À lire !

Tout ce que vous avez toujours voulu savoir sur le quotidien du traducteur indépendant sans jamais oser le demander, quelqu’un l’a vraisemblablement déjà demandé à Fire Ant et Worker Bee, alias Chris Durban et Eugene Seidel, deux traducteurs chevronnés qui tiennent depuis 1998 une chronique intitulée « The Bottom Line » dans la revue en ligne Translation Journal. Le principe : une question posée par un lecteur (traducteur, étudiant intéressé par la traduction, acheteur de traductions, etc.), à laquelle Fire Ant et Worker Bee, la fourmi et l’abeille, apportent une réponse pratique agrémentée de réflexions de bon sens.

The Prosperous Translator, publié en octobre 2010, propose au lecteur de retrouver ces chroniques classées par grands thèmes : les débuts du traducteur indépendant, le métier au quotidien, les rapports entre clients et fournisseurs, la question des tarifs, la prospection, la déontologie, la qualité de vie, etc.

Si l’on excepte deux questions portant spécifiquement sur le sous-titrage, il faut avouer que la traduction/adaptation audiovisuelle n’est pas au cœur de l’ouvrage, qui semble s’adresser davantage aux traducteurs dits « techniques ». Pourquoi évoquer ce livre sur ce blog, alors ? Parce qu’à bien y regarder, la plupart des thèmes abordés par les auteurs concernent toutes les spécialités de la traduction. Qu’il s’agisse de la nécessité de signer son travail, de l’attitude à adopter face à certaines exigences déraisonnables posées par les acheteurs de traduction, de la chute des tarifs, de l’opportunité de recommander un confrère, de l’art de la négociation ou encore de la délicate question des traducteurs travaillant vers une langue qui n’est pas leur langue maternelle, The Prosperous Translator fournit quelques piqûres de rappel fort salutaires et de précieux conseils.

Résolument pragmatiques (et pas toujours tendres), les auteurs prennent le contrepied de la morosité ambiante et rappellent qu’il n’y a qu’une solution possible pour arracher le secteur de la traduction au marasme dans lequel il se trouve : la sortie par le haut. Vous croulez sous le travail ? Augmentez vos tarifs. Vous perdez vos clients à la concurrence roumaine, indienne ou coréenne ? Changez de clientèle-cible, visez des acheteurs de traduction intéressés par la qualité de votre travail, pas par le prix défiant toute concurrence de vos prestations. Vous êtes dans un creux d’activité ? Profitez-en pour prospecter sérieusement et muscler votre marketing. Vous vous sentez trop timide pour aller frapper à la porte des entreprises susceptibles de vous confier des traductions ? Personne ne fera ce travail à votre place. Et le reste est à l’avenant.

Alors certes, bien des traducteurs de l’audiovisuel soupireront en lisant certains conseils récurrents. « Augmentez vos tarifs », au hasard, semble une injonction bien illusoire à l’heure où il semble déjà difficile de maintenir ses tarifs sans baisse d’une année sur l’autre. Mais n’est-ce pas le signe que l’on marche sur la tête et qu’il est vraiment temps que chacun se donne les moyens d’y remédier ? Oui, The Prosperous Translator a parfois un côté « donneur de leçons » qui peut agacer. Mais c’est avant tout un livre qui fait du bien, donne envie de ne pas baisser les bras et rappelle que la traduction n’est pas qu’un métier passionnant exercé avec amour par des linguistes talentueux : c’est aussi un business, avec des segments de marché plus ou moins lucratifs, une concurrence qu’il convient d’aborder avec hauteur de vue et discernement, et des clients qui ont besoin des compétences des traducteurs. Enfin, son ton vivant et plein d’humour en fait un ouvrage très agréable à lire, ce qui ne gâte rien.

Pour clore cet article, une bonne nouvelle et un conseil :

• Une sélection de lettres issues de The Prosperous Translator sera publiée à l’avenir sur le blog de l’Ataa après traduction en français, selon un rythme qui reste à définir. Un grand merci à Chris Durban qui a donné son accord pour ce projet.

• Si vous souhaitez vous procurer The Prosperous Translator, n’hésitez pas à passer directement par Lulu.com, la plateforme de publication utilisée pour éditer cet ouvrage, plutôt que par un autre revendeur qui prélèvera une part plus importante de la marge des auteurs.

The Prosperous Translator: Advice from Fire Ant & Worker Bee, compiled and edited by Chris Durban, FA&WB Press, 2010, 280 pages.

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Media for All - Anvers

L’Ataa prendra part à la conférence internationale « Media for All » qui se tiendra à Anvers du 22 au 24 octobre 2009 sur le thème « Quality Made to Measure ».

