| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] > | Two translators in a couple: good or bad idea? Thread poster: Charles Lucien Melingui
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Because they understand each other better, gain time and opportunities and help each other.
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | jyuan_us 
United States
Local time: 08:17
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| If the two are comparable in linguistic competency, why not? | Oct 22, 2021 |
It could happen that one of them always produces excellent translations but the other always delivers a less than ideal quality.
[Edited at 2021-10-22 22:38 GMT]
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Abba Storgen (X)
United States
Local time: 07:17
Greek to English
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| That's a valid observation for most | Oct 23, 2021 |
Gerard Barry wrote:
For me, opposites attract so I'd prefer to date/marry someone in a completely different line of work. Most translators I know are painfully boring, pedantic nerds and therefore in my eyes extremely unattractive.
I used to be even a competitive ballroom dancer, traveler, adventurer of sorts, to my partners the most adventurous ever. Eventually though, especially due to the agency online platforms that chain you to a desktop 24/7 not to miss the cookie, I have become indeed a boring and pathetic cynic.
Before anyone start saying "time management" etc, I was teaching and practicing advanced time management at AIG 26 years ago.
But as one grows old and SOPs change, new knowledge emerges out of increased blood pressure and bad circulation: "To get into the translation field, make sure you have a solid/steady primary income from another source".
Otherwise you'll be dependent on a spouse or daily projects 24/7 - either of these can make one boring, pathetic, with a mind cloudy and narrow, that always talks to itself while believing it talks to others.
[Edited at 2021-10-23 03:25 GMT]
| | | | Abba Storgen (X)
United States
Local time: 07:17
Greek to English
+ ...
| Do not put all your eggs in the same backet | Oct 23, 2021 |
Gerard Barry wrote:
... I think I've earned the right to generalise. We have to be honest here: spending 8 hours a day for years on end translating mind-numbingly boring technical texts is not a normal job for anyone and would drive a lot of people nuts.
How about 12, non-stop 7 days, no vacations etc for 11 years straight (before that, 10 hours).
It's amazing how some people can NOT go nuts, they may even not lose their spirit. But when they eventually decide to get up and go out, the body refuses to follow. An interaction starts between the body and mind, and they both decide to stay in.
I do NOT recommend a couple working in the same field. It's against risk diversification. If their industry suffers a blow, they'll both go down. Even worse when they are co-owners of the same company. Not that it can't work, but it's highly risky. And if one of then decides to change field, the other doesn't have contacts to help him/her. And if they ever split with an ugly divorce, one could sabotage the other's position very easily. You should never put all your eggs in the same basket.
[Edited at 2021-10-23 03:39 GMT]
| | | | | Translators are all different | Oct 23, 2021 |
I have to admit, I don't know any translators I could live with for very long, but I know many who are lovely people as colleagues, far from boring or nerdy. Probably none of them could live with me either. 
I know at least one who changed to new specialist areas because technical translation was getting too monotonous, and several who teach or do other jobs part time for the sake of variety.
My husband had a... See more I have to admit, I don't know any translators I could live with for very long, but I know many who are lovely people as colleagues, far from boring or nerdy. Probably none of them could live with me either.
I know at least one who changed to new specialist areas because technical translation was getting too monotonous, and several who teach or do other jobs part time for the sake of variety.
My husband had a very different job before he retired - and I would be hopeless at it: he is an economist and I am useless with figures. In fact we are not even good at working together in the kitchen or on household jobs! It works fine if one cooks a whole meal one day and the other cooks the next day, or we do separate jobs without trying to help each other.
We have been together happily for more than forty years and that is not bad for two stubborn and strong-minded individualists! But his approach to translation is very different from mine, and we certainly could not work together on that either... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Not my experience | Oct 23, 2021 |
Gerard Barry wrote:
For me, opposites attract so I'd prefer to date/marry someone in a completely different line of work. Most translators I know are painfully boring, pedantic nerds and therefore in my eyes extremely unattractive.
Most translators I know are well-educated, interesting people with a wide knowledge of different cultures.
Mind you, I am spending my Saturday morning watching a lecture about moisture in walls, so ...
