, and thinks some more, and thinks a little bit more still until, suddenly, ‘eureka’! That perfect translation makes its light bulb appearance.
6. A native professional translator feels the weight of the cultural importance that goes hand in hand with being an important representative of their language on their shoulders. Translation is treated with the utmost respect.
7. Finally, something you’d never believe… The native professional translator lives on coffee! Native translators barely sleep when they are busy with their translation projects and they become a kind of nocturnal species, which manages to stay awake solely by the power of that modern nectar known as coffee!
Translation: a demanding profession
Moving on from this last humorous note, one thing that we are sure will indeed make your hairs stand on end, is the dedication and sense of vocation of the native professional translator. They demand a lot from their mind, and invest a lot of their time in their work. When you entrust your project to a native professional translator, you can be sure that whatever quality you demand from their work, they will demand double from themselves.
