A profession is not something you improvise: you build
up skills and experience by investing time and money, by working hard, and by
being committed to continuing professional development. I think this can never
be overstated, that’s why the following story had me in one of my best
fighting-modes ;-)
A Russian girl who lives in Italy was asked by an
Italian travel agency to translate some texts into her native language. She has
never translated before and she is clueless about it (her own admission; I don’t
know her at all), nonetheless she accepted and then asked some people about how
much they think she should charge. I was asked too through some common
acquaintances, but my answer was not what they expected. First of all, I couldn’t
help pointing out that before even starting a discussion on rates, it should be
clear that the travel agency shouldn’t have called a non-professional in the
first place (unless they’re ok with a bad self-image). Also, I stated that the
girl should have turned down the request because that isn’t her job, or at
least she should warn the client that the quality of her work is unlikely to
match professional standards. Finally, I added that if the parties choose to agree
for the job anyway, she should do it for free.
I simply don’t take work I am not qualified to do, let
alone being paid for that. It’s a basic ethical principle for me, and it honestly
annoys me when I see it overlooked.
My interlocutors argued that I was blowing things out
of proportion. “She’s a native speaker and desperately needs money, why should
she turn down that assignment or do it for free?”. Because being a native
speaker alone means nothing. Because by accepting she steals work from those
who have invested a lot to qualify. Because blurring the line between quality
and amateur work spoils the market for us, and our image too. Because it’s
simply unfair.
Even worse: “I’m sure those are easy texts”. Yeah, anyone
can do it, right?
I know the girl is probably unaware of all of this,
but that doesn’t mean we should just let it go instead of clarifying things.
I made an example to support my point: if a
specialized magazine asked me for a photo report just because my cell phone has
a camera, one would immediately think this magazine is not quality-oriented. If
I accepted to do the report, one would think I am doing someone else’s job (and
blame the magazine for its poor commitment in choosing its contributors). If I
even asked for money, some people would think I don’t deserve it, while others
would feel entitled to earn money too by selling poor quality pictures. And a
professional photographer would feel robbed of his own job (and skills, and
efforts).
The point here is not that we should close the door to
people who may build up their career from less than academic paths; you’re always
welcome to learn, but until you’re not qualified you shouldn’t step into
professional territories.
The most disappointing thing was that I actually talked
about it with a professional in another field, and while he agreed when taking
his own job as an example, he failed to see the point as far as translation is
concerned. Being a native speaker who picks up a foreign language is still widely
seen as a stand-alone criterion for translating. This is a serious cultural issue
that we have to face.
Any comments? Please share them!
