"the floor is yours." … and that sentence is mine! challenges and thrills in translating...
TRANSCRIPT
"THE FLOOR IS YOURS." … AND THAT SENTENCE IS MINE!
CHALLENGES AND THRILLS IN TRANSLATING FOR THE HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY, 2011
KOVÁCS ZsuzsannaQuality Controller, Hungarian Language UnitGeneral SecretariatCouncil of the European Union
The views expressed are purely those of the writer and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the Council.
INTRODUCTION
Presidency: an important challenge for a language unit
more documents to be translated new types of documents often very tight deadlines
It is motivating for translatorscreative: more freedom in handling textsexciting: it allows insight into a large range of subjects and a
glimpse into backstage operationsrewarding: direct use and high visibility of translations
Better motivation results in better quality.
KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENCY
Preparation for HU Presidency, 2011
Preparation with external interlocutors
cooperation between Council language units on dealing with translation during presidencies
Council translators and assistants meeting Presidency contact person from Permanent Representation
experts advised to limit feedback to substantial corrections
establish contact with EP translators find out from Language Coordination which
ministers will need translation and which parts of documents need to be translated
Preparation in the HU language unit
creating templates from Presidency documents create Presidency reference memory check EP site "Current issues" appoint contact translator to spend 6 months of
Presidency in Language Coordination appoint pools of translators for different types of
Presidency documents and a pool of senior revisers Quality Controller to brief translators and assistants on
Presidency document types, templates, procedures
TRANSLATION MEMORY FOR PRESIDENCY DOCUMENTS
before presidency: create a new translation memory: presidency memory
import presidency programme, templates, models for document types, 18 month programme
during presidency: update presidency memory daily (import TMX files created from the translation of presidency documents) concordance: translators using presidency memory as a reference memory for concordance purposes
TEMPLATE PHRASES(samples)
EN [target language] Note
The present answer, which has been drawn up by the Presidency and is not binding on either the Council or its members as such, was not presented orally at Question Time to the Council during the … 2011 part-session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Replies to oral EP questions
PRELIMINARY DRAFT REPLY TO ORAL QUESTION N° ...put by: XY (EPP, ...) to the Councilfor: Question Time at the part-session in January 2011Subject: " ... "
Replies to oral EP questions
Brief for the President For chairing Council meetings
Brief for the Chair of the Coreper
For chairing Coreper meetings
Budgetary aspects of the proposal:
Brief pause for ministers to agree silently to
"A" points
Briefs
Please find enclosed suggested speaking
points
Briefs
We will continue in open session Briefs
CHALLENGESAt start of the Presidency:
ministers' presentations of presidency programme and priorities before EP plenary and committees – all arrive within a few weeksduring Presidency EU legislation published in the Official Journal is signed by ministers of the Presidency country
specificities of the Hungarian language HU names in reverse order, e.g. my name: KOVÁCS
Zsuzsanna composite letters made up of two or three letters: e.g.
ZsuzsannaWhen only the initials of the ministers’ surnames appear in the OJ, it is important to make sure that the correct letter should be used, e.g. for Matolcsy György: Matolcsy Gy. and not G.
Negotiated outcome: the signatures and initials of HU ministers appeared in the Hungarian way in all language versions of EU legislation published in the Official Journal
DOCUMENT TYPES
Notes for the President (NP): speeches/speaking points for ministers in EP plenary and
committee meetings during Presidency
Briefs for the President (NP): to brief presidents in advance of Council meetings,
and to guide them during the actual proceedings one note for each item on the agenda (sometimes
more), for each Council meeting up to 20 briefs short (1-2 pages), short deadline notes for Coreper rarely translated
I. AIM OF THE DISCUSSION
&
II. LEGAL BASIS AND VOTING RULES
&
III. DIFFICULTIES / HANDLING
&
IV. TALKING POINTS
&
V. POSSIBLE CONCLUSIONS
&
VI. REFERENCES
Commission proposal
: &
Opinion of the European Parliament
: &
Opinion of the E.S.C.
