Originally written by Nanna Mercer on July 3, 2009 9:36 AM Wishing you a Happy Fourth of July long weekend celebration

It`s Sixth of July for us, but thanks anyway!

Only I do not celebrate this. Betray your people and get a crown... I can understand this kind of game, but I don`t find it fun.

Um... somehow, Spanish or French or German on the Default Language forums seems not to irritate anybody,

It does irritate me, despite the fact that I understand all three, because it is discourteous.  I don't think you will find anything that I have ever posted which includes another language, without at least a brief description.

Maxi

It`s Sixth of July for us, but thanks anyway!

What is your sixth, which you don't celebrate, Dodo?  We had Canada Day on July 1.  As I understand it, July 4th is an American holiday.  Does the date have significance elsewhere?

Maxi

Originally written by Maxi Schwarz-Bastami on July 3, 2009 12:35 PM What is your sixth

It is the date of coronation of Mindaugas, the first (and last) King of Lithuania. Before him and after him the rulers were just Great Dukes.

I think I'll join Nanna in wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July weekend - and then ask that we get back to discussing "Do you translate into a foreign language?" - and so there is no misunderstanding, here's a translation - "do you translate PROFESSIONALLY into a foreign language?

I think we need to establish first what a foreign language is, because it may mean different things.

I think the problem is a little bit more complex than that: I meet young people in court who came here at  the age of 10, or 8, and at the age of 16 they don't speak any language well. There is not only language acquisition, but also losing of certain linguistic abilities, especially for very young people, with each year spent abroad. Also the level of language proficiency for some native speakers is really blow any acceptable lines, in some places.

I don't quite get the question.  What does it matter what you call it?  If you are sufficiently proficient so that you can translate into that language to a professional level, then why not do so?  My mother tongue is German.  I was born in Germany and spoken only German until coming to Canada at age 5 1/2 and I continued speaking it at home as well as learning to read and write in that language at the usual age.  My degree includes German as one of my majors and I got top marks.  Nonetheless, I do not translate into German because I don't consider my proficiency to be at a level that I would consider professional.  Yet I would in no way consider German to be a "foreign" language because obviously my mother tongue cannot be such a thing.  And why the cut-off age of 16?

Originally written by Maxi Schwarz-Bastami on July 4, 2009 2:05 AM I don't quite get the question.

I also find the question to be a little odd. The question and the conditions do not cover all bases. By using terms like "only", "as a rule", "#2" (the options are not numbered!), "if you disagree with that practice", "this month", and a number of others, many people will be shut out.

I don't disagree with the practice and I haven't done it this month (I did it 3 months ago but that was not "reluctantly") so I cannot choose "No" (#1??).

My language of predominate commercial spoken and written use is German, it is my default language with everybody but my own wife (I use German with other men's wives) so it is my language of habitual use (although I would not call it a "habit") but it is not my mother tongue so I cannot choose "Yes" (#2??).

Another awkward term is "translate". Better might have been "translate commercially", i.e. for payment.

I don't know if it has been beaten to death already but another consideration is that anybody with access to Google or Babelfish can "translate", the distinction required is probably between "translate well enough for the stated or assumed purpose" and "not translate well enough for the stated or assumed purpose". For example, I am occasionally asked to translate something "so that the client can see what it is all about", the result would probably not be good enough for publication, or more accurately, I would not be able to tell whether it was good enough for publication or not but it could well be made so if the client passes it by his in-house editor.

A more illuminating option might have been: "Are you fluent, error-free, spoken and written, in your source languages?". I suggest that any competent translator who can answer that with "yes" is morally entitled to translate into those languages. If you impose any higher standard than that then you are probably going to exclude quite a number from translating into (or even writing in) their native language (to judge from these forums occasionally - no names, no pack drill!).

Derek