Translation misery

Called "caption groups", they came into being when Prison Break, the American drama series, made its debut, and have now become a driving force in spreading mostly Western entertainment in the Middle Kingdom. There is no way Chinese audiences could have managed to circumvent the movie import quota and access huge collections of video material without their unique input.

Caption groups work under time constraints. They race with each other to upload the fastest and highest-quality Chinese rendition. They work in groups of four or five. Ironically, very few of them are English-language majors. If they have a medical show, such as Grey's Anatomy or House, they would have at least one medical student in their group. As members of a group can be far-flung geographically, local expertise is often involved. When I see certain abbreviated terms rendered correctly, I know the translators - or one of them - must be based in North America. No textbook or dictionary alone would have provided that piece of information.

One added feature that distinguishes caption groups from regular translators is their use of explanatory notes. When an allusion is made in the dialogue, they would give a regular translation and then add a brief explanation in a pair of parentheses. Many lines would sound drab to a Chinese audience, but a strategic jab at its connotation would awaken Chinese viewers to its ingenuity.

Of course, caption groups make errors, too. And they can be humorously honest and put down a line such as, "I truly don't know what this line means".

These amateur groups actually match the old professors on two counts: They make it a passion and they are either experts in the field or get expert help. According to Kaiser Kuo of Sinica podcast fame, the Chinese subtitle of the 13-episode House of Cards somehow captures the essence and style of the original. (Could one of the anonymous translators be working as an intern on Capitol Hill?)

It is reported that caption group members, though working for free, end up with one intangible benefit after all. When they graduate and seek jobs, their experience as such volunteer translators often give them a competitive edge. Potential employers tend to value their devotion to what they do as well as their language skill.

However, idealism is short-lived. Once they are employed and married, these members drop out of the groups. As a matter of fact, even paid translators are paid very little. Most translators of literature have to get day jobs to support themselves. With a fraction of the necessary knowledge, one could get much higher pay in a multinational corporation. Translators are demanded a lot and compensated very little, leaving only those whose zeal overrides their financial concerns. That is why translation as an art is doomed, and the Chinese subtitle of Les Mis is a testament to its decay.

Contact the writer at raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn.

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(China Daily 03/16/2013 page11)