Making A Difference?
The last few weeks, I've been working on translating a business column I wrote for my local newspaper in the U.S., into Spanish. The article is about how to motivate staff when you lack the budget to give raises or bonuses. I had given my teacher E a list of my columns, and together we chose this one as the best to work on. My goal, with E's help as teacher, writing coach, and editor, is to publish articles in Mexican business magazines.
The project is yet another interesting window into culture. For one thing, I have yet to find the business magazine that is the right fit. So far, Mexican business magazines seem to focus on high-level, abstract subjects such as what the economy might do, the effect of a new law on business, or a profile of this or that business leader. Nothing on anything as practical and fundamental as how to motivate employees.
Even without a clear target magazine, I wanted to translate the article, so I set about doing so, translating my list of bulleted examples of how people can be supported and motivated without financial compensation. The list included 12 factors including recognition, creativity, autonomy, authority, sense of accomplishment, sense of fun, and others.
In one paragraph, I made the point that different people are motivated by different things. A window view, for example, might motivate one person more than another. "A window view?" E frowned. That wouldn't be a motivator in Mexico. We discussed it, and ultimately I deleted it.
But the biggest stumbling block came when we reached my point that "making a difference" could be a motivator. "Haciendo una diferencia?" E asked. "What do you mean?" I explained the idea that you feel your work has positive impact, that you're helping another. "Like you," I said, trying to come up with an example close to home. "You're making a difference by helping your students learn Spanish. You not only are helping them learn the language, you're indirectly helping to narrow the cultural gap between the U.S. and Mexico. And you feel positive about that, right?"
Yes, she understood my example, but she still didn't think "making a difference" would be a valuable addition to the article. Neither did another teacher I consulted.
Was it a misunderstanding of language? If I had used a different phrase, would E have thought I should include it? I don't think so, because E is quick to offer other turns of phrase. I tend to think, rather, that the very idea of "making a difference" is a concept that has meaning in the U.S., in a way that it does not in Mexico.
I'm not drawing a firm conclusion here, but this is my hunch.
The project is yet another interesting window into culture. For one thing, I have yet to find the business magazine that is the right fit. So far, Mexican business magazines seem to focus on high-level, abstract subjects such as what the economy might do, the effect of a new law on business, or a profile of this or that business leader. Nothing on anything as practical and fundamental as how to motivate employees.
Even without a clear target magazine, I wanted to translate the article, so I set about doing so, translating my list of bulleted examples of how people can be supported and motivated without financial compensation. The list included 12 factors including recognition, creativity, autonomy, authority, sense of accomplishment, sense of fun, and others.
In one paragraph, I made the point that different people are motivated by different things. A window view, for example, might motivate one person more than another. "A window view?" E frowned. That wouldn't be a motivator in Mexico. We discussed it, and ultimately I deleted it.
But the biggest stumbling block came when we reached my point that "making a difference" could be a motivator. "Haciendo una diferencia?" E asked. "What do you mean?" I explained the idea that you feel your work has positive impact, that you're helping another. "Like you," I said, trying to come up with an example close to home. "You're making a difference by helping your students learn Spanish. You not only are helping them learn the language, you're indirectly helping to narrow the cultural gap between the U.S. and Mexico. And you feel positive about that, right?"
Yes, she understood my example, but she still didn't think "making a difference" would be a valuable addition to the article. Neither did another teacher I consulted.
Was it a misunderstanding of language? If I had used a different phrase, would E have thought I should include it? I don't think so, because E is quick to offer other turns of phrase. I tend to think, rather, that the very idea of "making a difference" is a concept that has meaning in the U.S., in a way that it does not in Mexico.
I'm not drawing a firm conclusion here, but this is my hunch.
posted by Louisa at 7:58 AM
1 Comments:
Soy tu vecina de blog. Creo que en el contexto en el que estas utilizando "Making A Difference" yo lo traduciría como "cambiar" o "mejorar". Para traducir del inglés al español hay que entender el espíritu de lo que se quiere decir y olvidarse de la literalidad. Lo que ocurre es que a veces ni siquiera cuando se habla el mismo idioma entendemos lo que quiere decir el otro.
Tu profesor de español cuando enseña inglés no está unicamente enseñando un idioma sino que está dotando a sus alumnos de una herramienta que les va a permitir "cambiar" su vida, les está dando una herramienta para "mejorar".
Post a Comment
<< Home