Voici un résumé de l’intervention que Samuel Bréan y fera,
in English.

Subtitling the inaudible?
Subjectivity in audiovisual translation

Subtitlers often leave certain portions of the audiovisual text untranslated, whether for reasons of lack of space (i.e. time) available or by choice. It may thus seem paradoxical to focus on the opposite scenario: when the subtitler chooses to translate elements that are hardly perceptible, or even completely inaudible, to a native speaker watching the film.

A recent British DVD edition of Une femme mariée (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964) provides several instances of such a subtitling, which can be usefully compared with other translations of the film. Godard’s oeuvre is notoriously complex, mixing sound, image and text in elaborate ways. It often poses challenges to translators, arguably culminating in his Histoire(s) du cinéma (1989-1998): “As ‘unwatchable’ and as ‘unlistenable’ in many respects as Finnegans Wake is ‘unreadable’, the first two parts of Godard’s Histoire(s)… are also almost as hard to translate as the Joyce book.” (Jonathan Rosenbaum). This paper will therefore also draw examples from other films by Godard to shed a light on the choices made by the subtitler of Une femme mariée, and help us to see the crucial role played by subjectivity in subtitling.

Rappel : l’an dernier, nous avions pris part à la conférence sœur de Media for All, Language and the Media, un rendez-vous qui nous avait permis de revoir nos excellents confrères scandinaves et polonais et de nouer d’autres liens, notamment en Serbie, en Espagne et en Grèce.

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Prière de jeter !

Compression des coûts, économies d’échelle, déconsidération des cœurs de métier, délocalisation… sont le lot quotidien du monde du travail actuel.
On n’a plus que ces mots-là à la bouche, plus que ces mots-là dans les oreilles, devant les yeux…
Des mots, vous avez dit des mots ?
Mais, les mots, sont-ils réductibles, sont-ils rentables, sont-ils délocalisables ?
Comment ? La langue, le génie d’un peuple, serait elle aussi exportable et lucrative à souhait ?
Oui ! Le progrès n’a aucune frontière, aucune limite.
Ainsi voit-on la traduction, ce passage toujours périlleux, toujours délicat, d’un sens et d’un style à l’autre, d’un génie à l’autre, d’une culture à l’autre, bref, ainsi voit-on cette fameuse « communication interculturelle » bradée elle aussi, empaquetée, soupesée, quantifiée, externalisée, robotisée, délocalisée.
Certains « demandeurs » de traduction n’ont plus qu’un unique souci : trouver vite, très vite, le moins cher, le plus loin possible, le moins dérangeant possible, le plus corvéable à merci.
Peu leur chaut de restituer à leur public, à leur client, le message d’origine qui leur a été confié. L’auteur de départ sera méprisé ? Qu’importe ! La bonne intelligence du public de destination sera bafouée ? La belle affaire !
C’est là noircir le trait, direz-vous. Malheureusement, non.

Pour le prouver, et puisqu’il vaut mieux en rire qu’en pleurer, voici un petit florilège des annonces que l’on rencontre parfois, de plus en plus fréquemment, dans le petit monde de la traduction audiovisuelle : la requête d’un laboratoire de post-production parisien qui file un mauvais coton, une annonce légendaire de SDI et une autre du moins légendaire Ben’s World, et puis en s’éloignant un peu de la traduction audiovisuelle pure, les lamentables dérives de l’ANPE et de notre ministère de la Culture.

On respire bien à fond…

L’email du chargé de production d’un laboratoire de post-production
qui a pignon sur rue :

J’ai un service à te demander. En fait, il s’agit d’activer « tes réseaux » sur un profil de personne que je recherche.
Pour des travaux de traduction du français vers le japonais avec un client asiatique, je suis à la recherche de personnes de langue maternelle japonaise et parlant français.
Il faut que cette personne vive dans un pays où le coût de la vie est faible (par exemple Chine, Thaïlande, Malaisie, Vietnam, Argentine, Afrique (sauf Afrique du Sud), etc..) car le taux de rémunération se situera aux alentours de $1000 par mois pour un temps complet. Elle doit avoir une bonne maitrise du français, de sa compréhension et aussi de la culture française actuelle.
[de xx xx à xx xx, septembre 2009]

Une annonce sympathique de l’inénarrable Ben’s World, telle que parue sans rire sur proz.com :

we have a little budget for alll the dubbing project because its produce by poor country and will be broadcast in poor country: so for this reason, the job wiil be paid 80 euros per episode.
each episode has about 5000 words and are very easu to translate because it is only general vocabulary.
(…)
Additional requirements:
experience on tv program
dubbing specificity…lip synchro , respect of number of syllabes. etc

