People who write “I should of” are viewed as stupid, and for good reason. You get the impression that that is a mistake that only a (very thick) native English speaker would make; a foreigner would never write it. But I’ve never known anyone actually openly state that they truly think that “I should of” is proper English. Do you really think that they would teach their children that “I should of” is proper English? Surely it wouldn’t be that long before someone pointed out, following proper consideration of the three words as individual words, that “I should of” isn’t proper English at all and that what you should say is “I should have”?
29th August 2012
It may be argued that to become a translator means to develop a so-called sense of ESP. For example, I can’t say I have a good knowledge of foreign acronyms, but there are plenty of online sources to help me with that. But it goes further than that – issues that are harder to identify, never mind address and deal with. For example, some translation clients can be very prescriptive about terminology. Even today there are words in English which I’ve definitely heard of and I know exactly what I’ve related them to for months, even years; but I don’t think I would know exactly what they mean even if I looked them up in the dictionary.
But look – I don’t want to leave it at that in case it undermines people’s confidence that I’m fit to be a translator (ignorance). Of course I want to produce high quality translation work which reflects the intended message of the original material. I do promise that I have had plenty of satisfied clients. All I’m saying is that I consider that it is never a good idea for me pursue the creation of professional translation work in a half-hearted manner. I don’t play music videos on Youtube when translating lest I be distracted and, for example, miss something out.
I may be able to work from the comfort of my own home, but I know that allowing the outside world to sway my commitment to writing a translation document that actually is what it should be and actually meets the needs of whom I’m doing it for, is not just a lazy idea, but a potentially perilous one. I would actually say that the activity of doing whatever it takes to produce proper translation work falls under the category of just plain “doing what essentially makes sense”.
For all I’ve accomplished in my career to date, I’m just ever convinced that forgiving a conceited or complacent approach every so often is likely to jeopardise continued success – especially in this economy. And no-one knows this better than Chris Cardell. You wouldn’t believe how much of an interest I’ve shown in “the big CC’s” recorded seminars over the past couple of days. I’ve definitely listened to more than 8 hours’ worth of these since Friday, making notes. He kept on reminding me of the importance of making it more about my customers than me, to put it in a nutshell. Not to mention the fact I can’t hope to get anywhere without a very high level of implementation – like, a whole new level of implementation. But he definitely emphasises the importance of passion in your work as well – just him what he thinks of the late Dame Anita Roddick.
Becoming proficient at the “advanced”, “abstruse” (those quotation marks are there for a reason) marketing methods I’ve tried to learn from Chris and using them to increase my profits even a fraction as much as he says I could, will be a significant challenge for me. The financial risk is definitely there, and no-one wants something like that in this economy, but what can I do? Try too hard? How far would that really get me? Maybe all I can do is “look forward to it”. I certainly don’t expect it to be “boring”. Seeing how much Chris Cardell underlines the concept of passion in the world of work, I can only wonder if it is a key lacking element of today’s working world in general.
I’ve translated a considerable number of legal documents, including contracts (such as leases) in my work. You’d think I’d call that “boring”, but I disagree. I’ve done those translation projects with ability and confidence, and I loved it. I’m not saying I don’t have my limits, but I do realise that what I do with my passion is up to me. From this moment on, when I’m contending with problems in my translation work which my linguistic abilities in more than one language alone won’t help me to surmount, I’ll remember how I today redefined “boring” as “anything I’m not encouraged to develop an opinion of.” If I can remember the same when dealing with “those business concerns which matter outside of the walls of the work premises” which apply to me outside of the walls if my humble home, I’m very sure that, win or lose, I’ll have a grand tale to tell at the end of the day.