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What
makes a translation good? What should one have in mind when
working with a text? Every professional knows that the best
translation is the one that looks nothing like a translation,
but in fact appears to have been written originally in the
target language.
Concerned
about the best word to use, the most appropriate expression
and a range of other stylistic choices, the translator often
forgets another apparently small, but very important detail
- punctuation. It is also part of your job and correct punctuation
is essential for the proper understanding of any text.
Since
this is a very broad subject, I think we had better concentrate
on the kinds of punctuation that cause the biggest problems.
Translators always seem to struggle with quotation marks and
the surrounding punctuation, so this will be the focus of
our first Translation Tip.
There
is a basic difference between English and Portuguese as far
as quotations go. The problem is that many people do not pay
attention to the position of these punctuation marks when
translating. They just copy them exactly as they are without
realizing that there is, in fact, a difference between the
two languages. If you are translating from Portuguese into
English, heed this tip: be sure to place the period or comma
before the closing quotation mark at the end of a quote.
In
the following example, there is a pause between the end of
what was expressed by Fernando Luiz and the rest of the sentence.
Therefore, the comma is used after the quotation marks in
Portuguese:
“A
empresa tem sido uma ótima aliada para nós,
oferecendo equipamento de qualidade”, disse Fernando
Luiz.
It
is very common to find such problems with texts that include
direct speech – a construction that includes phrases
like “he said” and “she said.” These
are easy traps for those who are not careful. We all know
how bad it feels to see something mistranslated from one language
into another, yet it looks equally bad to see the translator’s
obvious carelessness with grammar rules. The above example
should then look like this, after it has been correctly translated
into English:
"The
company has been an excellent partner for us, offering quality
equipment," said Fernando Luiz.
The
same thing happens with a sentence that ends with a quotation
mark:
Segundo
Paulo Otávio, “a interação da equipe
é essencial para o desenvolvimento da empresa”.
According
to Paulo Otávio, “team interaction is essential
for the company’s development.”
When
the quote has more than one sentence in Portuguese, there
is no pause until it is complete. It is only at the end of
the sentence that the author of the statement will be revealed,
such as in the following example:
“O
que os usuários querem é uma viagem rápida
e segura ao seu destino. Para atendê-los cada vez melhor,
a área de TI da Linhares também adotou os mais
modernos e atualizados recursos de tecnologia", frisou
Yokura.
In
English, the style is quite different. This long quote would
be better split into two, and the speaker will be revealed
before the end of the phrase. In this case, the translator
should stop at the end of the first sentence, replace the
full stop with a comma (always being careful to place the
comma before the quotation mark), specify the person who is
speaking and continue with the statement. The example above
would then read like this:
"What
users want is a safe and quick trip to their destination,"
said Yokura. "To better serve them, the Linhares IT area
has also adopted the most modern and up-to-date technological
resources."
I
hope this first Translation Tip will be useful to you, as
it will allow your translated text to flow better in the English
language. When you face a similar situation in the future,
think twice before punctuating your text. If you feel tempted
to place the comma, semi-colon or period after the quotation
mark, simply quote Edgar Allan Poe’s Raven and say to
yourself: “Never more!” |