Jusqu’où ira-t-on dans le mépris ? SDI, fidèle à sa réputation, crève le plancher :

WORK ABROAD
Dear Subtitler,
SDI Media Group is proud to announce that from the beginning of 2007 we
will be able to offer you a chance to work abroad in The Philippines. This is possible due to our collaboration with e-Scribir Inc (ESI). The ESI facilities are located
in the Makati district of Metro Manila. Below is an outline of the offer.
You will:
- be a skilled subtitler, ideally being able to translate from more
than one source language
- sign a contract with ESI stating that you will work for them at their
Manila-based office for at least six months. A one-year contract is preferable.
- work mostly with subsequent translation files, but other work may
become available depending on your skills, talents, and background
- be paid per programme minute for your work monthly, details of the rate will follow
ESI will:
- provide you with:
o a work station and all necessary software
o a designated e-mail account
o internet connectivity
- pay for your return airfare to Manila
- organise a visa for you
- assist you with insurance, and arrange housing and housekeeping
services
- assist you in getting the most out of your time in Manila and the
surrounding
areas by helping arrange weekend trips, concert tickets, scuba diving
lessons etc.
Once you have finished your working contract, you will have the option
to extend your visit in the Philippines or other parts of South East Asia, before you
use your return ticket.
If you would like to apply or seek more information about this exciting
opportunity, please feel free to contact:
jesuisfoufou@sdi-media.com
Subject line: Work Abroad Ð [your target language]
Looking forward to hear from you!

[Février 2007]

Hors du secteur de la traduction audiovisuelle, mais dans la traduction littéraire cette fois, une annonce mirobolante de l’ANPE :

TRADUCTEUR/TRADUCTRICE LITTERAIRE H/F
(Code Métier ROME 32241)

VOUS AUREZ EN CHARGE LA DACTYLOGRAPHIE D’UN ROMAN ET LE TRADUIRE DU FRANCAIS EN ARABE, VOUS VIVREZ AU DOMICILE DE L’EMPLOYEUR ET ASSUREREZ QUELQUES HEURES DE MENAGE ET DE REPASSAGE, COURSES ET CUISINE
Lieu de travail 75 – PARIS 13E ARRONDISSEMENT
Type de contrat CONTRAT A DUREE INDETERMINEE
Nature d’offre CONTRAT DE TRAVAIL
Expérience EXIGEE DE 1 A 2 ANS DANS LA TRADUCTION DE ROMAN
Formation et connaissances DIPL. NIV. BAC LITTERA.ETRANGERE EXIGE(E)
Autres connaissances ARABE BILINGUE+TECH EXIGE(E) PRATIQ.
TRAIT.TEXTES EXIGE(E)
Qualification Employé qualifié
Salaire indicatif HORAIRE 13 Euros (85,27 F)
DEDUCTION HEBERGEMENT/ REPAS/BLANCHIS
Durée hebdomadaire
de travail 10H00 HEBDO VIVRE AU DOMICILE DE L’EMPLOYEUR

[Annonce de novembre 2007]

Et enfin, cerise sur le gâteau, le ministère de la Culture faisant un appel d’offre pour la traduction automatique de son site :

MINISTERE DE LA CULTURE ET DE LA COMMUNICATION
Département de l’Information et de la Communication
3, rue de Valois 75042 Paris Cedex 01
Objet de la consultation
Traduction des sites Internet appartenant aux domaines « culture.fr » et « culture.gouv.fr»
(…)
10-2 / Les objectifs et prestations demandées
L’objet de la prestation consiste en l’hébergement d’un service traduction automatique, en temps réel, des sites web du ministère de la culture et de la communication culture.fr et culture.gouv.fr.
Le principal livrable est le service de traduction en ligne lui-même et sa disponibilité 24h sur 24.
Les autres livrables attendus sont :
- La documentation du service y compris les éléments nécessaires à son paramétrage et
appel depuis les pages du ministère
- Une prestation de conseil et réalisation pour affiner la traduction.
- Une formation d’agents du ministère aux concepts et outils en ligne utiles à cet affinage
- Un planning et une méthodologie pour tester la traduction en ligne et affiner la traduction par défaut avant l’ouverture du service au grand public.
La traduction devra impérativement pouvoir se faire du français vers les langues suivantes: anglais, espagnol, allemand.
Le ministère aimerait que ce service de traduction soit également disponible en option pour les
langues suivantes : italien, portugais, polonais, grec, néerlandais
Cette liste supplémentaire pourrait s’étoffer ou se modifier selon l’offre du prestataire.

