lucila soto

“In general, little things are a big deal when it comes to translation, because the end-goal, according to experts, is invisibility. Dialogue – written and spoken – should flow so well that viewers forget that it was translated at all.” Elena Barcia for Variety.com

I’m a very lucky girl so I have many loves in my life. I have my dogs, I have my jelly-bean, I have my beloved family and a couple of really good friends. I was even lucky enough to find a job that really fulfills my life: translating.

I have always had a love for words, I try to express myself properly and I truly believe that language was created an intricate and humongous collection of expressions in order to let us express what we really mean to say in order to avoid conflict and misunderstanding. I don’t believe any word should be used lightly or when lacking knowledge on its meaning.
And, as I love meaning of things, I have always enjoyed reading, art, culture and basically had a need to see, apprehend and understand my surroundings, being they places, things or people. This, I think, lead me into having the ability and gusto of translating not only words but thought & concepts from one language to another, not by using directly translated words but making a clear distinction between the different meaning and use of words.

I do trust in the power of words, I do think that for every human action, feeling or thought there is, for each language an exact word to describe it, it is only our lack of knowledge of the vast and rich world of words that forbids us to properly make ourselves understandable.
And of course, there exists a precise equivalence between words, phrases and sayings, between Countries and traditions. I speak of equivalence, not of a mere translation, I refer to it more like a localizing process and not of an equivalence for words, let’s have some examples:

Yes, while walking on the red carpet we had an argument which resulted in him going out of the party.
If I were to only translate from English to Spanish using what I call a “babelfish style”, the result would be something like:
Sí, mientras caminábamos por la carpeta roja tuvimos un argumento que resultó en que él saliera de la fiesta.
Which is, in short, bad Spanish, a word by word translation. In contrast a good translation taking into account a neutral Spanish localizing would read:
Así es, mientras caminábamos por la alfombra roja peleamos, es por eso que él dejó la fiesta.

Words are part of a living code: language. Language is an always evolving structure, Mexican Spanish from late XVII century is as equal to Mexican Spanish from this time as Italian, references and roots are there but meanings and uses change as societies do. When translating or localizing this should always be kept in mind.

I have always believed that the only way human race is going to ever have a chance of legacy & survival in this our beloved home planet is being part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Solution applied to almost every big issue, be it global warming, hunger, disease, abused children, animal cruelty and more specifically on this diatribe: control of dog population.
I know, i know i know puppies are one of the cutest things ever, but is stupid to breed your dog for this reason alone. Actually, unless you have a multi-awarded-best-of-show-dog is rather idiotic to bred your dog. I have often heard people say you should allow your doggie to at least have one litter in order to satisfy their maternal instinct, please! We really need to stop humanizing our pets in such a way, we are damaging not only our own dog but the age-old wisdom within nature’s balance.
People often argue -specially in the 3rd world, my home- when the issue of spaying or neutering arises, that it is not natural and that a dog won’t be “whole” after its intervention. I might agree with the non-natural part of it but dogs, as a species, have been damaged, reinvented and recreated over and over again by us humans to the extreme that we are living now a days: street dogs, abused dogs, violent dogs, dead dogs due to undernourishing or car accidents.
The origin of these dogs is neglect. At some point irresponsible owners had the bright idea of getting a puppy without the knowledge of what “owning” a dog means, without taking into consideration the kind of breed and the needs of the dog itself or even a glimpse of the long-term responsibility it carries.
Puppies are cute but also a whirlpool, an adult dog is fun and usually the best-unconditional companion but if it lacks good manners, daily long walks and nourishment it could develop aggressive-violent behavior or sickness. A senior dog usually demands more from the owner than he gives back, but after a long loving life I say he deserves it.
A good responsible owner usually researches thoroughly the breed characteristics and needs, and afterwards decides whether or not it fits his life style. A good responsible owner would never “get rid” of his dog for convenience. A good responsible dog owner would come home after work, completely tired and wanting nothing more than sleep, and still go out for a walk with his pooch.

But I’m going off track. I was supposed to talk about “solutions”. I believe the solution to this problem is being responsible. If you really want a dog first be conscious, research, think that he will be with you for at least 10/15 years and as soon as possible spay or neuter him/her.
If you feel the need for a puppy don’t buy one, go to a shelter and adopt.
If you don’t want to go through the whole training-a-puppy process, adopt an adult dog.
If you need a good, steady and serene dog adopt a senior dog.
You can adopt a mutt, you can adopt a pure breed, you can adopt every kind of age you want an suits you better. The key word is adoption.
Help street dogs, try to find homes for them. Try to get them to an animal shelter. Try to get them spayed or neutered. The main thing is to get them off the streets and to stop over-breeding.
Most of all be sincere with yourself, if you already have a dog take good care of him. If you are planning on getting one first ask yourself if you really are up to the task. And finally always try to adopt and never ever breed a dog for the wrong reasons. Become a better dog owner, become a better person, become a “messenger for the cause” by both providing a good example and spreading the word of adoption, spaying and neutering to all around you. Come on join us, come on and put a stop to the problem, come on and become part of the solution.