What does FEDRA mean?
FEDRA is an acronym of all the main qualities and expertise I offer with my translation and revision services.
Fiabilité > Reliability rhymes with tranquillity. Working with a specialist guarantees not only the best result, but also the serenity of working with a trustworthy person. One should never underestimate the safety felt when relying on a translator.
Efficacité > Efficiency: one is efficient when his/her work manages to yield the intended effect. This is essential in translation. Efficiency is not simply about reaching a specific result or goal. In our field, it’s about re-creating a text (in any form) in another language so that it can be fully understood and that holds the same general impact it has in its original form. An efficient translator is firstly a smart, perceptive and proactive reader.
Dialogue > Dialogue: translating something for somebody else implies the standing of a relationship among the author and the translator. To me, they are two partners who listen to each other and share each other’s doubts and opinions through a positive dialogue, so to fully respect the nature of the text. I personally dialogue with my clients in several ways, by speech (face-to-face or by phone) or in writing (e-mail or message). By such a dialogue among the two parts, a trustworthy relationship is established, there is a mutual listening and the client can be aware of the status of the translation, so to make everything as interactive as possible.
Respect > Respect: a beautiful word with such an important meaning in this field. Translators must respect the text (content, structure, form, fluency, uniqueness), the author (his/her personal style, what he/she wants to instil, his/her needs, his/her intentions and, sometimes, his/her nerve, too) and timing. Clearly, respect is a mutual value based on trust: the author and the client must respect the piece of work and respect deadlines, both for delivery and payment.
An Accurate work, keen on every detail, meaning and word. Care and precision are the keywords, especially when dealing with French. Translation is always followed by a meticulous second reading which guarantees a precise and accurate work.
My working method:
"To Translate is to Betray"... or, so they say. Does translating really mean betraying the text, its author and the reader? Translation is a complex work that requires linguistic, cultural and historical skills, but also requires time and wide knowledge. It is not betraying but, rather, it’s transmitting, it’s building bridges. That is why it is compulsory to create or, better, to re-create the text respecting its content, its form, its style, its essence. The translator is neither a traitor nor a robot. He is a “re-creator” who listens to what the text has to say and to which he irrevocably submits. Working on a text means going through three fundamental phases:
- A careful reading and a rigorous understanding of the text. This is a first, crucial phase – it is what will guide the work throughout the entire process. The text must first of all be fully understood in its entireness (sometimes it must be even analysed) so to be perfectly translated. A schoolbook, an e-commerce website, a touristic brochure and a résumé do not share the same intent and do not address to the same type of readers.
- A methodical and meticulous research for terms (technical, specialized, scientific, etc.). New technological tools indeed facilitate translation, yet they are not sufficient and cannot replace a serious lexical research. For my translations, I rely on my own personal glossaries I built during my career and on many specialized bilingual and monolingual dictionaries. Only the human mind – in our case, that of your translator – can conduct such a research.
- An additional re-reading/in-depth revision. French language is a particularly complex one, and it sometimes leaves behind some “coquilles". Translation cannot do without an accurate re-reading and revision phase, during which the translator looks out for any possible error in style, grammar and spelling present the text. My rates also include this "scanner work".