But of course I sing myself! When the translation goes all wrong...

Most definitely Classical.... Quartets...the structure keeps me awake... Never violin, though... the soloists compete with your thinking...

Never. I never listen to music while translating. I could watch TV at the same time, but never listen to the music.

It is very interesting what sounds a translator finds disturbing or soothing during translations.

Recently, I tried to listen to nature sounds of the rain forest while I translated a legal contract. 

It didn't work. I had to turn it off. 

Pristine

I checked the first option as the closest to my answer which is "never", although the rest of that sentence does not apply.

Originally written by Pristine Pristine on May 13, 2009 11:16 PM It is very interesting what sounds a translator finds disturbing or soothing during translations.

Generally, it is interesting what sounds not only translators and not only during translations find disturbing. I sometimes see people walking along and empty beach and blocking the sound of sea waves with an iPod, or biking in a forest and silencing birds the same way. Gee, I am a city boy but each time I see something like that my jaw drops.

I voted "sometimes". It all depends on the hour of the day, my mood, the difficulty of the text and if my kids are around or not. When I am overworked and still working, though, I never listen to music.

Ann-Christine

Originally written by Jacek K. on May 14, 2009 2:11 AM I checked the first option as the closest to my answer which is "never", although the rest of that sentence does not apply. Originally written by Pristine Pristine on May 13, 2009 11:16 PM It is very interesting what sounds a translator finds disturbing or soothing during translations. Generally, it is interesting what sounds not only translators and not only during translations find disturbing. I sometimes see people walking along and empty beach and blocking the sound of sea waves with an iPod, or biking in a forest and silencing birds the same way. Gee, I am a city boy but each time I see something like that my jaw drops.

Me too. It is not that it is disturbing: I just do not want to spoil the music experience.

It depends how I'm feeling, what I'm translating and how much time I have to get it done. Sometimes I can listen online to Radio 1, but othertimes I can't stand the voices. If I'm really in need of something calming I switch to classical.

Originally written by Jacek K. on May 14, 2009 2:11 AM Generally, it is interesting what sounds not only translators and not only during translations find disturbing. I sometimes see people walking along and empty beach and blocking the sound of sea waves with an iPod, or biking in a forest and silencing birds the same way. Gee, I am a city boy but each time I see something like that my jaw drops.

Yeah... Each time I hear something like that my fists itch...