A signaler au sujet de cette annonce : La SFT et l’Atlf s’étaient fendues d’une lettre à la ministre, l’alertant des dangers d’utiliser la TAO pour traduire les sites du ministère. Pour illustrer leurs propos, elles avaient fait traduire leur courrier vers l’anglais par un pro, puis l’avaient fait « retraduire » vers le français par le biais de Google.
Voici le résultat, sur le site de l’ATLF, en pièce jointe à leur lettre à Madame Albanel :
www.atlf.org/IMG/pdf/LettreMmeMinistre.pdf

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The translator’s point of view:

goodbye quality, hello Quality!

As presented by Estelle Renard on behalf of the ATAA

Last year, the sensation at the French box office was not a Hollywood blockbuster, but a small comedy about language differences and the prejudices and bonds they produce. Bienvenue chez les Chtis was a huge success and over half the French population went to see it. This film, relying as it does on language and linguistic jokes, should have been lost in translation. It was not. Thanks to the competence of the English translator and the director’s attention to it, the subtitles were so good that a Guardian journalist suggested that this tour de force deserved the creation of a whole new Oscar’s category for subtitlers. It is because it was so well translated that this film has had the chance of an international career. So kudos to Michael Katims for his great translation.

If this story proves something, it is not the refinement of the French people’s tastes, but the value of the work of audiovisual translators.

And indeed,

- it it is not only that without translation, an audiovisual product will not cross the borders of the country where it was created,

- nor that without a good translation, the program will be aired, but not appreciated as it should be and sometimes, not even understood.

- Translation is even more than that, it gives an added value to what we call a “product”, if we want to use the language of business.

This story is also interesting, because the comedy of cultural differences and especially those embodied in language is the ultimate challenge for an audiovisual translator. It demonstrates that what we do is something that is, essentially, not quantifiable. This ’something’ that cannot be quantified is also at the heart, the very core of the industry in which we work. Creativity and efficiency cannot be measured or quantified in industrial and business language.

So how can we evaluate something that is not quantifiable? This question seems relevant, but in our industry, it leads us down the wrong path. In this sector, all companies, whatever their size, boast about the high quality translations they provide. At the same time, they boast that they can achieve that quality for a price defying all the odds, shrinking year after year. My question is : what is behind that boast? I would like to demonstrate how quality, as defined by the industry, always results in a cut in the rate paid to the translator. Why is this the case?

The key words of global translation companies are:

- Standardization / globalization

- Productivity

- Technology

Let us see how each of them works in regard to audiovisual translation and if they are a means to achieve efficiency. Can they achieve quality?

Standardization

The issue here is not technical standardization such as in file or video formats, which obviously aid the circulation of audiovisual programs. I am talking about the standardization of intellectual work.

The use of templates provides an eloquent example of the confusion between quality and cost cutting. The main (and only) advantage of a template is that spotting has to be done only once, no matter how many languages the program is translated into. When using a template, translators have to fit their subtitles into spotting that was designed for another language.

- English template : Bad Girl (8 characters)

- Translation in polish : Niegrzeczna dziewczynka (22 char)

In the example above, the Polish words need a lot more time to read than the English. Using a template, this extra time is not available. The template cannot be changed. It is obviously a bad idea to provide the same template for languages that are so different. Quality spotting is adapted to each language, not the contrary. Templates are the exact opposite of what would ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for the viewer.

Therefore, standardization is a way to save money but not to produce a good translation. The only thing it can deliver is productivity.

What does productivity mean for a translator?

The translator is an individual, not a company. For him, there is no economy of scale. Higher volume does not mean higher profits. Program for program, he will not make more profit if he translates 10 films than if he translates just one. He will earn the same for each film and his profits will not increase the more films he translates.

Productivity has a meaning from an industrial point of view but not for the translator.

Perhaps technology can help the translator. What can it do for him?

Well, not much. Technology is a means, a tool. Subtitling software for instance is an excellent tool, but it is like a car: you can have the most technologically advanced car in the world but if you don’t know where you’re going, you will just go nowhere more quickly. It is true that software allows translators to work in more comfortable conditions, but it cannot help them to produce better translations.

Let us assume that technology allows us to work faster. It could then be argued that it helps the translator to do a better job: they are paid the same and work faster. This means they can reinvest the time gained in reviewing their translation many times. But the point is, for audiovisual translators, technology has always meant a dramatic drop in rates and in the time allocated for each job. In France, the rates are a third of what they were 10 years ago. Has any employee in any other sector seen their salary cut by 70% in ten years? If we don’t react, the same will happen in dubbing, with the rapid growth of virtual dubbing software.

