What is it about?
Most of the book is about how to translate faster, more accurately, and more enjoyably. But all that depends on effective habit-building, and that only works when there are no problems (badly written source text, unfamiliar language, etc.). This chapter tracks processes and procedures for when problems arise that slow the whole thing way down.
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Why is it important?
Most translation textbooks are based on the assumption that the strategies developed in this chapter are the whole shooting match--the best way to sum up the translator's professional practice. Becoming a Translator assumes that for the professional translator it's the exception. It's very important, yes! But it's important as an exceptional deviation from the standard way of translating.
Perspectives
When I first started working on this book I was focused entirely on the habit-building that helps professional translators translate faster, more accurately, and more enjoyably. In fact I planned to title the book The Translator's Habit. As I gave talks and workshops on the project around the world, however, professional translators in the audience kept protesting my exclusion of the problems that slow you down. They were so persistent that I finally began to realize that they were right. This chapter is the result.
Professor Douglas J. Robinson
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: When habit fails, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.4324/9780203441138_chapter_11.
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