There can be little
to no reason to dispute that translators are “more comfortable with words” than
“ordinary people”, by which I guess I mean how words and expressions can be
interpreted differently (whether this is unwittingly or contrived); but this
would also mean that they are more comfortable than most people at explaining
such differences and phenomena in a coherent manner. This includes questions of
what certain words or expressions are capable of indicating in certain
contexts, depending on who uses them, or where exactly they are read, whatever.
After all, what do you think is meant by the immortal claim that an
understanding of cultural factors and context is essential when it comes to
translation work? What I’m trying to say is that high-level linguistic talent
alone won’t always cut it if you’re not “awake”. I’m sure that language teachers/academic
spend a lot of time on this very subject, and I’m going to share three “little thoughts” which I view as relevant, as follows:
One
You know when you watch snooker on TV? Well, before the days of colour TV, people did use to watch snooker on black and white TVs, you know. Well, suppose, as an example, that you were watching snooker on a black and white TV and the commentator said something like, “For those of you watching black and white TVs, the pink ball is the one next to the brown one.” You might instantaneously respond to that like “LOL” whether you knew that or not, or whether you were none the wiser after having heard it. But does it really sound so daft if you consider the assumption that the viewer had been watching the game up to that point?
Two
I recently heard of this brain-teaser (well, I don’t call it a “brain-teaser”; more like a “riddle” or a “trick question”) that goes: “If there are 3 apples and you take 2, how many do you have?” Boris Johnson was asked this question and the answer he gave was one – poor sod. For the proper answer is two: if you take two apples, then it is just plain undeniable fact that you then have two apples. Say what you like about Boris’ listening and comprehension faculties, but he might have given the right answer if the question had been put differently, like, “How many do you have in your possession?” But I don’t want to sound eager to ridicule him because I find it fun – I’m not that kind of guy – I imagine that what compelled him to answer “one” rather than “two” was the unmentioned thought of “How many do you have left?” Of course, the answer would not be two if you were already carrying some apples before you took the two apples mentioned in the question. If you were carrying some apples before you picked those two up and were then asked “how many apples do you have?”, that would seem like a proper question in that you would have to do a calculation to arrive at the right answer: add the ones you’re already carrying to these two that you have just picked up. But if you’re not carrying any apples to begin with, then, like I said before, it is just plain undeniable fact that you then have two apples; and to me it is this plain undeniable fact that makes people dismiss the question for what it is – like: “Why would someone ask how many apples you’re carrying when everyone knows that when you pick up two apples, you then have two apples, assuming you’re not carrying any more apples to begin with?”
I’m also reminded of another trick question at this point: the one that goes, “You’re driving a bus carrying a certain number of people from A to B, and drop some people off and/or pick some people up at B and carry on to C, and you drop some people off and/or pick some people up at C and carry on to D… what is the name of the bus driver?” When someone being asked that question says that they do not know the answer – and they may well wonder what that’s got to with all the picking people up/dropping them off business (not least because the question that they are expecting to be asked will be something like, “How many people are there on the bus at the end of it all?”) – they are reminded that the question begins, “You are driving a bus…”; like, “Don’t you know your own name?” To everyone out there who has answered this question, “I don’t know [the name of the bus driver]” and felt hurt at looking stupid as a result of it, I can empathise if you don’t possess a bus driver’s licence in real life.
Three
There are many car driving computer games (like Outrun 2006, which I bought recently) where, before you start a race or whatever it is, you have to choose between automatic or manual transmission. Consider this: if you select “automatic”, does your vehicle actually use an automatic transmission system or does the character that you’re playing as always change the gears manually even if you, the player, don’t?
One
You know when you watch snooker on TV? Well, before the days of colour TV, people did use to watch snooker on black and white TVs, you know. Well, suppose, as an example, that you were watching snooker on a black and white TV and the commentator said something like, “For those of you watching black and white TVs, the pink ball is the one next to the brown one.” You might instantaneously respond to that like “LOL” whether you knew that or not, or whether you were none the wiser after having heard it. But does it really sound so daft if you consider the assumption that the viewer had been watching the game up to that point?
Two
I recently heard of this brain-teaser (well, I don’t call it a “brain-teaser”; more like a “riddle” or a “trick question”) that goes: “If there are 3 apples and you take 2, how many do you have?” Boris Johnson was asked this question and the answer he gave was one – poor sod. For the proper answer is two: if you take two apples, then it is just plain undeniable fact that you then have two apples. Say what you like about Boris’ listening and comprehension faculties, but he might have given the right answer if the question had been put differently, like, “How many do you have in your possession?” But I don’t want to sound eager to ridicule him because I find it fun – I’m not that kind of guy – I imagine that what compelled him to answer “one” rather than “two” was the unmentioned thought of “How many do you have left?” Of course, the answer would not be two if you were already carrying some apples before you took the two apples mentioned in the question. If you were carrying some apples before you picked those two up and were then asked “how many apples do you have?”, that would seem like a proper question in that you would have to do a calculation to arrive at the right answer: add the ones you’re already carrying to these two that you have just picked up. But if you’re not carrying any apples to begin with, then, like I said before, it is just plain undeniable fact that you then have two apples; and to me it is this plain undeniable fact that makes people dismiss the question for what it is – like: “Why would someone ask how many apples you’re carrying when everyone knows that when you pick up two apples, you then have two apples, assuming you’re not carrying any more apples to begin with?”
I’m also reminded of another trick question at this point: the one that goes, “You’re driving a bus carrying a certain number of people from A to B, and drop some people off and/or pick some people up at B and carry on to C, and you drop some people off and/or pick some people up at C and carry on to D… what is the name of the bus driver?” When someone being asked that question says that they do not know the answer – and they may well wonder what that’s got to with all the picking people up/dropping them off business (not least because the question that they are expecting to be asked will be something like, “How many people are there on the bus at the end of it all?”) – they are reminded that the question begins, “You are driving a bus…”; like, “Don’t you know your own name?” To everyone out there who has answered this question, “I don’t know [the name of the bus driver]” and felt hurt at looking stupid as a result of it, I can empathise if you don’t possess a bus driver’s licence in real life.
Three
There are many car driving computer games (like Outrun 2006, which I bought recently) where, before you start a race or whatever it is, you have to choose between automatic or manual transmission. Consider this: if you select “automatic”, does your vehicle actually use an automatic transmission system or does the character that you’re playing as always change the gears manually even if you, the player, don’t?
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