On the Work
Work is rarely just the finished text. It is the process of interpretation, research, and careful decision-making that shapes what language ultimately becomes. The pieces collected here offer a closer look at that process—through both structured analysis and brief reflections on language in practice.
Documentary Translation
Overview
My client, a production company developing a documentary, needed an expert translator for their project. Their production team lacked critical linguistic expertise, and had a strict timetable in which to complete the work.
This case study reviews the challenges inherent in the project, and how I leveraged my professionalism and cultural insight — not just my translation skills — to deliver on project goals.
Essential to our shared success was my confidence as a translator and cultural advisor, and the natural trust this gained from the client.
My thought process was not only to interpret the speaker’s intent but also to take the client’s artistic standards for presentation and connotation into consideration.
The project consisted of four hour-long videos, and included interviews, real footage, and official scenes of historic events, dealing with emotional subjects and live speakers. These segments were already edited for TV, and required translation that fit within the existing format.
My approach was to facilitate the client’s production schedule, to maintained open communication and to keep ahead of deadlines. Working with the production team and understanding the roles of those involved proved essential for incorporating my suggestions into the final content. I met with the team at their offline editing suite, and familiarized myself with their workflow so that I could adapt my input to their process.
Once the production team understood my input, they even weighed their editing decisions on background I provided regarding culture, timeframe of events, and subtleties of the language.
The editing process was demanding, and I made myself available at all times so that we could continue the work as needed during weekends or after business hours. When traveling, I held remote meetings with the client via conference call.
The result of our efforts was that the documentary finished on-schedule, and to good reviews. Rotten Tomatoes called the finished piece “Thorough, balanced and provocative” and it received the 2023 winner of news and documentary Emmys Award for outstanding historical documentary.
The team expressed their personal gratitude, stating, “We couldn’t have done it without you!” and that my work gave them “peace of mind” in ensuring the integrity of the project.
Essential to our shared success was my confidence as a translator and cultural advisor, and the natural trust this gained from the client. As always, expertise and professionalism go hand-in-hand.
A Complicated Article of Law
The English text, written for the layman, was a simplified version of a more complicated article of law known as the “public charge rule.” The original translator had done a literal translation – “charging the public by the government” – that did not convey the author’s intended meaning.
My first instinct was to consult the original legal text and its supporting context, as the translation did not seem rational. The phrase “charging the public” felt particularly illogical in context. Upon review, it became clear that the true meaning of the provision was far removed from the notion of the government charging the public.
