Presuppositions

            By ‘presupposition’ we don’t mean the conventions we make with ourselves or others about reality (“assuming X is true, let us explore doing Y”) but the hidden assumptions we make at work or in life which we mistake for solid fact. As in the case of exploiting frames of reference, the emphasis is on awareness of what we are doing.
            It is important to make the latter type of presuppositions explicit when they emerge so that they can be questioned. Otherwise, they have a habit of closing doors to options. Often when problems seem insoluble it is because our presuppositions about reality make us blind to the options available.
            For instance, a fundamental presupposition which most of us make is that a translation has to be approached linearly. A text seems to be a series of characters one after another, making words one after another, making sentences one after another…
            This is the direction of the physical act of reading, starting with the first sentence and carrying on until you reach the end. It is also, incidentally like strings of pearls. There are internal references backwards and forwards within any text (from simple pronouns, referring back to an antecedent, to the recurrent thematic ideas expressed in recurrent key terms). There is no reason why the process of translating a text should not weave back and forth in a zigzag pattern, and in fact most of us would admit this is actually what we really do. Equally, there is no reason why should not work through the text from start to finish in several phases, like painting a wall with primer, undercoat and final coat or putting together a lasagna. This is more like the way a machine-translation program works procedurally. Once again, when asked about it most professionals would admit that this is exactly the way they work too, e.g. leaving the looking-up of difficult terms to a second pass or third pass and making at least one complete read-through before finishing. If this were not so, most translations would be word-for-word, phrase-for-phrase renderings that read a little like machine translations.
            We have suggested (report on Workshop 1) that translators might like to try starting in the middle or at the end of a document, or by translating its headings and subheadings first to gain an overview of what it is about. Interestingly, the advent of translation memories and workbench-type applications is naturally producing new ways of processing

texts along these lines, where you start for example with the bits already translated in other contexts and then apply various other computer tools in successive passes through the whole text.
            Another example of unquestioned presuppositions we have encountered about translating concerns the relationship between quality and time (see Section 1 as well): “You cannot translate fast and well”. Yet most of us would hesitate to say that it is impossible to translate slowly and badly! Another presupposition along the same lines is “A difficult piece of research take a long time”. But perhaps it is just a matter of choosing the right first step to dramatically shorten the time needed. By the same token, research that takes a long time may not be inherently difficult at all, just laborious.
            At an organizational level, we can see pervasive presuppositions underlying the professional principles which have been sacrosanct for years:

a)         Translators should translate only into their mother tongue.

b)         Translators should restrict themselves to translating the words on the page.

c)         Staff translators and freelance translators fulfill the same function.

            We believe that these principles (by no means universally held) no longer remain workable in their current for and must therefore be called into question.
            Clearly, when such presuppositions are brought into the light of day and challenged, they often appear ridiculous. But when left to lurk in the shadows, entire edifices can and often are constructed upon them without anyone stopping to wonder whether the foundations are secure. We have lost the habit of critically examining our thinking.

 Prerequisites for a resourceful internal state

             We have already mentioned the important role which our internal state plays in our performance. We have all experienced a state of concentration in which the translating process flows smoothly, efficiently and with optimal results. Although each of us will experience this optimal state differently, it seems to have certain common components. Certain conditions must be met in order for all the necessary components to be present so that we can access this state while working. One of these components is confidence.

 Confidence and competence

             Translating is a continual decision-making process. It starts off with major decisions about context, message, register, treatment, processing. During the actual process, scores of micro-decisions are taken every minute (yet I understand, no I don’t understand, choice of word, turn of phase, time to research, time to rephrase or restructure, time for a break, time to go home).
            Without confidence, indecision rules. The necessary decision-making process is paralysed. Translating without confidence is therefore highly stressful and leads to a mediocre or poor product. So it is worth spending the time it takes to gain the confidence we need to make competent decisions.
            Confidence is not an absolute. Our confidence levels fluctuate according to multiple factors which interact to form a fairly complex moving picture. Some examples of the factors which influence a translator’s confidence are:

 - comprehension (ho well you understand the message and context of the document you are translating)

 - ability to formulate (how well you can transfer the message, in its context, into the target language)

 - knowledge of the subject matter

 - trust in the resources at your disposal (the degree to which you trust the sources of the terminology and background materials at your disposal).