In this conference, we have seen many amazing machines and softwares but I know of something even more amazing: the human brain. A machine transcodes, the brain of a translator takes a sentence in its context and transfers it to another language. Languages are not just words strung together, they are inextricably linked with a culture and are constantly evolving. They are the flesh of a civilization, and at the core of the very essence of humanity.

In a nutshell, standardisation, globalization, productivity and blind trust in the wonders of technology are the criteria of the industry, but they cannot be applied to the work of the mind, and therefore not to translation.

* * *

If we are here today questioning whether or not quality can still be achieved, it is because of global companies such as SDI, Softitler and others and the blindness of networks regarding what are ultimately their own interests. The question of “quality” (with a small q) is the elegant screen behind which these global companies make big profits. Here, the issue is not that translation costs too much, it is how to make the most money out of it, providing the biggest possible profit for their shareholders. This may seem obvious but I strongly believe that we should not see this situation from their point of view. These companies are the cancer that is eating this industry alive. Why use such a shocking term? Because the way they run their business puts the whole industry in danger.

Quality cannot be achieved without a system of values. What is valued here? Not the viewers and certainly not the translators. Recently, SDI Media Group placed an advert inviting young translators to move to the Philippines for a year. There, the company would provide them with a computer, an internet connection and lots of paid-per-minute programs. Scuba diving lessons and weekend trips were also on the agenda, but not at the company’s expense. They considered the opportunity so exciting that they did not think that stating the rates paid was necessary. It is an insight into the way these companies envision the trade of the audiovisual translator. Do they think it is a hobby?

These companies create an environment where companies can only compete to pay the lowest rates, where the smaller companies eventually disappear. As a result, the subtitles are for the most part, appalling. How is it possible to blame the translators? They simply deliver a quality reflecting the rate they are paid. “If you want to pay peanuts, hire monkeys” says the proverb. This policy is hastening the end of the very business model they helped to create because consumers also want to reduce their costs, or even not pay at all. And why should they? Why buy a DVD with a translation no better than a fansubbed version? It is so much easier to download it from home, for free.

* * *

What is to be done?

It seems obvious that we have to escape this business model, this vicious circle. The role of the translator has to be re-evaluated and recognized. He is the one who conveys and gives meaning to the whole process of language transfer in the media. It is imperative that he should have the right tools to work with. To do a good job, a competent and dedicated translator simply needs two things:

- time

- money

Time. It is the only thing that can allow a translator to go through all the steps that guarantee a good translation. One of them is proofreading, for instance by a fellow translator: through this crucial step, subtitles or dubbing can be considerably enhanced.

Money. Translators should always be paid by the subtitle or word. They do not make socks. They should not be paid by the kilogram or, in this case, the minute. It is not a mechanical process repeated again and again as if on a production line. Each sentence, each subtitle is different, is a new adventure. Being paid per subtitle or word is a way to have their work properly recognized and appreciated.

This is all wishful thinking of course. It will not happen like this.

Translators must take action to gain the self respect that the industry does not give them.

The first step is to say no.

Case study: SDI office in France in 2003.

There were 30 translators working full time. Not only for that office, but in that office: we knew each other. When we learned that SDI was going to cut our rates for the third time, all the translators working there agreed to leave the company. Overnight 28 out of the 30 translators were gone.

SDI was, at the time, my only client. I did not work for 4 months afterwards, but what I gained was priceless. I gained self respect, respect for my trade and respect for the viewers/consumers. Those who have done something like this just once in their lives know how good it feels. You can look at yourself in the mirror with a big smile on your face.

Of course, if one person says no, it does not mean much to a company. But if a lot of people say no, then it starts to be a problem.

So the second step is: unite!

ATAA (French Audiovisual Translators Association) was founded two years ago, in June 2006. We were able to create an initially small network that continues to grow today. The so-called individualism of the translator has been proved to be fiction.

We now have 160 members and a mailing list of more than 500 translators.

The first achievement of the Ataa was to share information: a tremendous amount of information is exchanged through our forum and during our meetings. This simple service has made a huge difference. Now we all know what is going on in other companies, how much the other translators are paid and we can organize ourselves and act accordingly.

We also meet a lot: we take every opportunity to organise meetings, and simply get to know each other. Because what we discovered was: it is a small step from meeting in the flesh, to having the guts to say no.

Beyond this national association, we are trying to organize ourselves internationally. Thanks to the great initiative taken by our Scandinavian colleagues, we started an International League of Subtitlers that continues to grow. This international network has allowed us to meet and to compare working conditions. In the not too distant future, we hope to take positive action together.

estelle@traducteurs-av.org

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