When my husband and I began our translating business, we
truly had no clue what we were doing. It began as a request from a friend. You
see, my husband’s first language is urdu and second is English. I’m the
opposite. My first language is English and second language is Urdu.
My husband’s friend wanted a book that was written in Urdu
to be translated into English. That is how my husband and I came up with our
unique style of translation. We translate together. Every paragraph. We discuss
its obvious and hidden meanings. Variations of words that can be used. Or if
there isn’t one particular word my husband will explain to me all the meanings
and uses and I’ll figure out what English word works best.
By using this method we’re able to have a translation that
doesn’t “look” like a translation. If you’ve ever watched a badly subtitled
movie or just read some of the humorously translated Chinese signs then you
know what I’m talking about by “looking” translated.
When we had completed his friend’s book, he showed it to a
publisher friend of his and we were hired. That’s when we thought “ok now
what?! We’re not professionals”. That’s when I turned to the web in search of
various other professional translation sites.
I was surprised at how many I found. The Shanghai translationcompany/companies were the most helpful in answering some of our more basic
questions on what to do next.
It’s been three years since that simple request turned into
a business. My husband and I have translated upwards of 100 books in that time.
Some from Urdu to English and some from Arabic to Urdu. I have no idea how many
we’ll end up doing by the time we’re finished. I didn’t think there would be
that many but it seems the list just keeps growing. Which I’m glad about. I
love translating. It lets me feel like I’m part of the book making process, and
being an avid reader there is no greater enjoyment than being able to see a
book blossom from beginning to end. And then seeing it in the hands of other
readers, there is no greater gift than that.