[Edited at 2021-10-23 11:13 GMT]
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 14:17
French to English
Gerard Barry wrote:
... I think I've earned the right to generalise. We have to be honest here: spending 8 hours a day for years on end translating mind-numbingly boring technical texts is not a normal job for anyone and would drive a lot of people nuts.
What about those of us who translate utterly fascinating texts on a wide range of weird subjects, for only three or four hours a day?
I think I've knocked around on this planet long enough to earn the right to generalise about grumpy people: most of what they say reflects more poorly on them than on the people they are disparaging.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 14:17
French to English
Rachel Waddington wrote:
Mind you, I am spending my Saturday morning watching a lecture about moisture in walls, so ...
[Edited at 2021-10-23 11:13 GMT]
I'm pretty sure moisture in walls can be a fascinating subject for people in construction or architecture. It'd drive me up the wall, hehe, but my partner would probably love to hear about that lecture. It's great that different people are interested in different things, that way we can all learn from each other. And sometimes you have to develop an interest, when you discover a mouldy patch that had been painted over just before you bought your property, so it helps to have an inquiring mind and research skills.
I just can't imagine why anyone would work for years in a field that they find utterly boring. It clearly does stuff to your soul.
| | | | | This and that | Oct 23, 2021 |
The translator I married was fascinating, beautiful, sexy, fun and all-round wonderful. Gerard, you’ve been hanging with the wrong crowd.
Eleftherios Kritikakis wrote:
Eventually though, especially due to the agency online platforms that chain you to a desktop 24/7 not to miss the cookie
Have you considered that it’s the translators who let that happen who are the problem, not the agencies? I have never allowed myself to be bossed around and I get treated with respect.
Before anyone start saying "time management" etc, I was teaching and practicing advanced time management at AIG 26 years ago.
But you’ve just said your time management was woeful…
I have become indeed a boring and pathetic cynic
I think we’ve got that message. You can stop broadcasting now.
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 13:17
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Very different experiences | Oct 28, 2021 |
Gerard Barry wrote:
... I think I've earned the right to generalise. We have to be honest here: spending 8 hours a day for years on end translating mind-numbingly boring technical texts is not a normal job for anyone and would drive a lot of people nuts.
I started working in 2005 and I've been lucky enough to meet great translators here and abroad and, besides, our profession allows us to get to know different cultures.
This is something that two translators in a couple can benefit.
I have to be honest too: unlike you, I love my profession, regardless of whether I can be pedantic, boring or unattractive. I would be a very unhappy person if I did not enjoy being a translator.
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| Being well-educated and .... | Oct 29, 2021 |
Rachel Waddington wrote: Gerard Barry wrote:
For me, opposites attract so I'd prefer to date/marry someone in a completely different line of work. Most translators I know are painfully boring, pedantic nerds and therefore in my eyes extremely unattractive. Most translators I know are well-educated, interesting people with a wide knowledge of different cultures. Mind you, I am spending my Saturday morning watching a lecture about moisture in walls, so ... [Edited at 2021-10-23 11:13 GMT]
... having knowledge of foreign cultures does not necessarily make someone fun and interesting to be around.
| | | | | it is a plus | Oct 29, 2021 |
Gerard Barry wrote: Rachel Waddington wrote: Gerard Barry wrote:
For me, opposites attract so I'd prefer to date/marry someone in a completely different line of work. Most translators I know are painfully boring, pedantic nerds and therefore in my eyes extremely unattractive. Most translators I know are well-educated, interesting people with a wide knowledge of different cultures. Mind you, I am spending my Saturday morning watching a lecture about moisture in walls, so ... [Edited at 2021-10-23 11:13 GMT] ... having knowledge of foreign cultures does not necessarily make someone fun and interesting to be around.
[Modifié le 2021-10-29 19:04 GMT]
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 13:17
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| But it allows to move outside your own bubble | Oct 29, 2021 |
Gerard Barry wrote:
... having knowledge of foreign cultures does not necessarily make someone fun and interesting to be around.
Besides many other advantages, learning about other cultures allows you to move outside your own bubble, and find new ways of thinking, and new ways of approaching problems.
It broadens our minds and increases our tolerance.
"Change how you see and you see change."
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