Job Discussion Forums

MELEE · Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:01 pm Post subject:

The only time I've ever needed an officail copy of my birth certificate was for my wedding. Then it was translated by a Mexican working at the US consulate in Oaxaca, for a cost of 55 UD dollars.
Of course we all know that in Mexico there are many truths. Best to be prepared for the most rigorous one, than hope for the most lax.

edited because I forgot a small but significant word.

Phil_K · Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own

Arriving in Mexico 7 and a half years ago with no certificates/diplomas/degree - nada - I had to produce letters of reference and yep, they had to be translated by an official translator. Crazy, but true - and typical of Mexican bureaucracy. It's always best to do everything by the book in Mexico, to avoid problems later.

Vanica · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 368 Location: North Carolina

Milenka and MO,

The OP asked for a certified translation from an unnamed Eastern European language to English, presumably because those were the instructions they received for whatever it is they are trying to do. I assume the English translation is necessary to bring to Mexico or the consulate to be translated into Spanish. Or to have on hand in case their plans change and they decide to go to Brazil instead, or Burkina Faso. Myself, I am a certified translator with several language pairs and many connections to other translators that would be applicable, and I simply offered a hand.

Get off of Proz and the other American websites and study a bit. Trados doesn't cover up for not paying attention when you read. And offending someone who might give you work in the future is not a good idea, is it? Wink

It is a birth certificate There is no JOB being ASSIGNED.

MO39 · Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:34 pm Post subject:

Milenka · Joined: 30 Jun 2008 Posts: 113 Location: Mexico City

Vanica · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 368 Location: North Carolina

leslie · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 235

jillford64 · Joined: 15 Feb 2006 Posts: 397 Location: Sin City

jillford64 · Joined: 15 Feb 2006 Posts: 397 Location: Sin City

MO30 wrote:

Vanica · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 368 Location: North Carolina

john_n_carolina · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 700 Location: n. carolina

..a bit off-topic...but, this whole idea of a "professional" translator is a bit confusing to me. i mean, surely there are people who are certified and read/write at a level 10x higher than me, or any other Joe who picked up Spanish off the street.

but, how good is a professional cert and 15 years of translating when you can't understand the 100 or so dialects that might be in any given province?

one might be good at translating Doctor's notes, lawyer forms, etc but that doesn't count for much if you are translating some Indie film or something with street language?

i was translating something for a Spanish lady the other day and my wife reviewed it and laughed. she said the meaning of several phrases was "way off" because I'm not "from the street".

Vanica · Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 368 Location: North Carolina

We were just watching a Czech film of Alice in Wonderland, with English dubbing and Spanish subtitles. ''Oh, dear, oh, dear'' said the White Rabbit, was translated as '' Ah, querida, ah, querida," as in ''Darling, darling.'' Or maybe Lewis Carroll really meant that?

Another film goodie: There was a 70s hippie movie from the US called ''Taking Off,'' as in ''leaving, splitting, hasta la vista baby.'' The title was translated in Yugoslavia as ''Stripping'' as in ''taking off (your clothes).''

For all I know, those translators could have passed certification tests.

Here's another one, but you have to know something about Japanese:

I was interpreting for a certain bank president in Brazil. He said:

One day, across the Tokyo skyline, you will see the letters...

(I thought, Oh, no, don't say it.)

... C...I...T....I...B...A...N...K

Well, in Japanese, Casio is pronounced Cashio. C.Itoh is pronounced Shi-Itoh. They don't have the same s sound, it is always sh. So c-i-t-i-b-a-n-k would be.....

Prophetic.

john_n_carolina · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 700 Location: n. carolina

once, when i was teaching a linguistics course in Ecuador for M.A students, we came up with about 18 meanings for the phrase "Excuse me" in English. just changing your voice phonetically completely alters the meaning. for e.g. when a highschool girl or someone says, "Excccussse me"....in this manner, it is interpreted as being a sarcastic remark and can hardly be translated.

Srechko · Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Toronto

As I originally posted my question - didn't really expect such a discussion, but it's great to know there is a strong community out there ready to tackle any issue that might come up! Wink

Well since my post, I've had my birth certificate translated (from Serbo-Croatian) to English by a certified translator in Toronto, and for its Spanish version I will wait until I get to Mexico - as it obviously can be done there - if necessary.

Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences and opinions.

Srechko