: &
Opinion of the Committee of the Regions
: &
VII. BACKGROUND
&
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
GENERAL SECRETARIAT
Brussels, &
BRIEF for the Chair
of the Permanent Representatives Committee (part &)
(&th meeting on &)
Item &: &
DOCUMENT TYPES (continued)Presidency's replies to EP oral questions (H questions):
delivered by the Council President in person in his/her mother tongue before EP during question time in Strasbourg
receive them the week before EP plenaryfor each plenary, about 30-40 oral questions expected
consist of:- question (translated by EP translators)- background (not always translated)- proposed reply- supplementary replies for potential follow-up questions
translated into Presidency language onlyprior request for providing standby for EP plenary sessions but used
only oncequality is important because of high visibility: replies are given by the
ministers on the Council's behalf in public (live broadcasting, home country, other media) – the Council’s voice in EP
DOCUMENT TYPES (continued)
CFSP declarations: as usual but with shorter deadlines, very short, published on the Council website simultaneously in EN, FR and language of Presidency
Press releases following Council meetings: also very short deadline, to be finished by COB of the day following Council meeting, published in EN, FR and language of Presidency
QUANTITY
depends on translation needs of ministers e.g. translation of briefs for Chairs of Council formations:
both background and speaking points or speaking points only
Language Coordination updating ministries' translation requirements based on negotiations with Permanent Representation and subject to available resources
after some time had to translate mostly only speaking points, not background
it is indicated on the translation jobslip if only some parts of the brief need to be translated (e.g. title, subject, points IV-V.)
Statistics
Period Net page/HU translator/day
January – July 2010: 5.9
January – July 2011 (PRES): 6.9
January – July 2012: 7.5
Procedures of quality assurance
Quality Controller assisting Local Coordinator with assigning files for translation and revision
Quality Controller revising a large amount of Presidency documents, especially in early days (ministers' presentations before EP), updating templates, giving general feedback and guidelines
Translators identifying and notifying QC of possible templates
GENERAL GUIDELINES
Terminology
Notes to the Presidency + speeches: direct user is the respective minister: if EU and national terminology clash, national terminology is to be used Translation style (in speeches, elements of speech in notes to the presidency, replies to oral EP questions):
• simple, short sentences • sentences can be split or merged• easy, understandable style
GLOBAL TRANSLATION EXPERIENCE quality of originals was good not much need to do terminological research, all
necessary information contained in background and reference documents
lengthy documents but not difficult because of clear drafting
although deadlines were short, they were manageable some documents were also translated in the HU
ministries, some were transmitted to Council translators in time, others were received too late
translator pools for various document types proved useful
DIFFICULTIES
for coordination: upredictability, sudden changes, short
notice CFSP declarations: often a great amount
on Friday evenings a few times requests for reverse
translation: HU into EN (revised by Council EN translators)
for translators/assistants: overtime: random, mostly regular overtime
team proved sufficient
THRILLS
best experience for translators: translation of speeches insight into a large range of subjects and a glimpse into
backstage operations rewarding to hear one's own words and sentences being
spoken by the minister presiding the Council meeting (during public parts of Council sessions) and in broadcasts of EP sessions, coming across one's own formulations being quoted in home media
for the quality controller: target language quality dramatically improved
WHAT TO EXPECT?
long documents, short deadlines the unexpected - a certain degree of flexibility is definitely
required interesting texts and a motivating climate new types of documents, more than normal overtime,
documents more in the (political) limelight (ministers, media), increased sense of importance
FEEDBACK
Hungarian presidency: very positive feedback on timeliness and quality of translations
even two years after HU Presidency Council HU translators receive praise for the quality of the translations they made during the presidency
MESSAGE FROM A HU TRANSLATOR:
Not to worry, you'll be sorry once it's over!
