The translator's cultural glasses

Knowing languages makes you rich, is something you probably have heard before. What people often do not realise, is that language is an important part of a culture. People from that culture look at the world from their perspective, wearing their cultural glasses. That's why people who suddenly move to another country experience a 'cultural shock'. They are confronted with the differences between the familiar and the new culture and that can be challenging. On the one hand you begin to feel like you belong in the country where you live, but on the other hand there are things you cannot get accustomed to.

I myself have completed an Erasmus stay in Spain and am able to confirm that there are large differences between the Flemish, my native culture, and the Spanish culture. For instance, the Spaniards have what I call a 'mañana mentality': they do not rush, because tomorrow the sun rises again. For Flemish people, this can be very frustrating, as they want to get things done as soon as possible.

"It is important to dare to look critically at our own cultural experience and the perspective with which we look at others."

It is important to dare to look critically at our own cultural experience and the perspective with which we look at others, because if the latter is too fixed without it ever being questioned, then stereotypes about certain (sub)cultures emerge. Take for example the stereotypes about Dutch people: they are economical, not very hospitable and frequently a bit too direct. At times these stereotypes carry some truth in them, but we can hardly paint all citizens with the same brush. That is too short-sighted. And on top of the stereotypes you already have, there is also selective perception, i.e. you only notice certain aspects of a culture and ignore others. The aspect you do notice affirms and reaffirms your perception of a particular culture.

"Translators are rightly called 'intercultural mediators'."

There is a good reason as to why you, as a language professional, do not only get linguistic, but also cultural lessons. That cultural knowledge is needed to see the bigger picture and to know why a particular cultural perspective exists. As a translator this knowledge is even more important. There is a nice metaphors about translators. Translators form the bridge between languages, but especially between cultures. They are rightly called 'intercultural mediators'. They know both sides of the story, but at the same time they also possess certain biases, which developed from their cultural perspective because of the cultural glasses they wear. Sometimes it is hard to remove those glasses and look at the other culture from a neutral viewpoint.

"People sometimes claim that translating cannot be so difficult: if you control both languages at a sufficient level, then you should be able to translate?"

People sometimes claim that translating cannot be so difficult: if you control both languages at a sufficient level, then you should be able to translate? They forget that translators not only transfer a message in another language, but they also adapt that message to a certain extent to the target culture. Sometimes a concept is not known in a culture, the so-called 'unique concepts', or it does exist but has different connotation and denotation nuances and that can be a problem for a translator. Because what do they do with it? This issue has often been a research subject to examine how translators deal with 'cultural references'. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The translator has to take the context into account to make a decision. And for that decision they need the expertise which a non-professional translator simply lacks.