Novel translations: From the translator's perspective

Can you guess the name of this title
translated into Spanish? I'll give
you one good guess.

Back in the summer, I mentioned looking into translations of the Sultana series. I'm so pleased and proud to announce that not only is the translation of the first novel complete, but I'm equally thrilled to have my translator Maria J. Manzano as a guest on the blog today. Maria worked so hard on the novel, which is now available via Kobo, Barnes and Noble and Apple, and her translations reads beautifully. For now, she had agreed to work with me on promotional materials in Spanish, but she will also translate more books in the series. Here's Maria's perspective on the process:

Lisa: Thank you so much for agreeing to do a guest post. Is this your first foray into translation work?

MARIA: No, it is not. I started working as a freelance translator a year ago and I have already carried out some major translation assignments. One of them was an historical essay on presidential assassinations and assassination attempts on the life of American presidents and the other assignment was a novel by an American author. I have also carried out other minor projects for some Spanish translation agencies both in English and French.

Lisa: What drew you to the opportunity to translate?

MARIA: I worked as a secretary for an international financial firm for a number of years so when I decided to explore other fields and to change careers I thought that working on the translation sector would be compelling.

MARIA J. MANZANO

Lisa: What are some of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of language translation?

MARIA: I think it is the fact that when you work with a language that is not your mother tongue you encounter some difficulties. The fact that you are capable of overcoming these difficulties it is extremely gratifying. I also enjoy the research that sometimes I need to conduct to carry out my work.

Lisa: Are you an avid reader?

MARIA: I am indeed. I read French and English literature as well as historical books and biographies in Spanish, French and English but at present I read mostly works in both French and English.

Any advice you would give to anyone looking into providing language translation.

MARIA: Above all, I strongly believe that a translator should be very inquisitive and have a natural thirst for knowledge, being a fervent reader will allow him or her to have a good command of the language too. Also a translator should be very consistent throughout the translation of the text and as close to the original document as possible. From my point of view that is essential. It is also worth considering to get specialized in some types of texts since a translator is not necessarily good at all kind of texts. That is usually the case. He or she may feel particularly confident when working on literary texts but not so much when working on legal texts, whereas others may be very skillful at the translation of technical texts. I personally enjoy working on financial and economic texts too. 

Thank you so much, Maria, for making this experience so rewarding and I look forward to our future projects.