             Obviously, you cannot be confident unless you are, to some degree, competent. However, performance is undoubtedly impaired if confidence is lacking, no matter how competent you are. So there is no easily reversible causal relationship between confidence and competence. None there is no easily reversible causal relationship confidence and competence. None the less, like many mind-body phenomena, this is a double-sided coin which we can exploit to our advantage. By adding more competence we can increase our confidence, while increased confidence can in turn improve the application of modest competence beyond recognition; our performance so often depends more on our beliefs about what we are able to do than it does on our objective skill level.
            An example: very few translators are as confident when translating from their fourth language as from their first. It is harder to take the decision to depart from a literal (and stilted) rendition of the original for fear of having not understood, or of having misunderstood, nor it is useful to be crippled in a task which one is going to have to carry out anyway! At such moments it can be useful to ‘map across’ a feeling of confidence from your experience with your first or second language, which can help you to make bolder decisions. It is still possible to retain a critical attitude ensuring you make no silly mistakes, and you are likely to want a colleague more competent in that language to check your work at some stage.
            False confidence, when you think you know enough and don’t question your understanding, is surely just as common. True confidence enables us to call ourselves into question continually and to forgive our errors. It enables us to take responsibility for our mistakes and “do it differently next time”.

 The importance of questions

             Questions are a key part in any intellectual process. We might not be aware that we are continually asking ourselves questions, but whatever stage we examine in any of life’s processes, questions are presupposed without which the whole process would disintegrate. The following simplified description of the mental steps involved in translating any document demonstrate just how crucial questions are.

• The process commences with a test: Do I have a clear goal? What is it?

Ø      Example of a typical goal: “produce a perfect translation by lunchtime”.

·         Without some idea of our goal we don’t know what operations are needed to attain it: What do I need to do first?

Ø      Answer: “Make a first rough draft”

• Once we have completed the operation, we need another test: Did what I did bring me closer to my goal?

Ø      Answer: “Yes, I have my rough draft in front of me”.

• On the basis of this test, we decide what we need to do next in order to proceed: What do I need to do next?

Ø      Answer: “I need to solve a terminological problem”.

• Here we repeat the loop at a finer level of detail:

Ø      Q: What is my goal?

Ø      A: “To find the correct translation of a certain term”.

Ø      Q: What do I need to do first?

Ø      A: “Check in my technical dictionaries and databases”.

Ø      Q: Did that bring me closer to my goal?

Ø      A: “No, I couldn’t find the term anywhere”.

Ø      What I need to do next?

Ø      “Call the requester…” The requester solves the problem in a way clients often do: “Oh, we don’t need that degree of perfection, the experts will be able to understand the technical terms, we just need a rough version for the meeting on Friday.”

• It is important to have an ongoing re-evaluation, after every major operation: Is my goal still valid?

Ø      In our fictitious and over-simplified example, the initial goal of “a perfect translation” can be adjusted in the light of the additional information gleaned (by accident) from the requester.

·         There are often times when you might have to decide, for example, to skimp on a goal because of the circumstances. This suggests that there must be a “meta-goal” in the background, which is more important than the immediate goal we have for the current translation. Flexibility is required in shifting what is in the background of our attention to the foreground and vice versa. 

            All the tests and decisions required to perform the act of translating are based on questions. Ask the wrong question and the test is irrelevant and the decision inappropriate.

             Clearly, these question are being mysteriously and magically asked and answered inside us, whether we are paying attention to them or not. However, the ability to ask questions consciously is particularly useful at points in the process where we get stuck and don’t know what to do next. At such moments it can be useful to start by examining our entire mental approach by calling into question the points mentioned above (including our goal): 

• What frame of reference am I using in trying to understand this text? Is it the most appropriate one?
• What are the presuppositions underlying my reasoning?
• Am I in the best internal state for tackling the job at hand? If not, what state would be better?
• Am I at the appropriate distance for the task at hand?
• What is in the background/foreground?
• and so on.

  ... to be continued